help me open my trunk!

alfadoctor · #1 (**permalink**) 12-03-2003, 10:46 PM

Greetings all... this is my first post, however I've been visiting and reading and gaining knowledge for several months now.
Anyway, I have a problem that - after some time tinkering - I can't solve. I can't get the trunk on my '88 Milano Verde open. There is no tension on the trunk pull under the driver's seat at all. I attempted to pull the "emergency" pull behind the rear seat but to no avail - the ring and cable pulled out to about half-way up the seat back, and then I couldn't pull anymore and it felt stuck/jammed.
So....
How do I get into my trunk??? What do I do? How can I get my stuff outta there? I am not the most mechanically knowledgeable, however I am willing to tinker and can usually figure things out. What can I do???
Thanks!
Dave

BigSwede · #2 (**permalink**) 12-04-2003, 01:06 AM

four cyl: remove the backrest of the rear seat and try to reach the locking mech thru the holes in the sheet metal.

V6: you're f**ked.

No personal experience but maybe you can reach over the tank somehow?

**rcess** · #3 (**permalink**) 12-04-2003, 05:30 AM

It has been a long time since I did this. As I recall, you remove the license plate and then the black plastic trim (surrounding the plate) which will reveal a hole in the sheet metal. Inserting a screw driver into the hole and probing, you can open the latch with the screw driver. There was an article describing this procedure in the Alfa Owner in the late '80s, and it has been discussed several times on the Alfa Digest.

The typical failure mode is that the cable breaks where it is attached to the trunk latch, and there is enough slack in the cable so that you can reattach it to the latch. The second time it breaks you need a new cable.

Bob

Bobby Dazzle · #4 (**permalink**) 12-04-2003, 09:41 AM

I'd keep pulling on the emergency cord. Only give that option up if you break the line.

How I remember getting mine open : remove the rear seat, have the left rear door open all the way, stand on the other side of the door so that your next to the left front door, pull from that point. The plastic ring is hard to pull on so I pulled a rag through it so I had something more to grip. Then pull slow and as hard as you can. Vala, open says you.

Good luck.