JuggernautOfWar

My hood is not completely latching. It goes down to the point where it catches the latch so I have to pull the lever to open it the rest of the way, but it wont completely latch in place securely all the way down. Picture of the latch is linked.

http://imgur.com/CSlOwNO

92RS_Ttop

iTrader: (3)

I'd take the nose off and loosen the hood latch bolts. Close the hood and move the latch as needed so it catches and the hood lines up with the tops of the fenders. Mark the bottom of the latch in relation the to "7" shaped bracket, open the hood and bolt the latch down tight in the position you marked it. Close the hood and check it and if its good, reinstall the nose.

JuggernautOfWar

Unfortunately I do not have a covered area to work on the car. I think removing the front end would not be ideal in the snow. Could it just need a new latch? Obviously I can't really go anywhere with the hood not quite latched.

Sojer

U dont have to take the front clip off to remove the latch.

gt4373

Try Cleaning All The Old Lubricant Off First,Use A Spray Degreaser To Get Down In The Mechanism,Then Re Lubracate,Sometimes That Works

Mirror Image

iTrader: (2)

if the hood is sitting right then you may be able to lossen the bolts on the latch and move the latch down or up to make it latch and also check the bumpers stops and make sur they are right

JuggernautOfWar

Made a discovery which may be causing the issue. I imagine this causes the hood to not be aligned correctly, thus it wont latch. Tell me what you think.

92RS_Ttop

iTrader: (3)

I suggested removing the nose so that he could see the latch mechanism after the hood is shut to make sure it's in the proper location and closing correctly, not to make removing the latch easier.

The nose can be removed in the snow as you don't need to crawl under the car at all to remove it. That being said, that *******-engineered attachment for the hood strut could very well be causing the problem. Looks like some cut an upper door hinge pin off a junkyard door and jammed it in there. I'd replace that hinge and go from there. Even if its not the cause, it's a safety issue.

JuggernautOfWar

Unfortunately I can't go anywhere in this snow and ice because my car just slides all over like a sled. I have fatter wider tires that just glide over the surface of snow. It hasn't snowed this much in like seven years so I was not expecting days of ice and snow.

Anyway so you recommend I replace the bolt there in the picture? It looks to me like it's just missing a nut at the end or something, causing the strut to fall out of place.

Lakerman62

iTrader: (3)

where in oregon R U? I'm in Gresham near Portland

JuggernautOfWar

I notice the driver side strut has a pin that holds it in place. This pin is missing on the passenger side. I think this pin is all I need for it to be secured back in place. Where could I get one do you think? My town has a junkyard, but they don't allow yard walks anymore and overcharge for everything.

Regardless, do you think this is the cause of the hood not latching completely?

I'm in Corvallis, south of Salem.

Joe Tag

iTrader: (4)

Probably not, but you can take the strut off the pin and lay it down on the fender and try it out.

JuggernautOfWar

That would essentially be the same thing I have now though. The strut isn't really connected to the hood currently, it's just sorta hanging on. When I open the hood it moves asymmetrically due to only having one strut connected.