68 trunk release troubleshooting

[Christopher Hoffman <imperial67@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Dimitrios and the list,

It should indeed work regardless of key position as it is a purely
vacuum-operated system with no electrical elements. The system runs off the
intake manifold (no surprise there), and there is an accumulator tank about
the size of a soup can that I am pretty sure is up under the inner fender
lip at the right front corner of the engine compartment (symmetrically
opposite the windshield washer reservoir). The tubes run over the right
front fender arch, across the firewall (with one of the tubes heading down
to the back of the intake manifold and then routing back to the firewall.
They then travel through different openings through the firewall into the
cabin and to the trunk button in the glovebox, then under the dash pad and
along the driver-side rocker panel. From there, they follow the left trunk
hinge and go across the trunk lid to the release diaphragm.

A leak anywhere in all that rubber hose could cause the accumulator to lose
its "charge" quickly after the engine is shut off, as could a leaking
accumulator or a leaking diaphragm. Chances are you have a very small leak
somewhere since the system works with the engine running. A major leak could
also cause a rough idle just like any other big vacuum leak.

I am fortunate that mine holds a charge for months on end. Once I used it
about twenty times with the engine off before it stopped working, and then
all it took was a brief run of the engine to restore its function.

The ambition and disassembly it would require to troubleshoot all the hoses
and such is probably not worth the effort if you can live happily with it
working only while the engine is running. Then again, it might be worth
inspecting the hoses at the more obvious and visible places, like near the
trunk hinge where the hose has to flex every time the trunk lid is opened.

By the way, it's covered in the Body and Frame section of the FSM, and with
pretty good pictures. The text in my '67 manual says that the accumulator is
mounted at the rear of the engine but the diagram pretty clearly shows it
where I described it. If you'd like, I'll take a look at my car this week
and report back.

(And thanks to Dave Brown for the news that the pre-'67 unit was electric...
ya learn something new every day!)

Cheers,
Chris in LA

dardal@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx wrote:
> Chris, are you sure it operates with the engine off?  My 68 LeBaron has the
> same vacuum operated unit, but it will not release with the engine off.  The
> only way I can see yours working with the engine off is if there is an
> accumulator that provides vacuum for a while (and on my car its leaking or
> something).  But even then, it will only work a few minutes after the engine
> is off...