jayk2k3

iTrader: (2)

are there common problems with fiberglass hoods? my hood is a pain in the *** to open. i have to hit the hood to open it and my left hinge is sticking a bit. i tryed putting a space under the hood spring and it a helped a little but not the best. cable and latch seems ok.

Air_Adam

I doubt thats a problem with the hood itself... most fibreglass hood problems are more cosmetic than anything else.

Sounds to me like either the latch is worn out and gummed up, or its not aligned with the striker properly. There is some side to side adjustment in the latch assembly, and the striker on the hood as well. I'd bet playing with these a bit will clean it up.

Stephen

iTrader: (12)

If your steel hood didn't have this problem, maybe the 'glass hood is thicker. Check out the rubber bump stops, that screw in & out.

Maybe just screwing them in a little bit, to effectively make them shorter, will relieve enough tension to allow the latch to release easier.

jayk2k3

iTrader: (2)

good point i will try that. i bought the car with the fiberglass hood.

Air_Adam

Thread the bump stops all the way down, so they are out of the way, and close it... then just bring them back up a little at a time.

If you thread them all the way down first though, you can determine if there are any alignment issues with the latch/striker, which you should do first. The bump stops are the last things to get any adjustment.

jayk2k3

iTrader: (2)

ok i put the bump stops all the down and it helped. the hood will open 95% time with no help. i gues this is the best i can get.

Air_Adam

Make sure the latch and the striker are in proper alignment. The striker should go straight down into the latch hook. Actually get down on your knees and look. The striker can be adjusted with the mounting bolts, or even 'tweaked' by force (take it off to do this, doing this on a 'glass hood will probably break it) and the latch can be adjusted too with its mounting bolts left to right or up and down. If the hood sits too high, drop the latch down maybe 1/16 and see where it is after that.

jayk2k3

iTrader: (2)

thanks i will check all that next weekend. i think i may have made a mistake, i put a washer under the hood spring because i thought it was weak, that might be part of my problem?

Air_Adam

The washer won't be helping anything.

Start by loosening off the latch on the rad support and drop it down about 1/16-1/8", tighten it back up, then put the hood down and make sure the striker still lines up with the latch properly. If it does, close the hood so its locked and see where it sits. If its high, drop the latch more. If its too low, raise it a bit. Do this untill you are happy with where its sitting. After that, adjust the bumpstops up so they are just touching the hood when its locked. If the center is good, but the outsides of the hood are low, you can adjust the bump stops a little higher to push the ends up a little and get it closer.

The most important thing is to make sure the latch and striker are aligned... the striker should not want to touch the body of the latch on the way down, just the hook. Touching a little is fine, but if its dragging, then thats too much.