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Bonnet Lock
- Thread starter beamdream
- Start date
Ken Ellis
Donation Time
Most folks end up removing the hood hinge bolts from the front grille area. Then lay out towels along each edge, and front and rear to prevent scratches. Then the wiggling commences.
But before you do that, maybe post what happened. Broken cable? Misadjusted during refit? Meteor from space?
But before you do that, maybe post what happened. Broken cable? Misadjusted during refit? Meteor from space?
Bonnect lock
"Misadjusted during refit?" - thats the culprit. Without yet getting down & dirty, I assume you can access the hinge bolts from the the windage tray area?
"Misadjusted during refit?" - thats the culprit. Without yet getting down & dirty, I assume you can access the hinge bolts from the the windage tray area?
This might be stating the obvious but, if the cable or rod hasn't broken or broken loose, pull the handle and lock it with a pair of vice grips. As stated in earlier posts, you can undo the hood bolts on the front of the car and lift the hood enough to wiggle it around to release the pin from the receiver. I had to prop up the edge of the hood facing the windshield and use a flat pry bar to free both the rod and the safety catch. I did manage to dent the hood and scrape the heck out of the front valance. When I finally got it open I cut the darned safety latch off.
Ken Ellis
Donation Time
Beamdream, yes, they're accessible thru the front snout.
And in retrospect, "Meteor from space" is clearly redundant. It's not like they come from New Jersey.
Anyways, patience and a helper should get your thru. If you run low on patience, stand down and open another can of it.
And in retrospect, "Meteor from space" is clearly redundant. It's not like they come from New Jersey.
Anyways, patience and a helper should get your thru. If you run low on patience, stand down and open another can of it.
Thanks to all, the problem has been generated by me when refitting the hood part of the mechanism.
So cable release etc. is all good but when released the hood only pops up 1/2inch or so; tried the steel rule, wriggling and so on all to no avail. I suspect that the conical part of the part of the mechanism is hung up / snagging rather than the second latch, which is why the hood only rises a small amount.
Having slept on it (not the hood) its back to the shed to see if I can get the front hinge bolts free.
One last question, any wisdom on correctly positioning the hood / latch mechanism prior to closing so as to not having a repeat of this saga ?
So cable release etc. is all good but when released the hood only pops up 1/2inch or so; tried the steel rule, wriggling and so on all to no avail. I suspect that the conical part of the part of the mechanism is hung up / snagging rather than the second latch, which is why the hood only rises a small amount.
Having slept on it (not the hood) its back to the shed to see if I can get the front hinge bolts free.
One last question, any wisdom on correctly positioning the hood / latch mechanism prior to closing so as to not having a repeat of this saga ?
Ken Ellis
Donation Time
Now that it's too late for you (of course) the usual philosophy about removing "indexed" items is to mark some locating points, or drill a small hole thru the mounting plate and sheet metal to place a locating pin to positively orient the assembly... be it a hood latch, hood or door hinge, etc. Then they can be reset with some confidence at replacement. I'm sorry this info is tardy, however...
(Note that I have not done this myself... but I read it awhile back on this site.)
To my recollection, the latch is screwed down finger-tight, and a piece of tape or cardstock fastened to the car-side of the latch. Lipstick is smeared on the tip of the cone, then the hood lowered gently into place without latching. The spot of lipstick should be centered in the receiver. If not, adjustments in the bonnet-side of the latch are made until centralized. Then the assembly is tightened, the tape removed, breath held, and bonnet closed. Hopefully all is aligned.
There is a fuller write up of this procedure on this site by someone who has actually done it. (I think that's a key point.) Search the site (maybe with Google) to discover it. Or maybe the author will have a link.
(Note that I have not done this myself... but I read it awhile back on this site.)
To my recollection, the latch is screwed down finger-tight, and a piece of tape or cardstock fastened to the car-side of the latch. Lipstick is smeared on the tip of the cone, then the hood lowered gently into place without latching. The spot of lipstick should be centered in the receiver. If not, adjustments in the bonnet-side of the latch are made until centralized. Then the assembly is tightened, the tape removed, breath held, and bonnet closed. Hopefully all is aligned.
There is a fuller write up of this procedure on this site by someone who has actually done it. (I think that's a key point.
) Search the site (maybe with Google) to discover it. Or maybe the author will have a link.re-installing the latch
I've done it. I Loosened both the pin mounting bolts and the receiver bolts. I put a piece of wide masking tape over the receiver hole and made a impression with my finger to show the edge of the hole and then marked the center with a red magic marker. I used a heavy black magic marker to put a dot on the center of the pin and put the hood down till the pin contacted the tape. After about 4 or 5 times of moving the pin mounting, I had the pin hitting the center of the hole. Tightened everything up and done.
I've done it. I Loosened both the pin mounting bolts and the receiver bolts. I put a piece of wide masking tape over the receiver hole and made a impression with my finger to show the edge of the hole and then marked the center with a red magic marker. I used a heavy black magic marker to put a dot on the center of the pin and put the hood down till the pin contacted the tape. After about 4 or 5 times of moving the pin mounting, I had the pin hitting the center of the hole. Tightened everything up and done.
Oh the beauty of hindsight - with much cursing, swearing and bruising got the front hinges undone and with lots of jiggling, wiggling etc. finally removed the hood.
Hindsight lesson No.1 - as mentioned, mark, index or whatever before removal; in my case I had reinstalled the rod part of the mechanism facing the wrong way !! no wonder it snagged.
Hindsight lesson No.2 - wait for further advice on how to correctly reposition rod mechanism; the tape/marker/lipstick/paper suggestions are excellent, as such I wasted well over an hour trying to work it out by making complex measurements etc.
Now everything is working just as it should, thanks to you all
bd
Hindsight lesson No.1 - as mentioned, mark, index or whatever before removal; in my case I had reinstalled the rod part of the mechanism facing the wrong way !! no wonder it snagged.
Hindsight lesson No.2 - wait for further advice on how to correctly reposition rod mechanism; the tape/marker/lipstick/paper suggestions are excellent, as such I wasted well over an hour trying to work it out by making complex measurements etc.
Now everything is working just as it should, thanks to you all
bd