stromer

My 94 SC300 was recently rear ended via the garage door when someone drove through it. I shared this on a thread several months ago. My car was totaled but still runs fine(mostly minor rear end damage). The frame was slightly bent and had it straightened by a frame shop. The rear quarter panel and trunk are still slightly bent (maybe 1/4" out of alignment). The trunk closes and locks but will not automatically lift up when the key unlocks the trunk. Proper operation means that the trunk would rise to full open when the key unlocks the trunk. Also, the automatic trunk release in the car does not work.

Does anyone know what makes the trunk automatically lift up when the key unlocks the trunk. Is there a spring in the hinge or is there a hydraulic piston there? A link to a description of this would be great. What do I have to do to get the trunk to lift up automatically when I unlock the trunk? Thanks for any advice on this, Rick

brand0119

it sound like the trunk struts are shot.

konspec

iTrader: (1)

def the struts, I had the same problem junkyard=problem solved

stromer

Thanks for the reply that the trunk struts are the problem. Are they the item that has hinges that comes out of the rear of the trunk. What causes the trunk to automatically lift up when the key unlocks the trunk?

Why would the trunk struts work before the wreck and not after? There was no damage to them. Is there a link or description that describes how this all works?

Thanks, Rick

mikeloc24

So there was NO damage to the struts at all Rick? None? And yet the trunk still won't lift? For some reason I don't believe those struts sustained absolutely NO damage in this rear-end crash. Are you sure you inspected the shizznit out of the struts? They're not the most sturdy things in the world.

If it's not the struts then it's simply because the trunk isn't aligned anymore, something is interfering with it's travel pattern. Visually inspect it.

MikeFD3S

It's likely the strut mounting points got tweaked and the struts or assembly is binding somewhere while it is closed, preventing it from automatically lifting.

I believe your problem is your car, since it had been wrecked before.

Cheapest is to replace the trunk shocks (~$30-$50) and see how they work. There are two types available, depending on whether you have a wing or not. If this does not solve your problem, you will have to look at the mounting assembly and more than likely bend a few things back into place.

gadgetSC

The SC's trunk never went to full open when unlocked. Faulty struts will only cause the trunk not stay open once lifted.


gadgetSC-t

np20412

word.

The trunk will NEVER open up by itself. there is no automatic lift, there is no "pop open" trunk. When you unlock the trunk, it will just lift off the hatch so you can lift it yourself. Blown struts mean that even when you lift it, it will fall on your head. If you're looking to get the trunk to pop open automatically then you need to spend a lot of money to swap the entire setup for a custom built motorized one.

Proper operation of the trunk in the SC3/4 (all years) is to unlock, manually lift, and let go. Then the trunk stays open until you manually close it again, just like the trunk on any other car. It never popped open or opened automatically.

Some members however HAVE been able to get the trunk lid to "pop open." These members have SCs that DO NOT have a rear wing or spoiler/lip of any kind. Then they buy the replacement struts for an SC WITH Spoiler/wing, so it is stronger and provides more resistance. Then when they open the trunk, it pops fully open. But they have also said that this "pop" feature is often short lived anyhow and makes the trunk a lot harder to close..

stromer

My trunk used to operate like NYLexSC describes. Now the following happens: Insert the key and turn it to the right to release the trunk. A click is now heard. While holding the key in the right position, lift the trunk up - it does not move up several inches like it used to. The trunk stays in the full up position until it is pushed down to close. Sounds like it might be a broken latch. What I do not understand is why the trunk does not self lift (several inches) off the latch like it used to. Is there something that forces up the trunk that is now broken rather than the broken latch?

I do not want to buy a new latch if that will not allow th trunk to self lift seveal inches up.
Thanks for the dialog on this, Rick

B1TEM3

some people bought the wrong strut (they bought the strut for SC w/ rear wing) which probably explain the automatic open thing (if their SC have no rear wing).

it would strong enough (if you replace 2 of them) to hit your chin when you turn your key

np20412

I would replace your struts in this case. Usually one good strut is enough to hold the trunk open, but in your case replacing both of them with new OE replacements (or similar) will probably get it to pop open a little bit like it used to, but do understand that it will never pop all the way up to full open every time.

mikeloc24

Not exactly true big dawg, where there's a will there's a way, remember that

I used to know a guy who was affiliated with a company here in SoCal called "NVO Concepts." This company (I'm not sure if they're still around) manufactured hood and trunk struts (amobg other applications) but the thing that was cool about their products was that you could order your struts in varying degrees of pressure, from mild to high. The guy I knew told me they had trunk struts for the SC that would damn near catapult a grapefruit over the top and front of the car, serious pressure. I ended up getting a basic set of trunk struts from him with intentions of getting stronger hood struts in the future.

So there is a way to achieve the desired effect of having a trunk that fully opens at the touch of the release button, but the key is finding struts with the right amount of pressure. It is a VERY do-able project and the struts should be less than $50 for a pair.

np20412

But then its more difficult to close and can actually be dangerous! I'd hate to be the one asking me to open the trunk while they stand over it and BAM! No more nose and blood on my trunk

I didn't know of those struts that were made for the SC, seems like a good deal for the desired effect. I should have clarified and said that there is no factory replacement or OE replacement strut like those offered at rockauto.com that can achieve this. I didn't know there was this other company that manufactured an aftermarket strut as such with varying lift capacity.

MikeFD3S

There are some Sachs made trunk dampers that are pretty strong (for models with the wing)

It's not strong enough to launch a small child (darn), but it should pop open a little. I picked mine up from fleabay.

jrmoskal

Which junk yard in the Pittsburgh area had an SC to part out.... i need so much interior stuff.