Trunk latch problem

[steph0818]

So the other day I was closing my trunk and the latch stopped working. It wouldn't catch at all- and instead of being stuck it could be easily adjusted with fingers to either the unlocked or locked state. After some fiddling and repeating trunk closings the problem was temporarily solved. However a few days later the same thing happened. Does anyone know what's going on and how I can go about fixing it?

Thanks!

[johnkimble]

sounds like maybe the spring snapped. pull it out and see what's going on

[steph0818]

Thanks! So I don't know much about cars, but I'm hoping to learn a lot. So what exactly should I pull out and what am I looking for? And what does the spring do?

[johnkimble]

I've never taken the latching unit out myself, but I have taken off some of those panels before and I believe there are a couple bolts holding the latch unit in place.

IIRC, you will need to remove the panel covering the latch unit to get to the mounting bolts.
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1501756/photo%20%281%29.jpg

Then you should be able to pull it out and take a closer look at what is happening. Basically the spring pushes the latch shut so it connects to the bar on the bottom of the hatch. If it's busted too bad you may just want to find a replacement from the junkyard. Try http://www.car-part.com to locate one.