Trunk Hinge Question 94 GT

I know this is an old thread, however this might help somebody in the future.

I bought my 95 GTS in November 2000. (I never could stand the idea of getting rid of it).

However, right away I noticed some light rusting around the trunk hinges. Over the years this is it turned into a problem. It is caused by the factory seam sealer shrinking back from around the hinges. Also, you may know that whenever it rains outside, the water washes off the roof, down the back window, and into the trunk gutter, then exits beneath the taillights. So, the hinge area and gutter constantly get wet, clogged with debris from trees etc. that collects around the hinges. The seam sealer shrinks back, moisture gets into and under the hinges and causes corrosion.

Next week I am renting space at an auto body shop to strip back the old paint off my car, remove and fill dents, and do a quality repaint. However, I wanted to make sure that trunk area problem was fixed first.

First I went to the junkyard. I think my hinges came off of a 98 convertible. I used a utility knife to carve through the sealer and around the hinges to access the nuts underneath and removed them. I paid $10 for the hinges and they were in great shape as compared to my stock ones which were now rusted badly. You may be able to find a new set but they are about $80 per pair before shipping.

Then, I went to Harbor Freight and bought an inexpensive angle grinder and a wire wheel. (If you do this please wear eye protection)!... I removed my trunk lid and hinges, ground out some of the seam sealer with the angle grinder, and I also used a heat gun and a screwdriver to pry some of it out as best as I could. This lifted some rust and caused some small holes near and around the hinges that need to be epoxy or sealed somehow.

I attached the hinges to the deck lid first. I carefully placed deck lid with the hinges onto the body of the car and closed the lid. You will have some play here so that you can get the body gaps in alignment correct. Get a friend to make sure that the deck with doesn’t move. With the rear seats down crawl inside and tighten those nuts down.

I took the car to my friend's house where he tried to weld the small holes, but the metal is too thin. I treated the metal with Ospho, and used JB Weld to plug up some of those small holes.

I recommend getting some new seam sealer as well. You should build a find some at your auto parts store.

It’s a long job, but well worth it. Otherwise, my car is almost rust free. The trunk area can get really bad and will be expensive to fix down the road.

Good luck, and I hope this helps.