Hood Won't Shut
 

Ive checked every thread here and searched the internet for days now and tried absolutely everything recomended Ive seen.

What happened/the problem

The hood latch was really tight one day, but finally popped open, but I knew something went wrong. It was really hard to pull and kinda "snapped" when it finally opened.

Now the hood wont shut. Ive let it "slam" shut, slammed it myself, and gently pressed down with all my might. Its like pushing it against a brick wall hoping something latches. Ive stuck my hand up there to try and close it while it while the hood rested on the latch and the latch seems to be hitting something and not getting all the way around.

The hood also doesnt seem to be setting down right. Its really high up on the sides in the front, about an inch or so, but the center is resting fine.

To me its like the entire front end was pushed back. However the latch is still hitting the catch lever its just not closing.

Yes i tried adjusting the latch, it wont budge much if at all. Maybe im doing something wrong? I losened the bolts and pried it up.

Yes i made sure its not closed, ive opened it and closed it myself.
Yes i greeased the hell out of the latch.

The only thing i havent tried is losening the hood itself and pushing it back a little. I dont want to damage my windsheild.

Other notes, the safety latch works fine. It goes into the hole and holds it, but the hood shakes a TON and scares me.

Re: Hood Won't Shut
 

The latch should move freely with lots of adjustment when bolts are loosened. I doubt that is your problem since im assuming it was aligned before the problem. Being the latch was difficult to release ill guess the latch is the problem.

Ive had issues with them myself. Have you made sure you pushed the release cable forward inside the car so that the latch locks? Ive taken the latch out of the car before and totally cleaned old residue off of it because it would stick. After that ive found that very light grease works the best. Give it a try.

good luck.

Re: Hood Won't Shut
 

you can buy a new one on ebay for like $15

Re: Hood Won't Shut
 

Yeah Ive done that. Ive pulled the cable extra hard and pushed it as far back as it will go. Then I did the latch manually with my fingers pressing it back and moving it open and closed. It all works.

If its in a open position and you push down in the center of the latch it will try to close on you fine.

Re: Hood Won't Shut
 

But when you close it with your finger does it lock? So you have to use the hood release to open it ?

Re: Hood Won't Shut
 

Yeah when i close it with my fingers, the hood release needs to release to allow it to open.

I checked online and pictures and so on. Everything works as it should. What I believe is happening is the latch isn't aligned properly with the hole inside of the hood, right above the hood catch. So the latch is hitting the hood making it not close. Its the only problem i can think of, the hood cant go down any further without hitting the front end.

So im going to try moving the latch a little bit again, hopefully it moves this time.

Re: Hood Won't Shut
 

After messing with it, I figured it had to be what I thought to begin with. The bounce back spring wasn't compressing enough to allow the hood to go down far enough for the latch to go around the bar.

Popped it off and and the hood shuts fine. It actually sits alot better too.

Re: Hood Won't Shut
 

not trying to jack the thread but is it normal to have to hold the safety latch in while closing the hood? if I just try to push it down the lever hits the frame instead of going in the hole.

Re: Hood Won't Shut
 

Mine did the same thing. The part connected to the hood got bent after someone slammed it shut wrong. I just took a bar and bent it back a little. It still hits it a little bit, but it shuts and will bend out of place from time to time.

Re: Hood Won't Shut
 

I had the same problem last night and I just found out it was that j-hook lever thing that got bent and hit the latch down out of the reach of the hood... Take a look...

Attachment 381429

U can tell by the paint...