Rear Hatch Issues

[jeffball610]

I've had issues with my rear hatch not opening with the lever by the driver's seat. It opens fine when I crawl into the back and move the locking mechanism. I don't believe my key works at all, as it doesn't seem to turn in the barrell. I've made sure there were no obstructions like the rear carpet. I have adjusted the action rods, and then back again because they didn't need adjusting. I adjusted the locking mechinism up and down as well. I even adjusted the hinges.

The hinges are a pain to adjust and I would recommend anyone doing this to also remove the struts when doing this to get proper alignment. With the struts in place, I could not provide enough force forward and tighten the hinges at the same time. I adjusted both the internal mounts as well as those on the glass. I did manage to get the hatch to line up better with the rear spoiler area, but it did not help with the opening lever.

Is there something I'm missing? The lever does not seem to actuate the lock far enough. Is there another adjustment? Is there a common issue with these not opening?

[techboy]

It sounds like to me the cable is just stretched beyond operation and not pulling enough to actually release the hatch lock.  

When I restored my car the barrel in my rear hatch would not spin either. I could ONLY open the hatch by pulling the release.  I ended up removing the barrel and taking it to a locksmith only to have him tell me the barrel was too far gone to be repaired.  I ended up getting lucky and finding a car in the junkyard and removed that barrel and installed it in my car.  The junkyard was kind enough to let me make 2 copies of the car's key.  So I have  2 keys on my ring, one for the ignition and doors, and a separate for the the trunk.  Not so bad.  

So, It seems like you have 2 options moving forward - seeing if someone is parting out a car and would sell you a trunk release cable or another rear barrel ... or both.