Rear hatch hinge repair

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George Hamilton - 09 Oct 2004 00:53 GMT

Some older 944s have the rear hatch hinge come loose from the glass
and either leak water and/or squeek. Mine finally got too much to
bear. Drove the two hinge pins out with a pin punch, slid the hatch
down about a foot. Must disconnect the lifting shocks before knocking
the pins out and of course support the hatch in open position with a
prop. This is really a job for two people. Lower hatch to begin
repair.

Cleaned the space out between glass and hinge with compressed air.
Injected some Gorilla Glue and hammered the hinge back on. Let it dry
for 24 hours and refitted. Good as new. Total cost: $5.00 for glue.
Dealer wanted to replace the whole glass hatch.

Gorilla Glue is trade name for polyurethane adhesive available at most
hardware stores.

84 944 NA

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william_b_noble - 09 Oct 2004 04:40 GMT

I'll bet you a beer of your choice that this repair doesn't hold for more
than a week.

I've done this repair a couple of times - so far the ONLY way that worked
was to use the commercial 3M windshield adhesive and both of the primers
that are listed in its manual - there is a clear primer, then a black
primer. Without these primers, there is inadequate adhesion and it
separates in a few days. This happens because the gas springs push up on
the frame which is held down by the latches and the hinges. Since there is
more surface area near the latches, and also more weight (the gas spring
attachment is closer to the hinges than the latches), this results in a
significant upward force on the top of the glass. Most adhesives are not
that strong in tension, when used with glass. Also, gorilla glue is quite
stiff, brittle even, so I suspect you will have problems with thermal
expansion.

A car repaired using the 3M system, with both primers, has been OK for about
6 months now - still watching it to see, but that is great compared to all
prior attempts. A tube of the adhesive costs $12, and the primer is
available in single use applicators for about $3 each. Total cost therefore
around $20. I found the only way to make it all work was to separate the
frame from the glass (carefully so as not to break the glass), clean both,
and then reglue (there are several FAQs on the internet on how to do this -
they are OK, but they don't mention the primers, and that is totally
mandatory).

> Some older 944s have the rear hatch hinge come loose from the glass
> and either leak water and/or squeek. Mine finally got too much to
[quoted text clipped - 13 lines]
>
> 84 944 NA

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doug - 09 Oct 2004 15:50 GMT

you know all you had to do was to remove the panel inside in front of
the hatach and UNSCREW the hinges from the body

>Some older 944s have the rear hatch hinge come loose from the glass
>and either leak water and/or squeek. Mine finally got too much to
[quoted text clipped - 14 lines]
>84 944 NA
>

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william_b_noble - 11 Oct 2004 05:50 GMT

doug's comment reminds me - if you did push the hinge pins out, you need to
use locktite when you put them back in - otherwise you have a risk of a pin
working free and the top twisting the other hinge - I had a pin fall out all
by itself on my 85.5

> you know all you had to do was to remove the panel inside in front of
> the hatach and UNSCREW the hinges from the body

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