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1970 cadillac sedan deville hardtop auto trunk down help

Started by Sterli70, August 24, 2019, 10:49:05 PM

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Sterli70

Hello, I have a one owner 1970 Cadillac Sedan Deville Hardtop that was my Grandpa's. I am attempting to restore to bear original. The auto trunk pull down doe not work. I am trying to locate schematics, explanation of how the system works, and where I can buy replacement parts. Any help is appreciated. Thanks!

Bob Hoffmann CLC#96

1968 Eldorado slick top ,white/red interior
2015 Holden Ute HSV Maloo red/black interior.
             
Too much fun is more than you can have.

Sterli70

Unfortunately, no. I just bought the shop manual, so I am hoping it is in there. Thanks

Scot Minesinger

If the info. is not in there then (even if it is) you should also buy the 1970 Fischer Body manual.  It will have a multitude of supplemental info. that will be helpful.  Unfortunately the Fischer manual is poorly written compared to the Cadillac FSM.

I own three 1970 Cadillacs and have restored two of them to as new, and working on a third.  Please feel free to write in often with questions, as 1970 and that surrounding era is very popular with many experienced forum participants.  None of my three Cadillacs have this option.  While I like adding options such as tilt wheel, auto turn on headlights, trunk release and the like, this is a difficult one to add and have decided against it.

Please post a picture, here is one of my babies.

Fairfax Station, VA  22039 (Washington DC Sub)
1970 Cadillac DeVille Convertible
1970 Cadillac Sedan DeVille
1970 four door Convertible w/Cadillac Warranty

Cadillac Fleetwood

C. Sterling,
The Fisher Body Manual has a section which covers trouble diagnosis and adjustment of the pull-down mechanism. The most common faults are a bound or stuck cable (these lay on the trunk floor, and are not waterproof.  Where there has been water intrusion into the trunk, these can become stiff or bound up completely.  Another major fault is the adjustment of the cable at the pull-down mechanism.  When the lid raises, the mechanism "cocks" or sets itself to commence the pulldown when the lid is lowered. When out of adjustment, the necessary "cocking" cannot occur, and the mechanism will not pull down.

Scot,
As a dealer-installed option, one could obtain a remote trunk lid RELEASE.  It allowed one to release the deck lid electrically from a button in the glove box.  But that's all.  There was no pull-down and no pull-down mechanism.  Neither was there an indicator light "TRUNK" on the dash to indicate that the trunk lid was open.  This option listed for about $14 under the list of Dealer Installed Accessories in the 1970 Data Book.  Installation labor, of course, was additional.

-Charles Fares

-Charles
Forty-Five Years of Continuous Cadillac Ownership
1970 Fleetwood Brougham
1969 DeVille Convertible
1989 Fleetwood

"The splendor of the most special occasion is rivaled only by the pleasure of journeying there in a Cadillac"

Scot Minesinger

Charles, yes I have added the electric trunk release on all three of my 1970 Cadillacs, because you are correct it is a very easy to add option. 

The pull down trunk closer is not that easy to add and I have decided it is not worth the effort and trouble in consideration of the gain.  I'm strong enough to easily close the trunk myself.
Fairfax Station, VA  22039 (Washington DC Sub)
1970 Cadillac DeVille Convertible
1970 Cadillac Sedan DeVille
1970 four door Convertible w/Cadillac Warranty

Matti R

My -71 Eldo has lid closing system, but it seems that there are some parts missing. Pictures in my Fisher body manual are so dark that they do not really help. Is there supposed to be other parts in lid than the lock itself? I Have seen some flaps or similar in some photos.
Below photos from my car.
Best regards,
Matti
CLC #33333
67 DeVille convertible Sudan beige
79 Seville
64 Sedan DeVille
66 Calais Coupe

Philou


Hello
Maybe you have to checck for hydraulic Cylinder ?




Matti R

Thanks philou,
There is cylinder near the right hinge. Should there be cylinder in the lid as well?
Best regards,
Matti
CLC #33333
67 DeVille convertible Sudan beige
79 Seville
64 Sedan DeVille
66 Calais Coupe

klinebau

I just got this working on my '70 last weekend.  From memory, the Fisher Body manual is a little sparse on details for how the system works. The main parts of the system are:

Closing mechanism
latch in the  trunk lid
hydraulic cylinder located near the right lid hinge
guide wheel (the hydraulic cylinder connects to this)
cable connecting the cylinder to the closing mechanism

When you close the lid, the wheel rides along a ramp on the lid and tensions the hydraulic cylinder.  As the cylinder retracts, it pulls on the cable which sucks in the closing mechanism.  When opening the trunk, there is a spring in the closing mechanism that causes the unit to rise back up.

If the cable is not free, nothing will work correctly and this seems to be the primary failure mode.

In my case, the cable was gummed up (but not frozen) and a some penetrant followed by exercising the cable was enough to free things up.  I worked on the cable for an hour or so.  Once the cable was freed up, I had to adjust the cable tension in the closing mechanism.  You have to take the cover off in order to access the adjustment.
1970 Cadillac Deville Convertible
Detroit, MI

Matti R

Thanks klinebau,
Opening mechanism works fine in my -71 Eldo, but closing not. I compared my system to -76 Eldo, and it looks slightly different both in lid and lock side. That why I thought something maybe is missing from my Eldo.
I can’t figure out which part is pulling the lid down and how.
Below photo from -76
Best regards,
Matti
CLC #33333
67 DeVille convertible Sudan beige
79 Seville
64 Sedan DeVille
66 Calais Coupe

klinebau

The '71 mechanism looks like my '70.  The closing piece must be able to raise up far enough to "lock" in the up position.  There is a lever with a barb on the end, but you can't see it unless the cover is removed.  You shouldn't be able to push down on the mechanism when fully up because this lever locks it up.  When you close the trunk, it pushes down on the lever and releases it.

Once I freed up my cable, I noticed that the mechanism would not consistently raise up far enough to lock.  There is an adjustment to increase or decrease cable travel to correct this.  I had to decrease the cable travel to correct my problem.

If your cable moves freely, you probably just need to adjust the cable travel one way or the other.
1970 Cadillac Deville Convertible
Detroit, MI

Sterli70

Sorry for the delay, been way too busy working! I now have the manual, and unfortunately there is no info in the Cadillac manual for the auto trunk down. I would like to fix it, since it came with the vehicle. So I will do what I can to inspect, live, or replace as needed. Thx for the help and feedback! Here are some pics of the restoration. Trunk is now done, working on interior now. Will post more when I have time and get more. Thanks!

Sterli70

Quote from: Scot Minesinger on August 25, 2019, 05:50:59 PM
If the info. is not in there then (even if it is) you should also buy the 1970 Fischer Body manual.  It will have a multitude of supplemental info. that will be helpful.  Unfortunately the Fischer manual is poorly written compared to the Cadillac FSM.

I own three 1970 Cadillacs and have restored two of them to as new, and working on a third.  Please feel free to write in often with questions, as 1970 and that surrounding era is very popular with many experienced forum participants.  None of my three Cadillacs have this option.  While I like adding options such as tilt wheel, auto turn on headlights, trunk release and the like, this is a difficult one to add and have decided against it.

Please post a picture, here is one of my babies.


Looks nice Scot!!
Here are more photos

Sterli70

More photos of Grandpa's old 70 HT. Work in progress!

Sterli70

Quote from: klinebau on September 04, 2019, 02:14:45 PM
I just got this working on my '70 last weekend.  From memory, the Fisher Body manual is a little sparse on details for how the system works. The main parts of the system are:

Closing mechanism
latch in the  trunk lid
hydraulic cylinder located near the right lid hinge
guide wheel (the hydraulic cylinder connects to this)
cable connecting the cylinder to the closing mechanism

When you close the lid, the wheel rides along a ramp on the lid and tensions the hydraulic cylinder.  As the cylinder retracts, it pulls on the cable which sucks in the closing mechanism.  When opening the trunk, there is a spring in the closing mechanism that causes the unit to rise back up.

If the cable is not free, nothing will work correctly and this seems to be the primary failure mode.

In my case, the cable was gummed up (but not frozen) and a some penetrant followed by exercising the cable was enough to free things up.  I worked on the cable for an hour or so.  Once the cable was freed up, I had to adjust the cable tension in the closing mechanism.  You have to take the cover off in order to access the adjustment.

Thanks a ton Kurt and Matt!!! This helped a ton, and it now works! It was the cable. Thanks again!!

35-709

Right!  The time and money saving expertise and willingness to help available here almost make it worth joining the club to support these great forums and the club itself!! 
:)
1935 Cadillac Sedan resto-mod "Big Red"
1973 Cadillac Caribou - Sold - but still in the family
1950 Jaguar Mark V Saloon resto-mod - Sold
1942 Cadillac 6269 - Sold
1968 Pontiac Bonneville Convertible - Sold
1950 Packard 2dr. Club Sedan
1935 Glenn Pray - Auburn Boattail Speedster, Gen. 2

Cape Cod Fleetwood

Quote from: klinebau on September 04, 2019, 02:14:45 PM
I just got this working on my '70 last weekend.  From memory, the Fisher Body manual is a little sparse on details for how the system works. The main parts of the system are:

Closing mechanism
latch in the  trunk lid
hydraulic cylinder located near the right lid hinge
guide wheel (the hydraulic cylinder connects to this)
cable connecting the cylinder to the closing mechanism

When you close the lid, the wheel rides along a ramp on the lid and tensions the hydraulic cylinder.  As the cylinder retracts, it pulls on the cable which sucks in the closing mechanism.  When opening the trunk, there is a spring in the closing mechanism that causes the unit to rise back up.

If the cable is not free, nothing will work correctly and this seems to be the primary failure mode.

In my case, the cable was gummed up (but not frozen) and a some penetrant followed by exercising the cable was enough to free things up.  I worked on the cable for an hour or so.  Once the cable was freed up, I had to adjust the cable tension in the closing mechanism.  You have to take the cover off in order to access the adjustment.

Kurt, what did you use for a penetrant? I have a power down too, but it doesn't work. The hood closes fine, then there is a very audible 'click' sound.
Laurie
There are 2 kinds of cars in the world, Cadillac and everything else....

The Present -1970 Fleetwood Brougham

The Past -
1996 Deville Concours
1987 Sedan De Ville "Commonwealth Edition"
1981 Coupe De Ville (8-6-4)
1976 Sedan De Ville
1975 Sedan De Ville

The Daily Driver and work slave -
2008 GMC Acadia SLT *options/all

klinebau

I just used pb blaster.  I then sprayed some tri-flow for lube.  Usually the click is the final sound of the lock mechanism after it has pulled the trunk down.
1970 Cadillac Deville Convertible
Detroit, MI

Cape Cod Fleetwood

Quote from: klinebau on December 06, 2019, 07:37:58 AM
I just used pb blaster.  I then sprayed some tri-flow for lube.  Usually the click is the final sound of the lock mechanism after it has pulled the trunk down.

Thanks for that. I have Kroil and spray silicone in stock, that should work.
There are 2 kinds of cars in the world, Cadillac and everything else....

The Present -1970 Fleetwood Brougham

The Past -
1996 Deville Concours
1987 Sedan De Ville "Commonwealth Edition"
1981 Coupe De Ville (8-6-4)
1976 Sedan De Ville
1975 Sedan De Ville

The Daily Driver and work slave -
2008 GMC Acadia SLT *options/all