Posted by Mike W. on February 01, 2008 at 10:03:19 from 207.200.116.196
In Reply to: trunk hinge problem posted by KenB on January 30, 2008 at 23:23:39:
There is a riveted bracket, part of the hinge assembly, that pivots against the trunk torsion spring with a slot cut in the end of it, kind of at a 45 degree angle. That slot wears and creates the problem you are describing. It's just a short flat piece of metal, maybe 2.5" long, and without it the trunk wouldn't stay open. The wear seems to be random, my first E12 had no problems at well over 300K, my current one is medium bad with perhaps 220K on it. I had an E24 that was so bad it let the spring loose. Two E23's approaching 300K and one was worn and one was not.
No real easy fixes, you could replace the hinge with a non worn one, or weld a good and slightly longer bracket on the existing one, or weld and build up the existing one with thicker metal at the wear point, but nothing real easy.
Mike