Aligning Rear Hatch

[Prafeston]

Are there any tricks to aligning the rear hatch? I'm worried it might just be due to the fact that I snagged the hatch from another car, but I'm having trouble getting the new one aligned properly. It's not seating well on the right side. I can see a little daylight through that side and you can tell by the rear lights that the hatch just isn't sitting well/evenly.

Right side top of taillight.


Left side top of taillight.


Showing how far my finger can get into the gap on the left side. You can also see the gap going vertical is pretty large here.


Showing how far my finger can get into the gap on the right side. And the vertical gap here isn't as large as the left side.


Left side vertical gap.


Right side vertical gap.

[bravekozak]

Loosen the hinge bolts and striker bolts ever so slightly. Enough to alow movement with force, but not loose. Shut and check for even gap. Carefully nudge if necessary. Carefully open slightly and retighten bolts.
Double check gap by closing and opening. Repeat if necessary.

Same procedure for hood and doors.

[caoverlock]

make shure you have all the rubber stoppers on the new lid . this will cause it to line up wrong

[Prafeston]

make shure you have all the rubber stoppers on the new lid . this will cause it to line up wrong

Pretty sure I got them all. I know two popped off when I was loading/unloading the hatch from the back of the Festiva, but I put them back on. I'll double check.

[bravekozak]

Be prepared to use shims if you cannot get an even reveal all the way around.

[Prafeston]

Where would I need to put the shims? On one side or the other of the hatch hinges?

[Prafeston]

Loosen the hinge bolts and striker bolts ever so slightly. Enough to alow movement with force, but not loose. Shut and check for even gap. Carefully nudge if necessary. Carefully open slightly and retighten bolts.
Double check gap by closing and opening. Repeat if necessary.

Same procedure for hood and doors.

Got around to trying this approach last weekend. Much more even alignment around the taillights and I believe it is seating better too! Thanks again!