adjusting boot gaps

[adam81]

Gday peoples,

Im the proud owner of a 2006 calais v.
just wondering if there is anyway to and if so how can you adjust the boot on ve sedan?
my boot when closed sits a few millimetres higher than the side panels that it closes up against, and was wondering if there was a way you can adjust it so that when it closes it closes down further and then would be level with the panels next to it?a

any help would be greatly appreciated.

[stirringaxe]

I had a similar but opposite problem on mine. The front of the boot lid was too low on mine.

The front part of the bootlid height is set at the hinges. The rear part of the lid & the height, in relation to the top of the taillights & to the top of the rear bumper, is set by the height of the boot latch & two large adjustable rubber grommets under the rear of the bootlid.

To adjust the front part (closest to the rear windscreen) try the following.....

There's a stop on each side, you can adjust up or down, with a rubber or plastic grommet on top of it. It is located on the base part of each boot hinge from memory. Adjustment of these, combined with loosening the bootlid retaining bolts & adjusting there gave mine the desired result.

I would suggest, for yours, to firstly remove the little grommets off the adjustable stops & see if that changes anything. If so try winding them down some - till you get the desired result when grommets replaced.

If that dosen't work you might try adjusting from the hinge bolts. The bootlid height can be slightly adjusted by moving the hinge at the base mount (where it bolts onto the car body each side). A word of caution when loosening the boot hinge bolts, as you may loose correct fitment if you aren't careful.

To adjust the rear part try this.....

There are two large adjustable rubber grommets under the rear of the bootlid. These are threaded & can be wound up or down to set the height at the rear. This affects the bootlid height to the top of the taillights. If the grommets are wound out too much it may hold the lid too high when shut. Try winding the grommets in & see if this lowers the boot for you. This may give enough adjustment on it's own but I suspect it won't. There is a balance between the latch pulling down & the grommets pushing up to keep the lid in postion & taught so it doesn't rattle around.

If more adjustment is necessary try this. Remove plastic inner rear boot liner panel that runs between & behind the tailights by removing the plastic clips etc (you may have to lift part of the boot rubber to acheive this). Remove the boot latch from the lower rear panel completely. If boot rubber has been partly removed replace it for this step. Close the boot down & hold it closed to gauge the fit & height. Adjust the rubber grommets till the boot sits at the correct height. Replace the latch & adjust its' height till it holds the boot tight & leaves it sitting at the right height in relation to the lights. You may need to slot the holes on the latch to acheive the right adjustment.

All that may fix your problem, but may not give you enough adjsutment. My friends bootlid was way too low & we had to slot the front holes on the hinge base mounts to fix his.

I was a panelbeater years ago so didn't hesitate to do this. It is not that hard to do, but if you are unsure it may be worth handing over to a tradesman to tackle if annoying you.

[Crisis63]

A panel beater mate of mine also suggested to replace the boot rubber. In his experience as these wore they allowed water to leak into the boot. It would either evaporate into the boot area causing potential corrosion or if enough got in run down into the chassis of the car and start rust. Just some advice worth considering.