How does your trunk open for those with spoilers?

[InfiniteImp]

So what you are saying so that Buick Customer Service can understand in plain English is that the coil spring that GM installed here is a few coils too long! The repair for that issue is to replace the spring with one with a few less coils. All told how long is the portion of the spring that you tied with the zip ties?

That will give all of us including GM a better idea of the repair.

I can't say what the issue is with GM in this case, but it's very likely that it's the same as any large corporation. I'd bet there are GM mechanics who have done the same thing but there is either no way for them to put it officially into their system as a solution to a customer problem or possibly doing so would expose GM to some sort of a risk of lawsuit or something else similar.

There is the more pessimistic thought that it is intentionally not recommended by GM because they either a) would have to then admit they used the wrong size spring and would have to source a new spring and replace it for free when customers complain or b) this is a relatively minor issue which doesn't affect customer safety and it's not worth the bother for them.

All told the length of the spring I tied together is about 1" or maybe a little longer (that's the length with the coils compressed).

 

[InfiniteImp]

Nice going, that's a eureka moment! (I'd rep you (people should push the little scale in the upper right of your post and tell you 'great job!' for figuring this out) but apparently I've already praised you too many times)

I'll take all the rep points I can get, thanks!

I wasn't real comfortable with the hooks hanging outside the bracket so I think this would be a great way to keep the hook ends inside the bracket were they belong.

Ya I understand your hesitance but to hang it off the end of the bracket but it's worked perfectly for the last several months. The hooks show no indication of movement at all.

1) How many coils do you think it would take leaving the hooks in their normal location (using the furthest notch for max pulling power)?

2) Are you taking the springs off the car to do this procedure or zipping them in place? Are you just sticking all 3 on loosely at once and then sliding it around to where you want it and cinching it there? That rear zip seems tricky to reach if you wanted to cut it off for any reason. I've yet to remove the springs from the car, I've been doing this with them under tension. I don't suppose taking them off would be so bad, but I'd prefer not to 🙂

3) Seems like a smart idea doing both sides to keep them pulling equally but since you said that one side could be tightened enough to do the job on it own... that would be easier. Probably not smart to take that short cut, right? I certainly wouldn't want to end up with a cock-eyed trunk lid or anything weird like that.

1. I can't say for sure, not having tried it, but 8 or 9 coils may be enough. I may experiment with that in the coming days and if I do, I'll post my results.

2. I left the springs in place. With the trunk lid up the spring is at its loosest so it's easy to work with. Here are the steps.
a. I ran the 1st zip tie through the coils and locked it together, leaving it hanging loose.
b. I repeated the same for the 2 other zip tries.
c. I tightened all three and cut off the ends.
d. I moved the tightened zip ties to their desired positions. It doesn't take much effort to move the tightened zip ties around.

3. Given how easy the process is, there is no need to take a shortcut. I prefer to do things as right as possible; usually avoids problems in the long run. Certainly having both springs work equally hard seems to make more sense.

 

[GolfingDuo]

I'll take all the rep points I can get, thanks!




Ya I understand your hesitance but to hang it off the end of the bracket but it's worked perfectly for the last several months. The hooks show no indication of movement at all.



1. I can't say for sure, not having tried it, but 8 or 9 coils may be enough. I may experiment with that in the coming days and if I do, I'll post my results.

2. I left the springs in place. With the trunk lid up the spring is at its loosest so it's easy to work with. Here are the steps.
a. I ran the 1st zip tie through the coils and locked it together, leaving it hanging loose.
b. I repeated the same for the 2 other zip tries.
c. I tightened all three and cut off the ends.
d. I moved the tightened zip ties to their desired positions. It doesn't take much effort to move the tightened zip ties around.

3. Given how easy the process is, there is no need to take a shortcut. I prefer to do things as right as possible; usually avoids problems in the long run. Certainly having both springs work equally hard seems to make more sense.

You are right do both sides evenly and even each spring should have as a minimum of two standard zip ties. This will limit strain on the coil and ties.

Lastly I think one post asked this question. Do mechanics or service managers have a process to pass on working solutions. The answer is yes. That is how service bulletins get started. All manufacturers have a process in place for good ideas.

 

[InfiniteImp]

You are right do both sides evenly and even each spring should have as a minimum of two standard zip ties. This will limit strain on the coil and ties.

Yep that's why I went with 3 and chose heavy duty ones as well. Seemed a good number. More than it really needed but I figured it'd last longer that way.

Lastly I think one post asked this question. Do mechanics or service managers have a process to pass on working solutions. The answer is yes. That is how service bulletins get started. All manufacturers have a process in place for good ideas.

Well then I guess nobody thought of this one before. If there was a way for a customer to submit these, I'd be glad to do it. I'm sure GM could even improve on it by using something better than heavy duty zip ties.

 

[mmadden2]

Yep that's why I went with 3 and chose heavy duty ones as well. Seemed a good number. More than it really needed but I figured it'd last longer that way.

I've got plenty of HD zip ties. I'll most likely give it a go in the coming days. I appreciate the clear instructions, thanks!

 

[GolfingDuo]

Yep that's why I went with 3 and chose heavy duty ones as well. Seemed a good number. More than it really needed but I figured it'd last longer that way.



Well then I guess nobody thought of this one before. If there was a way for a customer to submit these, I'd be glad to do it. I'm sure GM could even improve on it by using something better than heavy duty zip ties.

As a mechanic I would look for first a stiffer spring of the same size second a shorter one of the same tension.

 

[mmadden2]

Played with this a little more... I added 3 zip-ties to the left side of the trunk at the very rear of the spring. By removing just one christmas tree fastener this was a very easy area to reach and use 2 hands (other hand can come thru fuse cover opening to help). I cinched about 8-9 coils and only did the one side of the trunk for the time being...

My wife uses the trunk somewhat frequently so rather than go thru the hassle of doing the other side right now I'm going to let her give it a test drive for a couple weeks. I doubt the trunk will be damaged with the uneven tension for a short amount of time, but I guess we'll see! If she ends up liking the way it works I'll even out the tension by reducing the left spring pull and tightening the right. Thanks for all the advice and ideas, seems to work pretty well at this point...

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sWYOpC8R7nA[/ame]

 

[BIG ROCCO]

It's interesting that you guys see fit to fix something that's working just the way I want it - pressing the unlock button unlocks the trunk - it stays closed until I lift it, and then stays open until I close it. My wife's 2004 Grand Prix works the same way. I agree that the norm (for most cars) is for the trunk to pop open on its own when unlocked...but I like mine just the way it is. Different strokes for different folks, I guess, and I applaud your ingenuity in devising cheap and easy fixes.

 

[scandalous]

It's interesting that you guys see fit to fix something that's working just the way I want it - pressing the unlock button unlocks the trunk - it stays closed until I lift it, and then stays open until I close it. My wife's 2004 Grand Prix works the same way. I agree that the norm (for most cars) is for the trunk to pop open on its own when unlocked...but I like mine just the way it is. Different strokes for different folks, I guess, and I applaud your ingenuity in devising cheap and easy fixes.

I second your post.

I like it just the way it is also. I don't really like it opening all the way.

 

[mmadden2]

I might 3rd your post. I'm still in a trial phase 🙂

 

[GolfingDuo]

I might 3rd your post. I'm still in a trial phase 🙂

Marc you're such a fence sitter.

 

[InfiniteImp]

Well that's the nice thing about all this. If I ever decide I don't want the trunk opening, I remove 6 zip ties and move the springs back to where they were. Should take all of 5 minutes. However, for me, the convenience of the trunk lid opening when I'm carrying something is appreciated. Before the self-open I would have to put down whatever shopping I was carrying, open the trunk, pick up what I had just put down and put it in the trunk. In the cases when it was raining, I'd either have to put it down and have it get wet or transfer the contents of one hand into the other (assuming it wasn't exceptionally heavy) and open the trunk with the other hand.

In short, it has its advantages for me. I've now had 3 cars with remote trunk opening and in each case I had wished that I could have the lid rise on its own. Now it does.

P.S. I have to admit I like the fact that I was able to do this on my own rather than ordering replacement springs and hoping they were firmer. No idea on the cost of the new parts but I know for a fact that this approach is cheaper 🙂

 

[GolfingDuo]

Well that's the nice thing about all this. If I ever decide I don't want the trunk opening, I remove 6 zip ties and move the springs back to where they were. Should take all of 5 minutes. However, for me, the convenience of the trunk lid opening when I'm carrying something is appreciated. Before the self-open I would have to put down whatever shopping I was carrying, open the trunk, pick up what I had just put down and put it in the trunk. In the cases when it was raining, I'd either have to put it down and have it get wet or transfer the contents of one hand into the other (assuming it wasn't exceptionally heavy) and open the trunk with the other hand.

In short, it has its advantages for me. I've now had 3 cars with remote trunk opening and in each case I had wished that I could have the lid rise on its own. Now it does.

P.S. I have to admit I like the fact that I was able to do this on my own rather than ordering replacement springs and hoping they were firmer. No idea on the cost of the new parts but I know for a fact that this approach is cheaper 🙂

All are excellent points.

 

[mmadden2]

The only down side I can really see is if the trunk starts to open itself like others have stated. Luckily mine has never done that yet. For me this was more of a proof of concept, and what do you know? It works.

I sent my wife out to the car to get a surprise out of the trunk- there was nothing in there 🙂rolleyes🙂 but she was delighted with the new trunk action. I told her to give it a few days and let me know if she wanted it undone. I got a funny look and a "why wouldn't I want it to open itself?" I'll leave it up to her, she seems to liken it to a new found feature. If she wants to keep it this way I'll probably get in there and even the tensions but at this point it's not displaying any rubbing or skewing. I guess we're halfway to a power lift gate for the cost of a couple zip-ties that were just hanging out on the work bench- what else was I gonna do with them?

What should we call Imp's system? Imp-Trunk-U-Lator? ZipLift?

 

[GolfingDuo]

I vote Imp-trunk-u-later!

 

[HMTJ6821]

We have had gremlins opening the trunk at random intervals. I do not see why they could not co-exist with an Imp in the trunk. I also vote for Imp-trunk-u-later.

 

[InfiniteImp]

Heheh... cool. I've had a mod named after me 🙂

 

[GolfingDuo]

Heheh... cool. I've had a mod named after me 🙂

So can you invent a fix for my iPod problem?

 

[mmadden2]

Alright, let's get a list together...

1) Fix GD's iPod
2) Zip-Tie on 6 more cylinders and a pair of turbos...

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4VwjhMFKohw[/ame]

 

[GolfingDuo]

Since I have to ask Marc, I would say very expensive! 😛