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Manual Latch for Rear Hatch of Gen 4 Wagon

15K views 12 replies 5 participants last post by  elist 
#1 ·
Couldn't find a solution in the existing threads. The rear door latch for the hatch of my 2000 Ford Taurus Wagon will not work. The door will not open. I pulled the interior panel off and nothing seems out of place or broken. The electric actuators work, and the manual door lock works. When I pull up on the rear handle, I can see the two rods and the pivot operating, getting motion to the latch mechanism at the bottom of the door, but it seems not enough motion is occurring at the latch to let the door open. I sprayed lube on the latch mechanism but it doesn't seem to help. Anyone else seen this issue or know how to solve it? Thanks.

Live long and get the hatch opened.

Spock
 
#2 ·
Probably not related but is it starting out in the correct position? Had an issue a few years back with the hatch not opening and the latch not returning all the way to the resting position, when it was pushed back then pulled forward it worked.
 
#4 ·
Spock,




I have had this problem with my wagon for at least a year and never gotten around to investigating further, as on my car I was able to get the door to open by really quickly pulling the handle several times after the mechanism 'popped' the latch but the door didn't release. Annoying, but it worked (unless you weren't me - then it didn't). :)


So I was replacing the speakers in the hatch door this past weekend and decided to take another look. Like you, I has previously tried lubricating the actual latch with no improvement, and I also didn't see anything amiss in the mechanism - the handle was moving everything inside the door as you'd expect, and nothing was bent or disconnected.


It turns out there is an adjustment in the final rod connecting the mechanism to the actual latch. If you look down below the pivoting arm towards the latch, you'll see the rod connecting the pivoting part to the latch at the bottom. The top of that rod is threaded, and the threaded part goes through a blue clip. You can pop that clip open very easily, move the rod up (closer to the upper mechanism), and then re-close the clip. The further up you move the rod, the better the latch will release when you pull the handle. For example, I moved the rod up just a couple threads, and it allowed me to open the door on the first pull of the handle, but I still had to hold the handle to keep the latch open and raise the door. Moving the rod up a few more threads, now I can pull the handle to pop the latch, then let go completely of the handle and still pull the door open - which to my mind is how it should be (especially since the handle feels pretty flimsy). Easy, give it a try!!


Can take a picture of it later if that's helpful.


Cheers!
 
#5 ·
Hey Aaron, thanks for the lead. I popped open the clip, made the adjustment, but In my case there is still a stubborn part in the latch that won't move. I also tried lifting the rod without it being in the clip but it seems that I cannot get full rotation at the latch.

At the latch I can see a lever that moves two separate small parts of the latch mechanism. The upper one is triangular shaped and the lower one is rectangular shaped. The lower one slides all the way to the right but the upper one seems jammed in one position.

I may head to Pick and Pull and yank out a latch mechanism to see if if I can remove a functioning latch. I see I get at the nuts of the entire assembly if I pull the speakers out.

Spock
 
#6 ·
Spock,

Sorry to hear my fix didn't work for you. :( I ran into a situation in my car where the latch stuck in the closed position - while the door was open! Meaning, I couldn't close the door. I fiddled with the latch for some time before I got it to relese back into the open position so I could again close the door. Never did figure out why it would get stuck in that position - but then again that was before I figured out how to adjust the rod. Sounds similar in your case, but you say you can't move the rod up enough to get the latch to pop open at all? That's troubling. I'm not sure there's anything adjustable inside the latch, which was why getting a good used latch was going to be my next route. Good luck!
 
#7 · (Edited)
On a Mercury Sable, in order that the mechanism come out, the rear fascia needs to come out first. That is held in place by some 12 nuts inside the door, some obstructed by speakers.

Also... first check to see if the wires are not broken inside the looms. See here:

 
#8 ·
SoNic67,


Spock said the electric lock was still working, so that rules out a wiring problem - though I did have that exact wiring problem you pictured, on my car a few years ago. That sucks the fascia has to come out though. I was actually going to remove my fascia because I noticed it buzzes quite badly when there's any bass from the rear speakers. I saw the nuts on the inside holding it on, but they do not look at all fun to get to, even with the speakers out - particularly the ones between the speaker holes. So I decided not to bother - just going to filter the bass from the rear speakers anyway, soon enough.
 
#9 ·
Went down to local Pick and Pull. Found a 2002 wagon and tried to remove the lower part of the latch mechanism. It's held in place with 3 - Torx 27 screws. I had Torx 27 with a 4 inch leverage; like an Allen wrench, but it wanted to slip and strip the screw and also had a 3/8 ratchet with a Torx 25 which simply was too small. I aborted the mission and might return with a higher leverage Torx 27 or a battery operated drill.

Fast forward to my stuck door; the Catch 22 is the you can't get at the screws on the stuck door unless the door is opened and I just can't get it to open.

I did learn a bit about the latch mechanism and will try manipulate the latch this weekend. I also tried to remove the upper part of the latch of the junkyard car by removing the plastic oval panel on the back of the door. All of the dozen or so screws can be removed with a 9 mm socket with a 1 inch extension. However I aborted that when it came to the lock mechanism for the glass latch. I could see removing the upper part of the latch would not help my cases so I quit at that point. The Saga continues....

Spock
 
#10 · (Edited)
Returned with Torx 27 with a higher leverage handle, got one screw out and drilled out the other two stripped screws. Removed the lock assembly. It has one electrical sensor on it which I believe feeds back to the "open door" indicator. Went over the latch mechanism and will try a few things on the jammed mechanism this weekend.

Spock
 
#11 ·
Went over the latch I picked up and now realize a piece is broken off the main lever of the existing latch in the car. Wondering if that piece of it is jamming the mechanism. So far I am hooped! I'll just make due with the glass hatch for the rest of the winter.

Spock
 
#12 · (Edited)
And now for the rest of the story. I told the above story to a mechanic who was doing an inspection on my vehicle when I moved to another jurisdiction. He got more aggressive pushing the the door down and finally shook it loose. He sprayed a low vis grease on it and it works like new. I guess I didn't listen to Scotty when he said " You have to giv'er all she's got Captain". I think that's what aaroncgi was trying to tell me back in 2015. Thanks Aaron.

Spock
 
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