Porsche Enthusiasts Club Forum

Well after replacing the pins, adjusting the latches and replacing the struts it's still not right. The hatch still comes open on the right side when driving. It's also rattling but I'm not sure yet if that is because it is coming open. Think I'm going to have to get a new latch.

I think that the hatch itself needs adjusting too. Just doesn't seem quite right. Any advice welcome.

This is how I did mine

Removed the latches but kept the seals and pins in place and tailgate seal
Loosen the hatch hinges
Moved the hatch such that the gaps to the body were even both sides and most importantly the hatch pin mounts do not touch the body on the back edge
Tighten hinges and re-check
Fit the latches but do not do up the nuts fully, repeatedly use the hatch pins to move the latchs so they align perfectly with the pins do up nuts and re-check
Attach the rods, these then need adjusting so the pawls in the latch open fully and are fully together at the closed position. Both sides need to be fully open at the same time
Adjust the pin length each side to the point that it locks but 1/2 turn shorter it does not lock then extend an extra 1/2 turn do this with struts attached

Rattling could be latch rods add a small piece of foam were they pass though the rear panel reinforcing, the other cause can be de-lamination of the glass

I replaced every part on my car that could possibly wear with new original Porsche parts but The tailgate struts were purchased used for fear of glass de-lamination, mine now opens first time and remains closed .....and it only took 2 years to get it right

The nylon inserts from Only 944 helped and a thorough cleaning and lubricating of the latch mechanism. Adjustment was done by crawling inside the car followed by trial and error of the length of the pins. The usual problem is the latch sticking in the open position so I removed them, soaked and worked in diesel then lubricated with a thin penetrating oil which I squirt in regularly. WD40 seems to disappear very quickly so I use 3in1 or similar. Not a lot of fun and it problably took a couple of years as well. Working fine now (where is that piece of wood).

Thanks for the advice both. Sounds like I'm going to have to get it apart again and get soaking the latches in oil.

Regarding the rattling, it sounds like the hatch is just not being held tightly enough down. I thought it might just be that the pins are too long. Or that it might have been caused by cleaning out all the gunk from in the latch. I've seen some posts talking about rubber grommets but I can't see anything like that in mine, could they have disintegrated and need replacing?

Also, I'm assuming I need to remove the struts if adjusting the hatch itself? And, just trying to work out the practicalities of using the pins to align the latches. Won't it lock if I close the hatch? Does it still involve a lot of crawling about in the back to align them and get the hatch open again?

If you check out the Only944 site re. the nylon inserts you will see that they replace a sort of conical rubber bush which in my case had disintegrated.
https://www.only944.com/instructions/hpsinstructions/
A really great write up.

Those Only944 inserts look interesting but they are quite different to what's on my car. Were the latches changed at any point? I've read about a rubber part that disintegrates but mine seem to have a grooved brown plastic insert, that seems intact as far as I can tell. At the moment I'm pretty sure the majority or all of the noise is when the hatch comes open on one side, so sorting that will be my main focus first. Got a quote from Leeds OPC, the latch is £81.51 + vat, I think I'll fiddle about with it a bit more first before forking out for a new one.

Now on to another hatch issue. I opened it during the deluge on Thursday and lots of water ran down the outside of the car and into the hatch pin hole. Instead of going down the tubes from the latch it was coming out of the area the where the rods go through to the centre mechanism. When I got it back in the garage I open the hatch to find wet carpet and quite a bit of water in the spare wheel well.

I was a bit worried after reading that leaking could be the result delaminated glass. Especially following on from the comment about the noise earlier in this thread. Could it just have been the water I saw going into the pin hole area or is something else leaking? Had a look today and I'm pretty sure it has been re-sealed. There is plenty of seal along the front section of glass on the inside, and no sign of the glass coming away from the from the frame, so I think I'm ok there.

The gaskets in the hatch pin hole area look old, mishapen and torn. I pulled one out and can see the big hole in the body that comes out right where the water I saw was coming in. So, I'm pretty sure these gaskets are no longer affective. I'll get some new ones fitted and hopefully that will sort that that problem. Anyone else had similar leaks and have advice?

Here you can see where the water goes if the gasket is not doing its job.