Hood Adjustment

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Can anyone tell me how to adjust my hood it needs to go down a little bit on each side it has a shake when i drive especially at highway speeds.

[Fireman31]

I had a similar issue with mine, not to mention it was cockeyed also. In your case the best way is to adjust the height of the hood latch. Make sure to mark the original location with some painters tape or a pencil before loosening the bolts. You shouldnt have to move it down very far, also be careful not to loosen the bolts too much. Moving the latch from side to side even slightly may cause difficulty closing the hood. Be sure to adjust both bump stops at the corners accordingly.

Edited March 6, 2008 by Fireman31 (see edit history)

[70chevy03ss]

yup thats what I had to do last night. Had the cowl hood on and every time i went down the highway It shook. my buddy said it was becasue of the quality of the hood, but I knew there was more. Just take your time mark it and adjust a little. You can get to the bolts threw the grille

[bobwrench]

Kind of a balancing act between the actual latch and the bump stops at front corners. Lowering or raising the latch can cause hood to be lower or higher than fenders. Raising or lowering bump stops can cause hood to be higher or lower than fenders. BOTH must be adjusted to keep tension on corner bumps (what actually keeps hood from shaking) and height of hood in relation to fenders.

 

Bob

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Thanks alot guys, I am going to do it this weekend, how tight do you want those bump stops to the hood, I guess how do you know where to put them since you can't really see where they are on the hood right?

[mbarnes]

adjust your latch so the hood sits even with the fenders. you could take the grille out for ease of access. remember to just barelly loosen the bolts and tap down with a hammer, if you loosen to much, instead of adjusting your starting from scratch. as far as the bump stops, close the hood and puch down on each corner if there is play turn the stops clockwise to raise. also when raising or lowering your latch if it moves to the side a little you can take a hammer and hit the striker on the hood to the side just remember if you want the hood to go left hit the striker to the right. also if you hood is "cocked" you can hit the striker or loosen the inner most bolt on each side and top bolt on the tight side and the bottom bolt on the wide side and shove the hood toward the wide side it should shift at an angle and straighten out your gaps. getting hood gaps right can be a pain just take your time.

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Can anyone take a pic of where there hood sits on the truck I know mine sits to high for sure, but I just want an idea of what it should look like properly aligned.

[mbarnes]

properly aligned the hood should sit even with the fenders and the gap running up the hood along the fender should be even all the way up. and also pay attention to th gap between the headlight and the hood. i will warn you that aftermarket hoods can be a bitch they are not made as nicely as factory. sometimes the hood slightly tapers in or out making getting your gaps even almost imposible. on most cars you can just adjust the fenders but on these chevy trucks the fenders dont move so easily. also you can leave your fender bolts tight and with a little pressure you can "roll" the fenders in or out, just remember to put the pressure right on the edge where the fender meets the hood and DONT use the palm of your hand turn your hand sideways karate chop style this distributes the pressure better and your less likely to push a dent in the fender.

[mbarnes]

also if one corner sits high and the other sits low . open the hood and give it a nice strong twist until you start to hear the glue holding the skin to the frame start cracking and check again

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I tried to adjust the latch yesterday but I am all the way down right now with the latch. The passenger side sits much better but virtually no adjustment to the driver side, it still sits up about 1/2" or so off the fender, could it be that the fender is messed up?

[mbarnes]

i doubt it s the fender unless youve hit something. is the hood touching the bump stop on that side? im sure you checked that though. hmmm try giving the hood a bit of a twist pulling down on the high side and pushing up on the other. half and inch is pretty bad though.

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I looked at it right after my last post, and it does kind of look like the fender is not right. Because the one on the passenger side is level with the bottom of the lights and the drivers side is a little lower. I think there is still something messed up with the latch because i can move the hood its not tight at all. I did mess with the stops not sure if they are hitting but the one on the driver side is almost all the way up because the hood sits so high on that side.

[mbarnes]

if you could send me some pics or post them here it would be helpful. its kind of hard to tell you what to do without seeing the truck. i will tell you the fenders on these trucks are no fun to adjust and there really isnt much adjustment due to the way the fender is bolted to the radiator support. you really need two people one prying with a bar and one tightening the bolts. did you hit something or someone hit your truck? the fenders on these trucks dont move unless its really hit hard. i hate to say it but if your not that familiar this kind of work you may want to take it to a local body shop it shouldnt cost much at all to adjust the hood and fender. oh almost forgot to ask is the hood high the whole way down the fender or just at the front? if its low in the back and high in the front take a short piece of 2x4 and place where it sits under the hinge and stops the hood from closing and gently pull down on the hood. that will slightly bend the hinge and raise the back of the hood causing the front of the hood to go down. there are alot of these little "tricks" any knowledgable body should know. if you could send those pics im 90% sure i could tell you what to do so you dont have to take it to a shop.

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Thanks I will take some this week and post them on here

[Johnny Mtz]

Hi did you figure out the hood alignment ? I got one in with new hinged and springs and mine sits nice on the passenger and on the driver side is about 1/4 from top going to headlights about half inch gap looks like its cooked to the passenger side but idk how to align it also it seems like it's sitting a bit to the front has a half inch gap from windshield fender I can attach pictures maybe someone can help me or should I need a body shop to align it?

My hood rusted out where it goes to the latch so it opened up on me on the eway going 70 80mph thus I had to get a new hood but looking from old pics my hood was never all the way down but it had no gap like it does now on the driver side.