Hood release & alignment

Daryl

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The hood release inside the car always seemed pretty difficult to pull/activate. Yesterday I hit the hinge with grease and some WD-40. Helped a little. The remaining issue, the one that’s ALWAYS concerned me the most, is how hard I behave to slam the hood to get it to catch and what a significant “metal on metal” sound it makes when doing so. Can this be made better? Both the ease of pulling the release and how the catch and “square hole” on the underside of the hood align?

Thanks!!
 

weendoggy

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I had similar issues on my '02. After installing the new hood, the latch needed adjusting and there's two bolts that can be loosen to adjust the position of the latch. You may need to remove the plastic cover to see them. I also had to relieve the "hooked" latch just a bit to make it fit smoother to the hood latching bar. After that, piece of cake and it is a press fit!
 

ttocs

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did you do grease and then wd40 in that order? if so you did a great job of stripping the grease off that you just applied and probably cleaned it up pretty well to where now it is ready for some grease. I know a lot of people think that wd40 is a great lubricant, but it really isn't. I use to clean my bicycle chain with WD40, they I would wipe as much of it off as I could and then apply a thin layer of grease. It acts more like a solvent than a oil/lubricant.
 
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Daryl

Daryl

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I had similar issues on my '02. After installing the new hood, the latch needed adjusting and there's two bolts that can be loosen to adjust the position of the latch. You may need to remove the plastic cover to see them. I also had to relieve the "hooked" latch just a bit to make it fit smoother to the hood latching bar. After that, piece of cake and it is a press fit!
Thx, weendoggy. By “relieve” do you mean “bend” or “grind down “, or ??
 
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Daryl

Daryl

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did you do grease and then wd40 in that order? if so you did a great job of stripping the grease off that you just applied and probably cleaned it up pretty well to where now it is ready for some grease. I know a lot of people think that wd40 is a great lubricant, but it really isn't. I use to clean my bicycle chain with WD40, they I would wipe as much of it off as I could and then apply a thin layer of grease. It acts more like a solvent than a oil/lubricant.
WD then grease
 

weendoggy

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Thx, weendoggy. By “relieve” do you mean “bend” or “grind down “, or ??
I put a Cervini's hood on and it was just a tad bit off so I just needed to shape the curved latch portion just a bit so it would latch on the safety portion easier (first catch when lower hood). I would try just adjusting first and if needed do some massaging on the curved hook looking piece.
 
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Daryl

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Gotcha, thx Weendoggy!
 
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Daryl

Daryl

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Couldn’t make it any clearer! Thanks, Weendoggy! That’s perfect! BTW, can I have your garage??

Do you have any YT videos of you and the car in action at the track? Or of your view with the new hood?

Cheers!

on edit: never mind; found ‘‘em when your additional videos popped up!
 
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cobrajeff96

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WD40 is an excellent lubricant but it evaporates very quick compared to lubes that have more 'solid' to them like anti-seize or straight up petroleum grease. For instance, threaded fasteners often get anti-seize or copper grease or something similar in my car. And to get exhaust hangers out of the rubber isolators, WD40 is fantastic.
 

ttocs

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WD40 is an excellent lubricant but it evaporates very quick compared to lubes that have more 'solid' to them like anti-seize or straight up petroleum grease. For instance, threaded fasteners often get anti-seize or copper grease or something similar in my car. And to get exhaust hangers out of the rubber isolators, WD40 is fantastic.
I had a room mate that one time thought the garage door was getting loud and needed lubricating so she grabbed the wd40 and went to town on the chain. I wondered why it was making unhappy noises when I got home and why there was NO grease on it and why it was so clean... She also discovered that using wheel cleaner on chrome hub caps = no more chrome.
 
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Daryl

Daryl

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Lubed the hood release mechanism & grinder the hood latch ever so slightly. Works TONS better now. Thanks Weendoggy and everyone else! Just need some black touch up paint for rust prevention now…
Before and after…
 

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weendoggy

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The two bolts (I think they're 8mm) on the side(s) of the latch can give some adjustment as well. Glad it worked out. I hate slamin' things. :cool:
 

RAU03MACH

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i have been lucky with just about every aftermarket hood that i have bought.
the only one i had to adjust was my 95gt cobra cowl hood
 
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Just as an FYI , WD40 is not a lubricant , it is a water displacement formula. It is great to remove water from distributor caps and electrical connections , it was never intended as a lubricant , so , those using it as such find it doesn't last long or doesn't quiet a sueak it is because its NOT A LUBRICANT !
 

cobrajeff96

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Lubes up rubber exhaust hangers just fine. Without it, the rubber would've been mangled up and destroyed long ago. I agree that it doesn't last long though.
 

ttocs

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I just put a little spit on my hanger. So just in case it needs to be said, do not lick my exhaust hanger.......
 
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Daryl

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Would I benefit going to a HID lighting system?
 
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Daryl

Daryl

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The two bolts (I think they're 8mm) on the side(s) of the latch can give some adjustment as well. Glad it worked out. I hate slamin' things. :cool:
Didn’t have to mess with the two 8mm bolts. Don’t think there’s much adjustment there anyhow.
 

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