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#1
12-18-2007, 11:08 PM
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tarp caught in rear hatch
I closed the rear hatch of my '85 300TD wagon and, as I feared, I cannot get the latch to function now....so I can't open the hatch. Yikes! What can I do to get this thing back open? Are there any tricks?
Thanks -Harv 
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#2
12-19-2007, 01:03 PM
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I worked at this for about 30min last night but the tarp is one of those fiber ones and it is really wedged in there. I can see two screws on the receiving end of the latch. If I unscrew those will it release it?? I'll probably try that next but any advise is appreciated.
-harv
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#3
12-19-2007, 01:07 PM
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have you tried to hold the lock up, and open the latch from the inside?
__________________
John HAUL AWAY, OR CRUSHED CARS!!! HELP ME keep the cars out of the crusher! A/C Thread "as I ride with my a/c on... I have fond memories of sweaty oily saturdays and spewing R12 into the air. THANKS for all you do! My drivers: 1987 190D 2.5Turbo 1987 190D 2.5Turbo 1987 190D 2.5-5SPEED!!!  1987 300TD 1987 300TD 1994GMC 2500 6.5Turbo truck... I had to put the ladder somewhere!
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#4
12-20-2007, 02:02 PM
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Thanks for the response. I think by "hold the lock up" you mean the manual unlock/lock button right? I've done that but I have not been able to get the latch to release since the tarp in crammed in there, holding it tight.
The tarp is plastic and the latch is metal, I wonder if there is a way I can heat the latch to soften the plastic? Wary of this because I'd probably melt something else in the process. I'm kicking myself for accidently shutting the hatch on this tarp..... -Harv
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#5
12-20-2007, 02:19 PM
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is it sticking out both sides? Try to feed some of the tarp back to the outside, once done you can cut the rope on the tarp and then just shred it around the lock mechanism. Pray its not latched through the grommet or something.
__________________
http://superturbodiesel.com/images/sig.04.10.jpg 1995 E420 Schwarz 1995 E300 Weiss #1987 300D Sturmmachine #1991 300D Nearly Perfect #1994 E320 Cabriolet #1995 E320 Touring #1985 300D Sedan OBK #42
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#6
12-20-2007, 02:21 PM
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Open it from the inside.
Pull the handle and push the gate with your feet. Just a thought. Accessing the lock mechanism requires the door to be open first.
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#7
12-20-2007, 04:38 PM
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If you can't tug it back and forth to loosen it up in the lock (or side to side for that matter), have you tried heating up the lock? I mean REALLY heating it up. It might get hot enough to distort the fibers so you can get it open.
__________________
-James '85 280GE...sold '96 Impala SS ~ 6-speed 396 '14 Cadillac Vagon  . . . . . . . . . . "Life without knowledge is death in disguise." - Hans-Peter Geerdes
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#8
12-21-2007, 01:19 AM
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Whew! I finally got it opened! Nothing worked until, in a last ditch effort, I used this thing that the previous owner of my house left behind....it looks like an oversized soldering iron. Now I know why I didn't toss it...
Anyway, I got inside the car and was able to touch it to a metal piece of the latch without damaging anything else. I ended up slightly melting the tarp enough so that when I tried it again from the outside, I was able to open it after shaking it back and forth pretty hard. can't believe the effort this took! thanks for the ideas. -Harv
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