E3 hinge / trunk won't open high enough

Paul Wegweiser

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Well... I bought myself a bavaria last weekend... and after hitting my head on the trunk latch pin about 4 times over the last 3 days, it occurs to me that I should figure out how to get the trunk lid to open up more. It only goes up about 3/4 of the way, before hitting a hard detent in the hinge mechanism... I can flex it higher but it will not stay in the higher position.

Car has only 80,000 miles on it, so I doubt it's a part "failure" issue, and more likely an installer error from a paint job done 15+ years ago.

Anyone have any tips on how to adjust the hinges / torsion rods to get the thing to open up more?

I've spent every waking hour fixing a million little things on it... it's gonna be a great car!

Many Thanks!

Paul
 

duct-tape

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I'd like to see a couple side shots of other people's trunks because I also suspect that mine doesnt open enough.
my car came with the torsion bar sitting on the floor of the trunk so I have yet to address this
 

Paul Wegweiser

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I'd like to see a couple side shots of other people's trunks because I also suspect that mine doesnt open enough.
my car came with the torsion bar sitting on the floor of the trunk so I have yet to address this
Snapped this earlier. I can do more detailed photos w measurements if needed.
 

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Mot27cars

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This is my 72 Bavaria
I would estimate that the boot lid is @ 4”
higher than the roof of the car.
 

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Mot27cars

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Here is the passenger side torsion bar placement I did. Driver side same.
 

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Mot27cars

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And this picture.
 

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Mike Goble

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I got tired of the torsion bars and put some gas shocks in my trunk...

 

Paul Wegweiser

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I got tired of the torsion bars and put some gas shocks in my trunk...

I think if I were to use shocks, I'd install small ones (like seat shocks from an E30, etc) and mount them horizontally behind / attached to the hinges. Would be a PITA install but would be hidden and since seat shocks are crazy strong, would certainly hld things up.
 

tochi

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I doubt this response will be particularly helpful, but is it possible that your problem is unrelated to the torsion bars and/or their adjustment? If they are disconnected and full movement is achieved - the answer should be obvious.

I recall a "semi-analogous" concern affecting an E9. In that instance, the trunk lid would open farther than expected, but barely fit flush when closed. The biggest concern was a tight fit to prevent water intrusion. According to the accompanying documentation, the car had been to the dealer several times for body fitment issues including trunk lid adjustment. The dealer evidently attributed the problem to the weather stripping, which was changed and re glued. The paperwork also suggested checking the torsion bars. Well after the dealer's involvement, one hinge/side was clearly at maximum adjustment while the other was at minimum adjustment. (As you know, E9 hinge attachment to the body is different than E3 attachment.) Comparing the two hinge armatures, it became clear that they were different sizes. I vaguely recall that both had the same arc but one was bigger/slightly longer than the other. Both armatures appeared original to the car - no repainting and no obvious bodywork. It was suggested that the dealer may have swapped one arm from a similar car and tried some impromptu mixing and matching. Strangely, one work order noted with a question mark that all of the part numbers were confirmed "no mixup." Whether that meant all of the armatures were the same for all E9s and maybe even a predecessor model is unknown. Ultimately, the car was taken to a body shop where one armature was "conformed" to match the other.
 
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