Flip Lid Alignment

[BarryT]

I've spent numerous hours attempting to align the flip lid with the rear quarter panel. As you can see in the pictures I have not been successful. The best I can accomplish is not satisfactory to me. There's too much of a gap. I've re adjusted the hardware on the flip lid panel and the hinges and can't find the sweet spot to have the panel lay flush with the top of the quarter panel. I've looked through the manuals and can't locate any service procedures for my issue. Don't repeat this , but I even left the flip lid hardware loose on the hinges, closed the deck lid to almost closed, jockeyed the flip lid into position to lay flat, closed and screwed down the deck, removed the rear seats and while I had my wife sit on the deck and flip lid, I reached above the top relays and tightened all the hardware as she moved from passenger side to driver side. I don't beleive this was a factory procedure. Still didn't help . Ugh..... Looking for some tips and or words of wisdom, Thanks in advance !!

[orthodoc]

Tough to tell from the photos but is the issue more that the panel won’t fully seat rather than left to right alignment? It appears to me the deck lid and or the flip panel is not fully seated with the screw mechanism. Have you adjusted the deck lid limit switch a touch to see if this makes a difference?

[BarryT]

Your eye is correct. The left/ right alignment of the deck lid and flip panel are good. The deck will close and lock flush but the front of the flip lid almost appears to "lift" as the deck lid locks into place. Causing the uneven alignment with the quarter panel. I've tweaked the flip panel forward and rearward, shaved down the hard rubber gasket that lays under the sides of the flip lid. I'm debating on pulling both deck locks and seeing if that changes anything.

[orthodoc]

To my knowledge, the area that the front of the flip lid rests on is a welded frame and the vertical position is not adjustable. My other concern would be if your hinges on the flip lid are allowing it to over extend slightly. This would cause the lid buckle up towards the front when the actual deck is all the way down. There is a limit switch for this as well. But I believe there should be a hard stand with the hinges.

[kbuhagiar]

I have the same problem and it is driving me absolutely bonkers. Deck lid seats down nicely and aligns well with body, but as the deck lid pulls down the last quarter-inch of travel, the front of the flip lid pulls up about a quarter inch.

Now, if I walk away for a few minutes, when I return the front of the flip lid will have 'settled down' about 1/8" but will still be sticking up from the body about 1/8". I spent HOURS trying to analyze, adjust, analyze more, etcetera; since it seemed to 'settle' a bit I figured it was somehow related to the rubber/weatherstrip. But, alas, the solution still escapes me. PS This occurs with either top up or top down, although I swear it's more pronounced with the top erected (up). I keep hoping to find some obscure adjustment that will be the magic fix, but no go so far.

My OCD brain can't deal with this. I walked away from it last summer, but plan on revisiting the problem again in a couple of weeks (when I have the Bird back here with me). I will be following this thread closely.

[BarryT]

Orthodoc, The area that the front of the flip lid rests on is a solid frame member behind the rear seat with only the rubber weather strip above it. I beleive you may be correct in looking at the hinges in relation to the flip panel. The deck lid and flip lid appear to move into the proper position until the deck and flip lid make contact and then the front of the flip lid tends to lift. I'll dig into it this weekend. Thanks

[BarryT]

Hey Ken, do you have any pictures of your issue? Same as mine? Thanks. I overheated the deck lock motor from too many trial and error attempts while tweaking adjustments. Aggravation !!

[orthodoc]

I was looking at mine again and thinking about this. I stand corrected and don’t believe the hinges for the flip lid have a hard stop. I would try adjusting the flip lid erect limit switch to begin the deck lid lower cycle with the flip lid slightly less than fully deployed. This may allow it to snug down better. Be careful to not overcompensate here as if it’s too far I’d be concerned about damaging the gear box and work gear for the flip lid

[kbuhagiar]

Hey Ken, do you have any pictures of your issue? Same as mine? Thanks. I overheated the deck lock motor from too many trial and error attempts while tweaking adjustments. Aggravation !!

Here you go...the first three pictures are right after the deck lid is fully closed:

These are after it has 'settled' for a few minutes:

[Rusty57]

I agree that fitting these panels is not your ordinary body panel fitting and alignment scenario. So this approach might not be applicable.

Make the body panels fit and align with one portion of the lock/latch mechanism removed. I learned this from a friend who does excellent body work. You ought to see the body and panel fit on his '49 Chevy pickup.

The idea is that you are only solving one problem at a time. If the panel does not fit properly without the locking mechanism, it will never be right when the lock is part of the equation. On the other hand, if it fits great without the lock mechanism but looks bad when the lock engages, you know where to start looking.

[BarryT]

Yes we have success !! : Thanks to Rusty & Orthodoc for your input regarding my poor fitting flip lid alignment to the quarter panel. My initial correction was to the deck lid alignment. Required me to remove the bumper to access the hinge adjustments for "fore & aft". The flip lid panel was removed to lighten the deck, the deck screw locks and cables were removed, lastly the deck hydraulic cylinders were disconnected from the deck hinges as to not impede the movement of the deck lid during adjustment. With the deck closed I loosened the deck hinge bolts on the driver's side and slightly moved the deck into a proper alignment. Picture shows a small scissor jack used to assist the deck movement. Once completed the hydraulics and deck lock screws were reinstalled. Now , with the flip lid still removed, the deck lock screws and receptacle were easily viewed making alignment relatively simple. The flip lid was now reinstalled. As Rusty suggested, I checked and reset the "Tray Erect LImit Switch" as to allow for a slight tilt or slant of the flip lid. My prior adjustment had the flip lid at 100% erect which was not correct. The completed adjustments, with a few tweaks of the flip lid to the hinges, proved to be a fantastic result. As the pictures show, the flip lid and deck lid need to act as a hinge when being closed. The pictures show a much improved alignment in all aspects of the deck lid, flip lid, and quarter panel.........Thanks !!

[kbuhagiar]

Barry,

I'm impressed with what I see, and I've taken notes...looks like I have some work ahead!

Thanks for sharing your results.