2001 Chevy Blazer, 260,000 miles. Clamshell style rear hatch, whereby the window glass goes up, and the tailgate goes down.

The rear window has suddenly decided to become misaligned with the rubber molding. There is a gap at the top of about an inch where the window sits too far out, and at the bottom it's too far up about an inch. No rain getting inside. But I can hear the wind whistling through the gap when I'm driving fast, and my air conditioning seeps out through the opening making it less efficient. Original glass. The hinges have not been forced and bent - I'm the only user of this car, so I know no one else has done anything to it. I'm mystified why this has happened without any apparent cause, after 23 years of usage! I can't find anything about this with google searches - am I the only guy in the world to whom this has happened? Looking for ideas from all the mechanical wizards out there. There is no looseness or play in the hinges. Pushing on it does not budge anything - it's solid.

See the photos.


Gaps at top and bottom. The top sits up and outward, and the bottom is slid upward.


Top gap. It's like an air scoop as I travel down the highway.


Open window - looks normal.


Open window close-up.


The hinges are not loose or bent. No signs of any shifting.


The glass is pushed up at the bottom - it should be sitting on top of that molding, but instead it's up above it. The rear wiper gets stuck in that gap when I try and use it, and won't return to the parked position.

 

Hinges have to be bent out of shape. Typically happens when the hinge pin area of the hinge corrodes and starts to lock up. If you look closely at the rubber overmold on the glass/hinge assembly, the bend appears to be just under the rubber. From memory, I believe this area should be flat from the rounded bend of the hinge to the glass. Your pictures seem show a pretty good bend just past the raised rib reinforcements in the rounded bend area.

*EDIT* - added marked up image

Marked up image to show what I am seeing (yellow line) and how I think it should be (red line)

 

Thanks for that input. I'll investigate further. It makes sense - a hinge bend that can't be seen.

About a year ago I replaced the hydraulic lifters for the rear window. They work great - I push the rear window release button on the dash, and the lifters push it all the way open. No more manual lifting. Now I'm wondering if maybe those lifters are too powerful, and perhaps pushing with too much force, causing those hinges to bend.

I think my first thing to do will be to disconnect the hydraulic lifters, and see if that allows me to push the window back into correct alignment.