Help! Rear Hatch alignment

Hello fellow 5th gen T4R owners -

I've got a unique situation here. My rear hatch completely rusted out at the latch (I know, very typical). These guys don't like the Cleveland salt in the winters. So I picked up a salvage assembly (color matched!) down in South Carolina. Last weekend I installed the hatch, no real issues, it was fairly straight forward.

Now the issue - the hatch is sitting too high and towards the front of the car. This prevents the latch from engaging the catch by about 1/8" or 1/4". And, the top of the hatch rubs on the body when lifting.

From my research, I can't find anything on adjusting the position of the hatch. One diagram showed the top hinges could be moved. I tried loosening the hinge bolts (both pairs top and bottom) and pulling the hatch down. Even used a tow strap to try to budge it. Nothing.

I'm thinking I could take the hinges off, and drill a slot of the top holes. That would allow the 1/8" of movement. The catch could be shimmed up, but it's rusted solid. Love to avoid that. AND, that wouldn't help the rubbing up to.

Am I missing something? Any ideas? Thanks!

 

Go to body shop. Pay them $100. Be happy.