Does anyone know any methods to align a hood?

C

corvetteman

New member
My hood in the front of the car on the drivers side is raised up a little. I'm kind of a perfectionist so it drives me nuts. Does anyone know any methods to align a hood? I dont see any adjustable points on the hinges or the latch. It doesnt need to go too far down but would make a huge difference in the look of the car. One person told me that putting a thick washer in between the hood and the latch might bring the front down a bit. I can push it down with a little pressure but it bounces back up. The rubber stops are all the way down. That isnt the issue because I even removed them to test it. Any help would be greatly appreciated. :)
 
Was the car in an accident? Regardless, you should be able to adjust the front sheetmetal for a better fit. To do this you might have to align the fender and/or the hood. Yes washers can be used, but many times there are little rubber stoppers mounted to the upper radiator support that can be adjusted to align that front gap. You can always take it to a body shop and pay them an hour's worth of labor ($40-50) to do it for you.
 
David Fermani said:
Was the car in an accident? Regardless, you should be able to adjust the front sheetmetal for a better fit. To do this you might have to align the fender and/or the hood. Yes washers can be used, but many times there are little rubber stoppers mounted to the upper radiator support that can be adjusted to align that front gap. You can always take it to a body shop and pay them an hour's worth of labor ($40-50) to do it for you.
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Thanks for the reply. Yeah I put the rubber stoppers all the way down and even removed them but they did not make a difference. The car was most likely in an accident at some point but I dont know the details. The fender seems to be aligned fine and the hood is aligned fine except for the last 18 inches or so where it stands up a bit. Do you think the washers between the hood and the bracket might help? A body shop would be my last resort because I'm hoping to keep my investment in this car as low as possible. I have some other issues I have to take care on it that will add up.
 
Yes, the washers could space out the hinges to allow the front of the hood to lay down a little bit.



What kind of car is this?
 
David Fermani said:
Yes, the washers could space out the hinges to allow the front of the hood to lay down a little bit.



What kind of car is this?
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David thanks for the replies. It is a 2002 toyota solara convertible. It would be great if the brackets had some adjustment built in but its just 2 screws and 2 holes. I will go buy some different size washers and hope for the best. Is it the front screw I should put the washer on to try to lean the hood down a bit in the front? 1/4 of an inch would make such a difference visually.



My concern is the hood seems to have 2 kinds of rubber weather proofing type sealants and that the rubber may be pushing it up a little although the passenger side looks better.
 
I bought 3 washers today but no luck. I dont know if I was doing it right because the hood was going up not down. I tried the front screw first and then the back. No luck. When I lean on the hood it goes down perfectly but then pops back up. Still I leaned on it hard hoping to bend it in place a bit and it worked to about a 50% degree. There is a chance the hood is slightly bent. Any tips on how to bend the edges town on the fender side. Right now many people wouldnt notice but like most autopia people I'm kind of a perfectionist.
 
I figure a picture is worth a 1000 words. :)



solarahoodissue2.jpg
 
rescuenut10 said:
What does the door gap look like on the passenger side. It looks like a fairly lg.gap on the drivers side.
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The gap on the passenger side door is about the same I think but I havent looked specifically at it. Those door gaps have seemed pretty normal to me. Its only the front of the hood that is an eye sore for me. :(
 
spree17 said:
I figure a picture is worth a 1000 words. :)



solarahoodissue2.jpg
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Something might not be right within the left front sheetmetal. If you take to a body shop they'll be able to pin point it immediately. The unibody could still be misaligned from the accident it was in.
 
David Fermani said:
Something might not be right within the left front sheetmetal. If you take to a body shop they'll be able to pin point it immediately. The unibody could still be misaligned from the accident it was in.
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Thanks David I will bring it in to get advice but after looking at it my hunch is that the left side of the hood was bent in an accident and never fully bent back. It looks to be the original hood but probably a repaint. I say that because the hood seems higher 10 inches out from the front than it does 6 inches or 13 inches. I have been able to bend it back down a little bit my hand.
 
Look for buckles/paint chips in or around the crush points on the underside of the hood within the bulging area. If it's damaged it usually requires replacement and blending of both fenders.
 
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