With the help of a neighbour I finally figured out a problem that has
annoyed me for years. When I closed the trunk lid the left hinge felt as
though it was binding - there was always a small 'thud' sound and a
shudder. This never happened when I opened the trunk lid. I checked the
hinges up close: they're the same and not bent. The tension rod/spring
was installed correctly.
As it turns out the problem is the angle between the torsion spring and left hinge. This angle is too shallow compared to the right hinge which functions normally. To be specific, it's where the U-shaped part of the torsion bar fits into the slotted piece of the hinge assembly. This shallow angle causes the two pieces to bind - resulting in the thud sound and shudder
It seems a previous owner tried to solve the same problem by welding a small rod in the U-shaped part of the torsion bar. I did solve it by placing a 3mm shim in the slotted piece of the hinge assembly (piece of tubing cut lengthwise). This created more distance between the spring and hinge resulting in a steeper angle.
The trunk lid now not only closes as it should but also opens wider (a good 4").
As it turns out the problem is the angle between the torsion spring and left hinge. This angle is too shallow compared to the right hinge which functions normally. To be specific, it's where the U-shaped part of the torsion bar fits into the slotted piece of the hinge assembly. This shallow angle causes the two pieces to bind - resulting in the thud sound and shudder
It seems a previous owner tried to solve the same problem by welding a small rod in the U-shaped part of the torsion bar. I did solve it by placing a 3mm shim in the slotted piece of the hinge assembly (piece of tubing cut lengthwise). This created more distance between the spring and hinge resulting in a steeper angle.
The trunk lid now not only closes as it should but also opens wider (a good 4").
