Adjusting the FL5 hatch hinge

[makescode]

I had an incident the other day with my '25 FL5. I was driving out of the self-wash bay and the wing snagged the spray hose and ripped off the sprayer. The vehicle damage seems to be confined to gouges on the underside of the wing and that the hatch itself seems to have been yanked out of position.

I'm thinking I just need to loosen the hatch hinge bolts, reposition the hatch, and re-tighten the bolts. Someone here helpfully uploaded a service manual, and I see the torque appears to be 22 N.m.

So the question is: Is there a better approach than doing this while the hatch is open and "guessing" what the correct position should be to have it sit flush closed? It doesn't seem like I can access the bolts when the hatch is closed.

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[PNEUMA]

Adjustment could very well be trial and error, making small adjustments each time you lower the hatch. You could loosen the attachment bolts but tighten only one of them securely as you lower the hatch to check for alignment.

also , I am assuming you do t see any sort of witness marks/ paint shadow from the factory alignment?

 

[s219]

Are you sure the hinge brackets slipped on their mounts? There should be evidence (on the paint) before I'd even get near the bolts. Also, check the hinges side to side for symmetry to make sure they didn't bend (that would be a different fix).

 

[TheFactor]

Hopefully you haven’t bent anything and if so you can still adjust it enough to compensate for it.Otherwise you might need new hinges or at least one.

 

[TypeRD]

Are you sure the hinge brackets slipped on their mounts? There should be evidence (on the paint) before I'd even get near the bolts. Also, check the hinges side to side for symmetry to make sure they didn't bend (that would be a different fix).

That’s what I’m thinking too. Something would be much more likely to bend before those bolts budge. I’d take the car to a body shop before making a bad situation potentially worse.

 

[getRIGHT]

Your best bet is taking it to a body shop for a free estimate to repair. They see these kinds of things all the time.

 

[jtlctr]

Adjustment could very well be trial and error, making small adjustments each time you lower the hatch. You could loosen the attachment bolts but tighten only one of them securely as you lower the hatch to check for alignment.

also , I am assuming you do t see any sort of witness marks/ paint shadow from the factory alignment?

Agreed, if it slid on the brackets, you should be able to see a witness mark where the bolts used to be. If not, I would take it to a body shop.

 

[makescode]

Thanks for the quick and helpful replies, folks!

I could be missing something subtle, but it really looks to me as though the hatch has slid on the bolts/hinge. I see no evident bending. I don't see any obvious witness marks, but I expect it'd be on the black plastic of the inside of the hatch (making it a lot less obvious?).

I've attached photos the outside of the hatch where it is "lifted" and of both hinges. I think I can convince myself that the driver side hinge is not in the same position as its counterpart, based on its position relative to what I assume are plastic mold lines, not witness marks.

I won't bother to attach another picture, but the gaps on one side of the hatch are noticeably wider vs. the other across the whole hatch.

 

[jtlctr]

It looks like there may indeed be witness marks under the front most bolts on both sides. Looks like the drivers side moved much more if that’s what I’m seeing. That would be good news!

 

[s219]

I do see some obvious movement evident based on the bolt scoring on the driver's side, but it doesn't look like enough to account for all of that gap. Still, it's worth adjusting back to where it was based on the the marks and see how close that gets you.

 

[TheFactor]

Hopefully the frame of the hatch isn’t bent also.
That’s a pretty big gap..

 

[makescode]

I made a first pass at adjusting it. At least it sits flush now, but it's not quite centered across the whole hatch. Also, I'm not quite sure what it should look like when it's right.

 

[TheFactor]

Looks much better ! How does it line up now a long the bumper?

 

[makescode]

Looks much better ! How does it line up now a long the bumper?

Thanks!

The gap on the driver's side is maybe 1 mm wider. I think I need a way to gently push the hatch in that direction. But honestly I think I'm fine to leave it for now as long as it doesn't leak.

 

[TheFactor]

Thanks!

The gap on the driver's side is maybe 1 mm wider. I think I need a way to gently push the hatch in that direction. But honestly I think I'm fine to leave it for now as long as it doesn't leak.

Awesome !
Just keep doing little tweaks until you’re happy. Then give her a wash and some love. Remember most folks aren’t going to be looking at that area so critically as you are now .

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