AHHHH this is frustrating...

Okay well I just got done putting in a new tstat and HVC.....and I went to close my hood and it won't shut. It shuts on the lever that you push up to open it.....but it won't actually shut all the way. so I can still drive.....but it wobbles and it scares me lol. I push on it more and it feels like I'm just pushing down on a brick.....I dono what to do....could someone give me a close up picture of the hood latch thing so I can see what it looks like before you close it? Maybe it's stuck or something....I dono but I'd really appreciate it. Thanks guys!

 

Make sure you didn't leave a tool or something near the hinge area or cowl area, i've done that a few times.

 

The latch might need some grease. Did you just try pushing it shut, or did you let it drop from a few feet up? If it doesn't shut when dropped from up high, the latch may need adjusting.

If you loosen both hood latch bolts (on the car, not on the hood), you'll find you can raise/lower/twist the hood latch assembly in order to make it line up with the hood's catch bar.

And (it's been a while) I <i>think</i> you can even adjust the hood's catch bar if you loosen the catch bar's two 10mm bolts (at the front of the hood).

Finally, you could even adjust the hood to the car! You'd loosen the bolts holding the hood hinges to the fenders (3 on each side), and using the butt of your hand, tap one hinge (or both) forward or backward. Doing this will allow the front of the hood to either twist to the driver's side, twist to the passenger side, or shift forward/backward a slight bit. Be careful if you do this!! Misaligning the hood can cause (A) the hood to pop open on you, (B) the hood to hit the top outer side(s) of the fender(s) (and ruin the paint), (C) the back of the hood to hit the bottom corners windshield glass and chip the glass, and (D for Firebirds) you can also cause interference between the hood and the flip-up headlights.

But try greasing the latch first, and dropping the hood from a few feet up. Can you work the latch with your fingers? Is anything jammed? It's not a complicated piece; one "swivel hook" and a spring.

You could also try getting a junkyard latch; maybe yours has bent somehow.

Oh- one more option; you could raise/lower the hood bumpers. But, see, I don't think it's an alignment issue because you haven't had problems before. The most that I"d think would be out of alignment would be the latch itself (on the car).

 

Check the latch and make sure that it didn't get somehow stuck in the locked possition already. The striker on the hood may be hitting hte top of the latch becuase it is already closed. If it is just take a screwdriver and stick it through the hole and pull up while someone pulls the cable inside.

 

yep thats what i was gonna suggest.It may the latch closed while the hood was up.so the hood striker is hitting the top of the latch.check that before adjusting anything first...

 

Yup the latch ended up being stuck, so I used a screwdriver to unjam it, and put WD40 on it. Thanks guys!!! and special thanks to the almighty TomP

 

What mine does is when you open it the handle doesn' go back foward by itself and you need to push the handle under the dash back foward. That and lots of greese and it shuts fine now.