HELP!! Trunk Lock Problem

[manoa matt]

When I first got the car I went through and cleaned all the light bulbs and contacts all the way around. While in the trunk I noticed that the nut was loose on the stud for the connecting bar between the trunk lock and the mechanism, so I tightened it with my hand and forgot about it.

Well with my restoration I had to open and close the trunk quite a few times to turn on and off the power. As you can guess the nut worked itself loose and the connecting bar fell off the lock mechanism.

Now I can't get the trunk open. The one thing I did tighten was the nut that retains the lock mechanism ARGH!! So now I can't take the lock mechanism out without destroying it.

I thought of 3 options to get into the trunk

1. Remove back seats and cut an access hole, (Good Idea for future lock outs, also least noticeable) But where, I don't want to cut into a gas line, or the battery.

2. Gently pry the hood up from the side and get some thing (coat hanger) in there to pop the lock, or grab the connecting bar. My trunk hood already looks like someone tried this in the past. Not the best option, but it can be done if you are carefull.

3. I have two extra complete License plate lights assemblies, I could cut the plastic lens out of the one near the lock and hopefully remove the chrome housing. Maybe there is a hole in the body behind the light housing that I could get to the connecting bar.

I would love it if someone could pop their trunk and take a few good picture of the back wall, specifically between the battery and the drivers side, I have an unused amp on the other side. Also is there a large enough hole behind the license plate light?

Thanks

Matt Scarton

[So Cal Mark]

remove the license plate, drill a 3/16 hole below the latch. Use a thin blade screwdriver to move the lever, then open the trunk. Seal the hole, reinstall the license plate

[manoa matt]

Mark,

Thanks, for the fast reply. I can assume the hole I want to drill is equadistant (exact middle) between the top two license plate screws.

If I were to draw a line between the top license plate screws, how far up/down from that line do I want to drill the hole?

thanks

Matt

[manoa matt]

Well as luck would have it, I have a spare trunk lock. I tried to guesstimate where it would be mounted frome the outside, and then drilled the hole.

Even having a spare lock, I was off a little bit but it still worked. Thanks for the advise.

thanks

Matt Scarton

[mbouse]

this scenareo has always frightened me.

that is why i almost NEVER lock the doors, and why i ALWAYS have a set of keys hidden under the hood, with a tie-wrap. Trunk and ignition keys.

[manoa matt]

I made shure I have plenty of keys and a few spare blanks. I even have a spare set wired up under the car.

But all the keys in the world wouldn't have helped. The connecting bar between the latch and the lock fell off the lock. There is a special bolt and nut that can keep it together, while allowing movement, while not coming loose. My special bolt is missing and was replaced with a regular bolt and nut, hence the problem.

One way I can see to prevent this is to get or make the special bolt, but even that has a possibility of coming loose with time.

The shure fire way to prevent this from hapening is to get an aftermarket 72 inch choke/pull cable and hook up a remote trunk release. No more keys to get into the trunk.

I filled the hole, but it is still there just in case I need it again. I'll get some exact measurementsand pictures later this week and post them, in case anyone else has this problem.

I have a battery cut off switch that I utilize when I take the car out and park it for a while. Luckily this happened while I was home. If I were out on the town I would have been stranded because I had the battery cut off.

Thanks

Matt

[aaronsoots]

I am facing this exact issue. Really good stuff here, I see there is a hole already there almost dead center under the licence plate. I will see if I can get the latch to release. The car came with a cable and a baggie that stated it was the new locking mechanism. So I believe this has happened to this trunk before and the quick release was on the PO's to do list. Just glad I got the new battery in there thanks goodness!

Did you ever get pics going for this? I will try and take some pics of the quick release when I get that done.

[RRoller123]

This worked for me:

[aaronsoots]

It's reassuring I am not the only one to have this predicament... After work I will try and pop that thing open. My hole under the plate is a bit lower but I bet I can reach up without having to do it again. It is probably 2.5 to 3" from lip.

[spider2081]

Has anyone tried to instal an emergency pull cable for the trunk lock similar to the hood emergency cable. I think it would work. Attach the cable to the latch assemble where the plastic arm attaches. Have the cable routed toward the passenger side like the the plastic arm and then exit the trunk floor below the lock tumbler.
I realize this would need to be done as a safety before the ke is locked in the trunk or lost.

[aaronsoots]

I am looking at doing something similar right now. I was able to get the trunk open and am just doing a coat hanger hook to keep it closed right now till I figure out what to do.

Another very simple option that I am looking at is an electric release button that I would put in the glove box and tap into the radio power to power it. The negative here is if the keys were locked in the truck as the keys need to be in to power release. You could route it to a source that is "always on" but I am planning on having a few sets of keys handy.

The electric kits I am looking at are only about $30 so that's probably what I will do since it is a bit less invasive and not sure where I would route the wire and it may get snagged or bend something eventually.

something like this: http://www.amazon.com/Universal-Power-T ... B009BCBEJY

[spider2081]

aaronsoots, If you mount the solenoid in the trunk and your car has the battery in the trunk the solenoid might not work if the battery is run down. This could compromise the redundancy concept. I realize the key lock should still work.

[GTO]

I foresaw this as a problem when I restored the car years ago. I simply attached a length of stainless lock wire to the actuating lever and fed it out of the car adjacent to the right rear bumper mount,where it can't be seen. Works every time.

[Exit98]

I keep a spare ignition & trunk key in a zip lock under my rear seat.

But don't tell anybody.

[4uall]

My Dad was using these in the 70's and saved my but a few times when i borrowed the car

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n2yKAs29egA