Cabrio owners - trunk lid alignment

[bowtie2bimmer]

So my car has this annoying misalignment of the trunk lid. I have tried playing with it to no avail. It is higher of the drivers side, the side with the shock. If I remove the shock, the trunk lid is straight. Does anyone else have this issue? It seems almost like the shock is to long or something. It says e30/C-HK on it so I am assuming its OEM. Hoping maybe the other cabrio folks have seen this before

[Thizzelle]

no problems like that here on 2 of em. Something must be loose or the shock is fucked and not compressing all the way?

[e30rapidic]

welcome to the world of one trunk lid shock! My '87 cabrio has just one.

[NV325i]

I agree and say your shock is gone. Mine fits flush with body, but it does have two.

[bowtie2bimmer]

Well that could be something. i have an early body which only has a spot for one shock...

[Mossman]

I had same problem. Also I used to have an e28 mtech spoiler which I loved the look of, but it was heavy so to hold the trunk open I needed a stiffer trunk strut, which caused the misalignment to be even more pronounced when the trunk was closed. Ditched the mtech and the stiffer trunk, and ended up installing a 2nd shock. All you really need is a right side trunk hinge from a later vert. I forget exactly what I did on the floor, but it involved JB weld, not actual weld, and cut a tiny square out of the trunk mat. All works fine, has held up for years. It's being pushed basically straight down into the floor no matter what angle the trunk lid is in so not much worries of the jb weld connection shearing off. Anyways, track down a right side hinge (and a pair of the weaker later style shocks) and in an hour you can fix the problem

[Buzztt]

i had the same problem, my body shop guy fixed it but now i have to slam it to close it, i'm ok with that

no idea how he did it but glad he did, was annoying as hell

[slammin.e28]

I wish I still had a 'vert so I could have 'vert problems.

[td325ic]

There's a DIY thread around here if you do some searching, but basically the solution is to get the right side hinge and shock from a late model convertible and install it into the early body convertible. This will give you two shocks and keep the right side from sagging or being out of alignment.

[bowtie2bimmer]

wow, ok...

So the questions begs to be asked, it was like this factory?

[andrewm]

Probably not, crud has probably entered the strut and prevents it from comprsesing completely.

[flyboyx]

it may also be that the pivot point on your hinge is sloppy and worn out.

[Wschnitz]

mine does this too, so does my hood sometimes, drives me insane.

[Buzztt]

I don't think it's a strut issue as I replaced mine 2 weeks ago and it made no difference, previous strut didn't work at all...like all the other struts on my car (all replaced now)

[smooth]

wow, ok...

So the questions begs to be asked, it was like this factory?

yes, that's why BMW eventually decided to use two shocks