DIY: Weight reduction/Fix hatch not opening issue

DEpointfive0

Lol, I know you were joking

And the only thing I can assume is it was designed for petit women in Japan.

I close my hatch by pulling down on the hatch lock loop thing and it doesn't feel any harder to close the hatch without the weight

SouthArk370Z

Great DIY - clear explanation and good pics. Repped.

I am still a bit confused about the removal of the panel. This would probably be obvious if I were performing the procedure, but I'm not quite sure if you stick both arms in there, one on each side, and pop the whole thing off at once or one side at a time. Maybe I'm just being dense - everything else was explained very well.

I've broken way too many clips and other interior panel attachments to feel comfortable doing this myself, so I just sent a link to this thread with a request for estimate to my favorite body shop. I've spent over $20K there in the last year and figure they ought to do it pretty cheap.

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DEpointfive0

LOL, thanks for the rep, if you have a panel tool, it's REALLY easy and quite hard to break a clip.
If you want a better walk through, give me a call or shoot me a text (310)893-4207

SouthArk370Z

I appreciate the offer, but when the body shop does it so inexpensively*, why get my fumble fingers into the mix?


*for $50 they R&Red all the panels from the seats back so I could install sound damping. I'm guessing they'll want $25-50 (whatever their minimum is) for this job.

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DEpointfive0

If they want $25-50 and you pay, I will cry... I might start slitting my wrists brother...
Get a panel tool and call me, if you break anything, I'll either swap you pieces or buy you a new one, LOL

SouthArk370Z

If this were not interior panels, I would do it in a heartbeat. I pulled my Steering Lock fuse and taking a few pop-rivets out didn't bother me, but, due to past experience, I have a real phobia of messing up interior panels. Heck, I even paid the dealer to install a cabin air filter, which is supposed to be a very simple job, just because I didn't want to risk tearing up the glove box. If I let the body shop do it, I'll save $50 in tranquilizers.

How about this: if the body shop wants more than $50 or they don't have time to do it, I will contact you and let you walk me through it. Sound good? I have a panel tool; a metal one, but strategically placed paper/cardboard should prevent scratching the paint.

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Steering Lock Links - Search The370Z Bookmarklet - FSM @ NICOclub
Mankind has progressed past the need for war but we haven't evolved that far. - NachoMahma

DEpointfive0

LOL, dammit... You can do it with a credit card if you want! LOL, or put some scotch tape on the metal panel tool!
But yeah, give me a heads up if you need any help

(I can almost understand the cabin air filter because it's easy to break the tabs, and I KNOW the back plastics are a bitch because I put a small crack in the rearmost lower panel pulling it off when i changed my tail lights, but these clips on the hatch are easy and very robust)

Enough

It looks like a mass damper to eliminate some resonance, rattle or vibration. Maybe from the exhaust at certain engine speeds of from road input.

DEpointfive0

I've been told that it's to help petit women on Japan to close the hatch. Why it's rubberized and overly complicated, not a clue

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SouthArk370Z

It may serve more than one purpose. Since the hatch is light-weight Aluminum, the weight may give the hatch some extra inertia to make the latch when closing. It can give the consumer the impression of higher quality (hatch doesn't feel as flimsy and has a bigger "thunk" when it closes). Personally, I like Enough's anti-NVH theory.

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Steering Lock Links - Search The370Z Bookmarklet - FSM @ NICOclub
Mankind has progressed past the need for war but we haven't evolved that far. - NachoMahma

RoadWarrior

Good thread- this is almost certainly the function of this part rather than making the hatch easier to close. If that was their aim, why not simply make the gas struts less strong.

Lots of oems use mass dampers for NVH reasons, limiting vibration or resonance.

DEpointfive0

Maybe, but some have it, some don't, and it makes literally díck difference on NVH

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imazman

2011 Nismo had it...removed it...now I go much faster ;-)

1325

Just removed the weight. Every little bit counts! Thanks DE.