Hatch rattles and won't pop open

[wardvonverde]

Hi all,

I've just inherited a '96 300ZX from my dad, which was sitting in his backyard for about three years. I've worked on motorcycles before so I've fixed several small problems with the Z, and now I'm starting in on some of the exterior problems.

Also please forgive me, but I've not been able to find much about these issues, especially since a lot of the older posts having images that are no longer hosted are kind of driving me nuts.

The most annoying problem with driving over even any small bump is that the hatch just shakes rattles like HELL, and it also doesn't pop up when you unlock it, it just sits there until you lift it with your other hand.

The interior plastic material is cracked on the top and the bottom, presumably from the hatch continually slamming into it.

Anybody able to point me in the right direction?

Thanks guys

Edit:

I lowered the hatch lock in the truck, and it doesn't rattle nearly as bad, but you REALLY have to slam it for it to shut.

Also, it still doesn't pop up when you unlock it. It just sits there and you gotta lift the hatch using the fragile plastic -- which my dad just had replaced right before he stopped driving it -- from years of lifting it from that black shiny plastic molding.

[ThisIsSparTTa]

The hatch isn't supposed to pop up. You can upgrade the hatch struts to really strong ones, and it will go after you give it a push, but its a PITA to get it to go back down. My friend has those, and they're borderline annoying.

That third brake light you're referring to will break if you look at it wrong. Don't feel too bad if its broken again. Everyone's is broken.

[wardvonverde]

Hey @ThisIsSparTTa I really appreciate the response.

So how do you know if your hatch struts need to be repaired?

I'm kind of embarrassed to ask, but what is the point of a strut -- does it just hold the hatch open while it's open? It seems like an enormous design flaw for the user to have to pull up such a heavy parts of the car using such a flimsy brake light. It's just one of those things I assumed was broken with the car.

I assume a really strong strut also would prevent the hatch from flopping around down a bumpy road by pressing it hard in the opposite direction as the lock.

Peace.

PS I like your name, it reminds me of when I parked at the grocery store the other day some fifteen year old came running at me yelling "300". I just stared at him blankly until he was like "300ZX"! All I could think was "This is SPARTA!"

[ThisIsSparTTa]

Heh, I'm glad that someone finally gets my name. I would say only repair them if they have trouble holding the hatch up. Without a spoiler, I'm not really sure how you should properly open it up. I just use my spoiler, lol.