P15 trunk lid question

[janan5243]

If that's your hinge in the picture on the right, it looks like the spring retainer is broken on the left side & the rivet/pivot is gone on the right side. IMHO, the safest way to repair them would be to take the trunk lid off & remove hinges from car (if possible). Maybe you could weld the retainer back together & use grade 8 bolts as pivot pins. The pivot pins appear to go thru the trunk bracket & the spring retainer.

[jcmiller]

That's the old hinge, which has now been replaced.

[Dave72dt]

Have you tried removing one of the pins, inserting the spring into their slots and re installing the pins.  The slots should give you the 1/8" you need.

[jcmiller]

I thought of that too but have not tried it yet because I'll have to round up a couple neighbors to help.  If there is not a trick or a tool that will compress the spring, I will try this.

[Dave72dt]

I do a lot of my work by myself and have found a broom handle or similar item you can cut just a bit long and wedge it in with some shop rags  on each end works really well.  Rounding up neighbors or family members when I need them doesn't work out too often

[jcmiller]

Just to close the loop on this, I was finally able to get the springs attached today with the help of a neighbor.  I laid in the trunk and held the lid up with my feet while he supported the lid near a hinge.  Then I removed a pin, moved the lid around a bit to get the end of the spring in the slot, and then reinserted the pin, then repeated for other side. It's really nice to finally have this working properly. It took a long time and required the purchase of a parts car.