Date:         Sat, 18 May 2002 18:36:51 +0200
Reply-To:     Robert Steven Fish <fish@SALZBURG.CO.AT>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Robert Steven Fish <fish@SALZBURG.CO.AT>
Subject:      How Can I Get Rear Hatch Off (Including Inside Panel Fasteners)
              '87 Wolfsburg GL
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"

Hi all!

I am having a bi*&% of a time figuring out how to get my rear hatch off of
my 87 Wolfsburg GL.  I am going to do some grinding, and POR-15 work on the
lower edge, and would really like to do this on the ground, instead of
upside down in the air.  I have no problem with the struts or the hinges...
it is the wires, window washer tube, and interior panel (especially this
damn panel)  that are freaking me out!

First... It seems as though I will need to disconnect all the wires, that
would be the rear window defrost, the wiper moter and pump, the electric
lock motor, and the tube which supplies fluid to the window wash.  How does
one do this correctly??  The cables are pretty nicely hidden on the inside
of the car, and my guess was that if I could only get that interior panel
off, I could just disconnect all from there, and pull through the holes on
the top of the hatch.

Now the real tough one... how can I get those little plastic fasteners off,
which hold the interior lower rear door hatch decorative panel in place.
There are like  20 of them, and I ripped one out after like 15 minutes of
prying, figuring that if I just looked at it, it would be clear as to what
the trick is... but no dice.

It seems that one must squeeze these with a very flat type of scissors-like
pliers or something... but I am clueless.

I still have around 3 hours of light outside left, so if anyone can clue me
in on the finer details of removing the rear hatch... I would be really
grateful.

Thanks,

RSF

<º)))>{   <º)))>{   <º)))>{   <º)))>{   <º)))>{   <º)))>{

Robert S. Fish
Salzburg, Austria
1987 Wolfsburg Vanagon 2.1 GL Weekender
1987 Golf Cabriolet
1991 Golf