Trunk lid out of alignment...

[Matt Johnson]

Must be my week for dealing with whack on the MM...

My trunk lid is out of alignment, not closing flush with the body on the right hand side. Far as I can see, nothing bent, busted or broken.

Anyone handy with the remedy for this one?

[fastblackmerc]

Ther are two bumpers on either side of the lid, try adjusting them.

[FordNut]

Ther are two bumpers on either side of the lid, try adjusting them.
Mine kept falling out so I glued them in with black silicone.

[Matt Johnson]

Yeah...it's not the bumpers. I think it's a hinge issue - as if the right side needs to be pushed back towards the rear window - just not sure what the adjustment is.

[STLR FN]

Ummm too bad you're in Cali or I'd adjust it for you. I was a Door, Deck and Hood fitter at Wixom Assembly.

Also too many variables to give an acurate description on adjusting it.

Lid could be twisted, latch might need to be raised, hinge to lid bolts might need loosened and adjusted, or any combination of them and that's just a few of the things I can think of.

I did 350 to 400 a night for 3yrs and it was never just one thing.
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[TripleTransAm]

Same issue on my 2nd MM. Although it's the driver's side that needs pushing in (towards the rear window) more than the other. I've tweaked it a bit, luckily I still have the 1st MM sitting beside it so I can compare. Judging by the paint marks on the fasteners, I'd say it was installed this way on the assembly line (you can clearly see the factory VIN sticker right beside this, so it's not a repaint). Great Q&A... I spotted it within 10 seconds of first laying eyes on this MM, in a dark dealer lot!

[Matt Johnson]

How did you tweak it?

[TripleTransAm]

Disclaimer: do this at your own risk. I'm not going to be held responsible for the techniques I used to do this.

What I did was take a bunch of dirty detailing towels and pack them underneath the trunk lid at the back edge, between the open lid and the back window. My biggest fear was the trunk slipping back when I loosened it and smashing the back window...

So once I felt there was enough cushioning, I loosened the two bolts ever so slightly, until the lid could be coaxed into sliding down the support arm. One has to be careful here: there is some slack on all axes here... the lid will not only slide along the support arm, it will also tilt. I was extremely afraid of the inside end of the support arm poking a dent in my trunk lid surface from the inside, so hence I did not loosen the bolts anywhere near enough to have the lid flop around.

Once I got some movement of the lid, I retightened, removed the towels and carefully closed the lid and examined the gaps. I've only done one side so far, but will probably get a better job on both ends at once when I tweak the gaps on both sides simultaneously (well, one after the other, obviously.)

In comparing both my cars, there is obviously too much gap between the rear window and the rear edge of the lid, on both sides, so I know it's not a case of a bent trunk lid during the spoiler install.

I'll probably do both sides better this afternoon when things warm up a bit outside.

I'll also have to get around to applying some paint on the bare spots left behind now that the fasteners are no longer fastening on the factory spots. Again, I can't believe how this kind of stuff gets by the factory people...

[Mad4Macs]

I'll also have to get around to applying some paint on the bare spots left behind now that the fasteners are no longer fastening on the factory spots. Again, I can't believe how this kind of stuff gets by the factory people...

I hope that that earned a "No" vote on the quality of the '04!

:lol:

[STLR FN]

I'll also have to get around to applying some paint on the bare spots left behind now that the fasteners are no longer fastening on the factory spots. Again, I can't believe how this kind of stuff gets by the factory people...
Steve,
Are you referring to the paint bare spots on the lid/hinge or the body gap margins? You won't believe the tolerances that the engineers tell us we have to accept. I don't agree with them and never will.

[TripleTransAm]

I hope that that earned a "No" vote on the quality of the '04!

:lol:


Both of mine are 2003s. Am I allowed to vote twice? (seeing as how I'm sampling two of STAP's finest...)

[TripleTransAm]

Steve,
Are you referring to the paint bare spots on the lid/hinge or the body gap margins? You won't believe the tolerances that the engineers tell us we have to accept. I don't agree with them and never will.


I'm referring to the bare spots on the lid that are now exposed because the fasteners are no longer covering the same spot on the lid, now that the lid has shifted. This seems to indicate the lid and support were painted together. Which means no hint of having given a crap about adjusting the lid once the car was put together.

So now that the fastener is fastening on a spot that is partially covered by factory paint, I have parts of the 2 circular spots exposed that were never covered by factory paint because of the fasteners.

I have no doubt my trunk lid will line up much nicer once I get it aligned like my 1st MM, which is perfectly aligned.