My car had the popper on it when I bought it two years ago and the trunk still wouldn't open enough to get your fingers under it. Tried lubing the hinges/struts, replaced the struts, still no-go. Finally, I lubed the spring in the lock. Had to peel back the carpet a little and shot it with some PB Blaster. Has worked great now for over a year. Not sure if I still need the spring but it is still there too.

 

My orig. one works fine on my 01

 

My 03 vert only has one strut and works perfect. The car never had a second strut installed and doing some research on the Canadian Vette site I'm not the only one that had a single strut right from day one.

Bill

 

Before running out to purchase new struts, or installing a spring, use WD40 on the struts, and lock.
It worked perfectly for me.

Before I use to pop the trunk with the dash button, or fob, and then would have to stick my key in the edge to get the trunk to open enough to get my fingers under the lip.
Now since I sprayed it, even with the top down, it opens about 1& 1/4" to allow plenty of room for my fingers to lift it.

Bob.

 

Never had that problem on my '98 coupe but do on the '00 convertible. Easiest thing is to pop the trunk and then open and close one of the doors. The trunk lid on mine then pops open enough to get hold of the lid and pull it up.

 

59th Anniversary convertible and it works just great. Easy fix for a common problem. And best of all, I won't have to hear how "hard it is to open the trunk on my Corvette"!

 

Easiest thing? The easiest thing is to oil the mechanism and if that doesn't work install the spring and never have to deal with it again.

 

Ok, maybe the quickest thing, I will have to give the lube a try and see if that corrects it.

 

Lube fixed mine for a while but as the strut gets weaker it stopped working with oil. New struts and help keeping the trunk lid UP when needed.

 

I have 2 C5's, a Conv and a Z06 street legal track car. Bought these for both cars. these things are great. No more broken nails trying to get the turnk open. Two best things I got for my C5's, these trunk assists and cup holders that slide under the console. These things are so simple but so effective.

 

Seriously folks, this will work on the struts. Do it every spring, never have an issue!!!!!!!

 

Here's the latch for a convertible;


The spring in the latch is what does the lifting. As the trunk is closed, the loop bracket will contact the spring arm then continue down and latch. In the closed position, the loaded spring supplies a considerable force to the trunk lid. When the release solenoid is energized and the loop bracket is freed, the spring force is supposed to lift the trunk lid about an inch. If the spring is broken, worn out, dirty, or not lubed it won't have enough force to overcome the weight of the trunk lid. In the open position the spring arm should be tight to the frame stop as shown in the photo and offer considerable resistance to downward movement. If the spring is ok then the assembly should be cleaned and lubed, not WD40.

 

So the easiest fix is the aftermarket assist spring and then you never have to mess with it again.

 

I have to respectfully disagree with you about the wd40.
It did the trick on my problem with the trunk not opening enough to get fingers under it to lift the trunk up.
As I stated above, it now opens over an inch so I can easily get my fingers under the lip to raise the trunk.

I would really like to see the struts operate like the ones on my pickup tonneau cover.
I only have to lift the cover one inch off the body, and the tonneau cover rises to its full open level on it's own.

Bob.

Bob.

 

Trunk Lid Not Opening
I went through this about 3 years ago. I took the whole thing out of the trunk and had a look at the spring mechanism. What I found was that there was a binding within the latch mechanism. What is happening because of this binding is that the release finger (Latch) that goes through the striker when the trunk is closed, does not move out of the way quickly enough when released to open the trunk. It is the part that is binding. The striker while moving upwards contacts the binding latch, impeding the full lift of the trunk lid. So it's not really that the mechanism isn't strong enough in upward movement, but that the latch doesn't get out of the way quickly enough when released. Easy fix though I sprayed some WD-40 in the latch on either side of the finger of the latch assembly that catches the striker. It worked immediately. And so I went around to every hinge point also with the WD to ensure the best possible ease of motion. Also I cleaned the rubber gasket around the trunk which was also contributing to holding the lid down. About 6 months latter when the weather got cold it started to happen again so this time I used a Lithium spray grease and since then it has never happened again. I hope that all made sense and I am sure it'll work for you.

Well I posted this about 5 years ago and I haven't had any problems with mine since then. I hope this helps you out.

 

Did you remove or open anything to spray the latch?

 

No. just locate that finger thing that hooks into the hole in the latch and lubricate both sides of it. You can see the tip of it when you look down into the receiver. Open and close it a few times to get the lubrication well into the mechanism. I guess when they manufactured it they were a little heavy one the pressure that sandwiches it all together. Let me know if this works for you.

You can also simulate the latch part with something and see it come up and over what you stick in there as a substitute. Then use your fob to open it again. Good luck it is a easy fix.

 

I replaced my trunk struts about a month ago, Easy to replace and inexpensive. I bought a pair off Ebay about $25-$30. Mine pops up about 3/4"-1 inch.

 

Easiest fix for sure. Unless my top is down. Will look at a bit of WD40 as well.

 

Just my 2c ... I had this but took it off!
It worked great.. But then the hatch had issues actually closing completely and lock down..
It would pop open with force, and I think this action has done something..
It's fine now, odd times I have issues but rare, and few attempts closes it..

I may look into the struts, didn't think that would actually do anything?