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1975 power trunk pull down unit

Started by brtcpa75Cadillac, April 01, 2023, 10:43:48 PM

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brtcpa75Cadillac

I purchased a 1975 Fleetwood last year.  the power trunk pull down worked fine until today at a charity show.  It just up and quit   All the car guys tried to figure it out in the parking lot but I had to drive hom eith bunji cord holding down the trunk lid   Embarrassing for sure.   I never had trouble with 76 and 78 Eldorado pull down the 15 years we owned them.  This one i have had less than  a year and it goes out on me.  I am not a meachanic.   I found two used (but untested) units on ebay today but am leary of buying something that is not tested and cannot be returned.  i see some rebuild services where you send your unit away and they rebuild it if they can before returning to you.  I think there is reference to if the plastic is broken, it is a different story.   What are you guys and gals doing to get it working in your cars.   Any leads on parts.  I sent email to one place in the latest club magazine and have a couple more to call but they do not have email listed in hte classified ad? 

Thank you
Bradley Teets
Member #33995

"Cadillac Kid" Greg Surfas 15364

I've got an excellent used unit. If you are interested PM me.
Greg Surfas
Cadillac Kid-Greg Surfas
Director Modified Chapter CLC
CLC #15364
66 Coupe deVille (now gone to the UK)
72 Eldo Cpe  (now cruising the sands in Quatar)
73 Coupe deVille
75 Coupe deElegance
76 Coupe deVille
79 Coupe de ville with "Paris" (pick up) option and 472 motor
514 inch motor now in '73-

brtcpa75Cadillac

Thank you  I hope I did it right but tried just now to send you a PM about the part.   Have a great weekend. 

brtcpa75Cadillac

Hello Cadillac Kid .  Did you receive my PM as I was not sure if it went through.   I did take the metal cover off the unit today.  I don't know if it the only problem but the little wire from what I call a round black motor on the passenger side of the big unit to the clip edge of the portion that goes up and down (I will assume is the actuator), is stripped and now broken.   I held wire ends together and heard motor noise like it make when closing.  I am not a mechanic to now if that wire which seems to go inside the  left side of the little black motor can be replaced and I would be back in business but it never hurts to buy a replacement unit if a good one is available   Thank you

"Cadillac Kid" Greg Surfas 15364

Bradley
Did you get y reply to your PM?
Greg Surfas
Cadillac Kid-Greg Surfas
Director Modified Chapter CLC
CLC #15364
66 Coupe deVille (now gone to the UK)
72 Eldo Cpe  (now cruising the sands in Quatar)
73 Coupe deVille
75 Coupe deElegance
76 Coupe deVille
79 Coupe de ville with "Paris" (pick up) option and 472 motor
514 inch motor now in '73-

Richf1966

75' Eldorado Convertible

Lexi

Although my Cadillac is from the 1950s, I mention the following for what its worth. My Cadillac also has a trunk pull down motor. Seems that every 5 years or so it stops working or works sporatically. Once I also had to drive home from a show with the trunk lid loose. What I found is that the unit depends on the car chassis for the electrical ground. Did it again this summer and I was about to install my spare rebuilt unit, but instead tried cleaning all grounds first. By removing the unit and cleaning all of the points of contact and bolts as well, the problem was fixed. At least in my case, it did not take much to impact the grounding of this unit. Never saw the point in having a motor to pull down your trunk lid for the sake of an inch. Are people that lazy? What was GM thinking? Wish my car did not have it, but at least the red open trunk dash warning light looks cool when lit. Clay/Lexi

"Cadillac Kid" Greg Surfas 15364

The trunk pull down devices are intended to minimize the shock to the locking mechanisms and provide a positive trunk seal.
Greg Surfas
Cadillac Kid-Greg Surfas
Director Modified Chapter CLC
CLC #15364
66 Coupe deVille (now gone to the UK)
72 Eldo Cpe  (now cruising the sands in Quatar)
73 Coupe deVille
75 Coupe deElegance
76 Coupe deVille
79 Coupe de ville with "Paris" (pick up) option and 472 motor
514 inch motor now in '73-

Lexi

#8
That may have been their logic, but I know with the old ones slamming the trunk shut is ironically anethema to these early mechanisms due to weak plastic striker parts. They definitely don't like a shock to the system, speaking from experience.  Do they seal better? I don't know. That said, I don't know how robust the later ones are either, but with these old girls being extremely gentle when closing them is paramount. Certain other years had very short duty cycles-so don't use them often, less the motor over loads. Other issues crop up with the current and a weak striker switch (often melted or broken) or bad wires. Just lots more things to go wrong as more complicated than a standard lock. My other Caddies without the pull down assembly proved a more reliable system-at least judging by my experience. I would always use these with a kill switch and shut off when locked. Clay/Lexi

"Cadillac Kid" Greg Surfas 15364

The idea is that you slowly lower the trunk lid until the pull down mechanism engages. That way there is not the noise of the hood slamming or the motion to the car that it causes. Just one of those little nuances that made Cadillac unique.
Greg Surfas
Cadillac Kid-Greg Surfas
Director Modified Chapter CLC
CLC #15364
66 Coupe deVille (now gone to the UK)
72 Eldo Cpe  (now cruising the sands in Quatar)
73 Coupe deVille
75 Coupe deElegance
76 Coupe deVille
79 Coupe de ville with "Paris" (pick up) option and 472 motor
514 inch motor now in '73-

Lexi

But you can do that just the same without a pull down motor. We should never be slamming trunk lids down regadless of whether they are optioned that way or not. Clay/Lexi

"Cadillac Kid" Greg Surfas 15364

I believe the "remote opening/assisted pull down was an option, so if one finds the feature objectionable, replacement with the non-assisted mechanism is a simple fix.
Greg Surfas
Cadillac Kid-Greg Surfas
Director Modified Chapter CLC
CLC #15364
66 Coupe deVille (now gone to the UK)
72 Eldo Cpe  (now cruising the sands in Quatar)
73 Coupe deVille
75 Coupe deElegance
76 Coupe deVille
79 Coupe de ville with "Paris" (pick up) option and 472 motor
514 inch motor now in '73-

Lexi

I can't speak of the later units, but I don't think it is a "simple fix" to convert some of the older cars to non-power assist, nor is it simple to upgrade them to power assist from stock. That topic has been covered in the Forum (or in the old Mid-Century Cadillac Forum), before. Lots of issues to contend with at least in some cases as I recall. Regardless, the original poster would be wise to obtain a spare working unit as a back up if he intends to keep the car. Not being able to close and lock your trunk, power assist or not, is quite unpleasant and a game changer until repaired. With respect to Bradley's issue, in one of my cases the unit did cease to work suddenly, without warning. At another time it began to operate partially, then degrade in operation from that point. Both times the fix proved to be a bad ground. Again, that was with a much older unit. Good luck to you Bradley in sorting this out! Clay/Lexi

"Cadillac Kid" Greg Surfas 15364

I believe he fixed his problem back in April
Cadillac Kid-Greg Surfas
Director Modified Chapter CLC
CLC #15364
66 Coupe deVille (now gone to the UK)
72 Eldo Cpe  (now cruising the sands in Quatar)
73 Coupe deVille
75 Coupe deElegance
76 Coupe deVille
79 Coupe de ville with "Paris" (pick up) option and 472 motor
514 inch motor now in '73-