Decklid tension springs

General Information

There is three different springs. They are color coded red, white or blue.

Red = plain
White = Spoiler (D80)
Blue = Luggage carrier (V56)

From: Scott Backer

The lid is held up by TWO torsion springs that are on the fire wall just below the front edge of the lid.

At the front of each side of the lid, you will find a bracket with two items attached. On the bottom there is a short cable that also attaches to the hinge support, this is the part the limits how far the lid can open. On the side, there is a flat plate linked to a round rod that is parallel to the lid (when it is open) with a bend towards the hinge support, this is the spring.

The spring runs from the lid to a pivot point just to the inside side of the hinge block. From the piviot point it runs to the other hinge support where it makes a large rectangular loop and the end connects to another pivot point point. There is a pin that is inserted into the hinge support from the inside that prevents the rectangular loop of the spring from moving forward.

The position of this pin is the source of the lifting force on the lid. There is a series of holes to place the pins in. To increase the lift on the lid, move the pin to the next hole to the rear of the car. To adjust it, pull the loop towards the rear of the car to release pressure on the pin then move the pin to the next hole.

CAUTION: ***** THERE IS A LOT OF FORCE ON THIS SPRING. Make sure that you have the spring held securely before you get your fingers near the adjustment pin which is in the springs path if you let the spring loose.

The service manual has a very detailed set of instructions for removing these springs, the hinges, and the lid. There are a lot of details to make this easier and to prevent the breakage of the rear window which is expensive to replace.

From: Bill Fuhrmann

Decklid Spring Adjustment

"I recently added a stock wing to my 86GT. I need to know how to adjust tension on trunklid, so that it will stay up."

There is a torque rod retaining pin on each hinge. There is three holes for this pin to go into. The pin on my GT (w/wing) is in the center hole. To increase the tension, move the pin towards the front of the car. The steps from the service manual are:

1. First, place a piece of plywood between the hinge and the back window.
2. Install a 1 3/8" x 1 3/8" x 4" wood block between the torque rod and the hinge. (you will have to close the trunk lid some to get the block in place)
3. Remove hinge from trunk lid. (Two bolts on the side of the top part of the hinge)
4. Remove bolt that holds the rod to the hinge.
5. Pry down on the rod with a 1" pipe and remove the wood block. (slowly release the rod until it rests against the plywood.)
6. Remove pin. (With end of torque rod resting against plywood, pull the "U" end (end not hooked to the trunk lid) back to release pin.
7. Now install the pin in the new hole and pry the torque rod down with the 1" pipe to install the wood block back between the rod and hinge.
8. Bolt the rod back to the hinge.
9. Bolt the trunk lid back on.
10. Lower the trunk some and remove the wood block.

From: Scott Backer