Boot Lid Latch

[catbert6]

Howdy

I noted the other day that the boot lid on my 2004 Liberty GT was not closing flush with the surrounding panels.

I had a close look at the latch mechanism - there is a catch on the lid and an eye in the body which is engaged when you push the lid down (part of the striker SUBARU part number 57531AG000 I believe - see picture).

On my car, the eye had opened up - like a link in a chain, the eye was not a solid loop, and somehow had stretched so that the eye was fully engaged with the lid not quite properly closed.

I was able to close the eye with a drift and a hammer, so that the lid once again closes flush with surrounding panels.

My question for other is, is the eye normally adjustable like this, or has the metal somehow cracked / fractured? If someone could have a quick look and let me know whether the eye is a solid loop or not

s-l1600.jpg (118.05 KiB) Viewed 2626 times

[Legacylad]

Yeah, should be a closed loop.
Its funny you mention this because a couple of days ago I walked past my car and noticed a piece of metal sitting on the rear bumper just under the boot lid. On closer inspection it turned out to be the loop part of boot striker had completely broken and the boot lid was just sitting there not actually latched.
So i came up with the same part number as you did and have ordered the part a few days ago and am just waiting for it to arrive.
So it looks like yours is about to suffer the same fate, and I'd be getting the part ordered and replaced. At least they are a cheap part!

[catbert6]

Thanks for that - when you ordered, did you order from an o/s or an Australian provider? Can you give me a web address?

[Legacylad]

I ordered from o/s from partsouq, I've used them before and found them very good.

https://partsouq.com/en/search/search?q=57531AG000

It usually take around a week to arrive from Dubai and because I wasn't in a hurry I preferred to have it delivered to my door than have to drive to the dealership
Just remember that their prices are in US dollars.

[catbert6]

Part arrived today - less than a week from an OS supplier - the world is pretty small these days! Will fit over the weekend. The bootlid has been starting to rise slowly over the last few days, reinforcing that the part needed replacement, not just persuasion with a hammer!

[Legacylad]

Yeah, got mine too and already fitted it.
There is a good 10mm worth of adjustment in the slots that the bolts go in to hold the striker, which I hadn't realised. So for those playing at home if your boot lid is sitting too high then adjust the striker down a bit, 2 minute job.
My boot pops open much better now with the new part, so I suspect mine was getting more and more bent before it snapped off so happy all round.

[catbert6]

boot catch old and new 1.jpg (43.78 KiB) Viewed 2522 times

Old one on the left, new one on the right. I had bent it back into position a week ago - replacement arrived just in time - you can see it was just about to completely let go!