22zx engine hatch

[22zxla]

My engine hatch hinge (1) has been loose for about 3 yrs now. Always told myself i would fix it , then summer arrives ...then you know... dosent get done. Have to do it soon and was wondering if anyone else had to do this and what was the easiest method? Do you take the mirror out and then have access? morror and sun pad? thanks!

[mrfixxall]

My engine hatch hinge (1) has been loose for about 3 yrs now. Always told myself i would fix it , then summer arrives ...then you know... dosent get done. Have to do it soon and was wondering if anyone else had to do this and what was the easiest method? Do you take the mirror out and then have access? morror and sun pad? thanks!


your best bet would is to remove the whole hatch, take the whole thing apart and tighten the bolts..if they used t-bolts they probably made the hole bigger and you may need to do some glass work to make things all better..

[Dr. David Fleming]

The 22ZX depending on the year it was made could have had one of two hinge systems. On your boat you are talking about getting into the engine compartment to fix the thing as it has been loose a couple of years. I am betting this is the early system, because if you left the later hinge system loose, your hatch would be in the lake.

#1 System - This was the earlier design and there is only one large stainless steel hinge that looks kind of like a "jungle jim" - it has two large bolt pads that attach on the bottom of the hatch on a couple of fiberglass pads. This hinge could not be removed from outside the hull to get into the engine compartment if the electrical hatch system failed.

#2 System - This was the later design and there is two pull apart hinges bolted on the bottom of the back of the hatch that can be removed from outside. The hatch still has the two fiberglass mounting pads on the bottom of the hatch from system #1 that make you look at it and wonder what the hell they are there for, cause they don't do anything. The #2 system uses 6 stainless bolts and nuts. If you have this system you just need a couple of 1/2 inch wrenches to tighten everything up, also if you let the hinge get loose it will separate and the hatch will come off.

If you damaged the fiberglass you will probably need to fix it - hope this helps.

[22zxla]

Thanks guys! I have a 98 so im thinking its the first hinge. The bolts are loose on the hatch side of the hinge. Way to rusted to just tighten up. Will do it soon and was wondering if anyone else had done this yet. ps,one hinge is still ok. thanks again !