help with hatch latch and alignment

[fivespeedsteed]

the hatch striker bushing broke a while back, and i put a door one on there. seemed to work the same, it was a little too short and slid up and down but it worked. so the other day the one i had on there broke, so i got dorman part number 38424

http://www.dormanproducts.com/p-15607-38424.aspx

from advance to hold me over, however now i have to kinda slam the back hatch to get it to shut. is my only option to get the 50 dollar striker and bushing from ford if i want a permanent fix? latemodel sells replacement striker bushings for the doors, but not the back hatch, and i put a door one on it and it broke. the door ones didn't hold up so well either, i ended up putting the oem ones back on.

also, i think some how my hatch has gotten shoved back. the gap between the roof and hatch looks fine, equal, about the same it always did, however if you look at it by each tail light, it looks like its shoved over to the driver side some, and the gap between the driver side tail light and bottom of the hatch is bigger than the passenger side. you can also see a faint square where the latch mechanism is hitting the weather stripping. the only way to align this is to just loosen it and put it where i want it? the car did rear end someone a while back, could that very well be a problem with the chassis being out of alignment?

this is the passenger side gap



driver side

and the gap at the top

 

[wythors]

Your striker is out of position. The striker is the only adjustment on a Fox hatch. It's a little too far to the left and may be too far down as well, since you have to slam the hatch harder to get it to close. Just loosen it slightly and try a few different positions.

 

[foxbodymike87]

the gap on my car on the top is almost double compared to what yours is. where is the striker?

 

[wythors]

It's the pin that the latch grabs. It takes a larger torx bit to loosen.

 

[fivespeedsteed]

yeah i tried messing with that, the thing is is that i think the bushing on the striker is too thin. can anyone with a ford one, or oem measure how thick theirs is? mine is kinda loose on the striker itself and it slides easily. i tried raising the striker a little and it would shut but didnt seem to be holding it down hard enough. i feel like its harder to shut no matter where it is. so i need no adjusting at the top of the hatch, like the bolts that hold it to the roof? if i slide the striker over to the passenger side will it line back up like i want it to?

 

[wythors]

so i need no adjusting at the top of the hatch, like the bolts that hold it to the roof? if i slide the striker over to the passenger side will it line back up like i want it to?

At the front, the hinges just bolt to the car. When I got my Saleen, the hatch was off a half an inch to the left. Adjusting it with the striker, it is now perfectly centered. It might take a few tries, but there is a huge amount of adjustment. Being off center may be why it's hard to close as well. When I get home I'll measure my striker bushing.

 

[fivespeedsteed]

i just feel like the one i have on there is for a door and that its too thin. the door and the hatch striker bolts are the same diamater (5/8"s) but i think the hatch ones thicker. ill go mess with it

 

[fivespeedsteed]

actually it looks about the same

http://www.latemodelrestoration.com/Product/Images/LRS-40442A

when you look at that it doesent seem much thicker. i dunno. ill mess with that alignment

 

[wythors]

I measured mine with my digital caliper and came up with almost exactly 10mm.

 

[fivespeedsteed]

moved the latch over and it lines up and shuts much better. its still off a little however, i can stick a finger between the hatch and body above the tail light on the passenger side, but cant on the driver side. its correct from left to right however. and it shuts better.

wythors man i appreciate it ill mic mine out tomorrow

 

[fivespeedsteed]

did you measure the actual striker bolt? not the bushing? i measured the bushing and it looked to be 12.5 inside and 17.5 outside, so thats right the bolt should be 10. whats the bushing measure outside diamater?