Hood Strut Question

[jamesmost]

i have recently replaced my hood, just noticed it was bending again in the same spot as my old hood, directly avove the little indent on the side where the strut connects to the hood.i had closed my old hood on part of the air intake, thats how it got damaged.

funny now that the strut was causing damage on new hood.

i removed the struts as not to cause more damage.

they are extremely hard to compress, i think i need lighter ones not to damage hood ??or maybe i damaged the strut years ago when i closed hood on intake part ??

watcha think ?JAmes

[maxnix]

Which struts are you using now?

Have you lubricated your hinges?

[jamesmost]

Which struts are you using now? Have you lubricated your hinges?

yes hinges are lubed

the ones i removed were origional, now have a stickball bat.

James
Modified by jamesmost at 5:23 PM 4/7/2008

[maxnix]

So the hood is only supported on one side allowing it to torque itself!!!???//

Get some struts. Stabilius makes some for the G50.

[DrewQ45]

How about welding some metal plating to shore up the weak area?

[oldmako]

Could the paint withstand the heat?

[jamesmost]

So the hood is only supported on one side allowing it to torque itself!!!???//

Get some struts. Stabilius makes some for the G50.

no, what i said was i removed the struts on both sides - and i am using a brooklyn hood support "a bat"

i have only heard of struts going bad and loosing pressure

i dont know if there is anything wrong but the strut on the left side is damaging hood (maybe increased pressure when closed) or maybe i damaged ir (bent??) 8 years ago when i closed my hood on something ??)James

[jamesmost]

How about welding some metal plating to shore up the weak area?

welding would only damage the freshly painted hoodit is sitting properly w/o any strutsgoing to order some ebay struts in the amJames

[lino]

zerothread?id=266973

[oldmako]

http://www.internationalgasspr...5i4rj

I know nothing about the cost or quality but I thought that I'd post this for the perusal of the masses.

[SynisterQ]

For the most part, my hood struts keep the hood up, but after some time, the hood slowly starts to fall. At the moment, I just use a small pair of Vise Grips to keep it up.

[oldmako]

Ouch!

[SynisterQ]

Ouch!

LOL!! That was a joke grenade, it took me a few seconds to figure out what you meant. That was GOLD!!!

[jmorasch]

was the hood used or new??? if your using a used hood did you inspect it for previous stress in the area its bending,hairline cracks??? could be the previous owner of your new hood had the same problem???your struts firmness just caused it to bend....thats if the hoods used???

[jamesmost]

was the hood used or new??? if your using a used hood did you inspect it for previous stress in the area its bending,hairline cracks??? could be the previous owner of your new hood had the same problem???your struts firmness just caused it to bend....thats if the hoods used???

the hood was used, i did not personally inspect but the body shop said it was near perfect a couple of rock pings.it was sanded prepped and painted.yes when closed the struts pressure pushed up a hump in the hood on drivers side.i removed both struts, but would obviously like to have struts.

i ordered some feom ebay, just to see if maybe less pressure.James

[jmorasch]

check it for cracks or flaws in the metal on the bottom under the hood mat where its buckling,theyre may be some reason other than your struts that the hoods bending??? I work in a bodyshop,that would be my guess???

[oldmako]

Once that mother bends.....the party is over. The hood is probably (now) too weak to support an oleo-strut attachment at that location. Every time you shut the hood you will place additional stress at the bent (weak) point Perhaps if you could remount the oleo further forward then the weak spot you may have luck. Or, reinforce the hood at the bend and remount the strut. But that would probably require welding and repainting.

You may require a stick(s) from here on out. I'm guessing that you paid a ton for a hood and to have it prepped and painted. As such I would not want to bend it further.

[maxnix]

yes when closed the struts pressure pushed up a hump in the hood on drivers side.

So, once again, which struts were these?

[jamesmost]

So, once again, which struts were these?

my 2nd post in this thread answered your question the 1st time u asked

origional factory struts

[jamesmost]

Once that mother bends.....the party is over. The hood is probably (now) too weak to support an oleo-strut attachment at that location. Every time you shut the hood you will place additional stress at the bent (weak) point Perhaps if you could remount the oleo further forward then the weak spot you may have luck. Or, reinforce the hood at the bend and remount the strut. But that would probably require welding and repainting.

You may require a stick(s) from here on out. I'm guessing that you paid a ton for a hood and to have it prepped and painted. As such I would not want to bend it further.

yes to everything and i agree. $350 for hood plus all work , which i have not payed for yet but will when i am told how much

i just know i will drop hood some time and if not me a mechanic and really f things up

[jamesmost]

l

check it for cracks or flaws in the metal on the bottom under the hood mat where its buckling,theyre may be some reason other than your struts that the hoods bending??? I work in a bodyshop,that would be my guess???

ooked ckean but will look later when i move my car

[oldmako]

How about a piece of one inch right angled aluminum....90 degree one by. Cut it to fit the width of the hood, from one oleo mount to the other to spread the load across the hood to minimize the stress on the already weakened point. The fit would have to be crucial (obviously) both side to side and to allow clearance over the engines highest point. It would appear Rube Goldberg, but at this point you are already farkled so what the heck? Dress it up with some matching paint. Short of reinforcing the hood (along with associated metalwork and repainting $$$) you are hosed. Either that, it's sticks, or third hood.

Me, I'd go with carefully engineered sticks of some sort and a BIG placard under the hood to warn anyone who ever takes a wrench to it. Sticks cheap...new hood expensive. More money left over for beer, chicks, and reman transmission.

Plenty of autos leave the factory with hinged, folding, hood supports. It's not like you're driving an AMC Pacer, any Hyundai, or a Kia Sportage, or a convertible VW bug, or a baby blue Ford Escort, or Toyota MR2, or Pontiac Fiero, or any other supremely gay roadster...not that there's anything wrong with that.

[maxnix]

origional factory struts

They won't bend the hood. If the hinges are good, then something is not right with the hood.

[oldmako]

Yo Jamesmost,

I was just messing around under my hood (unfortunately mine and not hers) and I was surprised to see just how beefy the supports are. Now, mine is a '99 so there may be some sigdiffs but it appears as though it would be relatively easy to reinforce the hood with a piece of strap steel or aluminum between the hood and the oleo bracket. You may get booted at Pebble Beach and won't make the main stage at Barrett Jackson, but your car will be repaired and you can do it without breaking the bank.

Now obviously I have not seen your hood and you may have to get creative, but it looks relatively easy from this rednecks house.

Vary your standards down to Home Depot and you can have that mother fixed in no time.

[jmorasch]

Id talk with the people you got the hood from...are they also the ones that painted it too?if thats the case you might talk to them about the hood and let them know whats taken place. unless there was some MAJOR defects with your hood struts Im sure to believe that the hoods the problem. oldmako is right,once she bends the hood skins shot.

[goody90q45]

they are extremely hard to compress, i think i need lighter ones not to damage hood ?? or maybe i damaged the strut years ago when i closed hood on intake part ?? James

A lot of owners, me included, have had problems with bent hoods and many of these happened after the OEM struts were replaced with new struts. In many cases the new struts were OEM. If you need to replace the struts I think you might be better off replacing with a used set with equal, but lesser than new, compression. I sold a pair to a member that I was able to measure by compressing on a bathroom scale.

A also inherited a bent hood on my 94Q and came up with this quick fix after getting the hood painted and not wanting the crease to come back. It's not the prettiest repair I've ever made but it's functional. Ever looked at the tiles on the underside of the space shuttle? You wouldn't know it's a billion dollar spacecraft. I used 1" angle iron and had to open it up to about a 120 degree angle to fit the channel of the hood and allow it to close flush. It looks like my choice of fasteners was not the best. I'm sure there's many better ways to do this repair and improvements are encouraged.

Did I mention that all the parts needed for this repair can be found at your local Ace Hardware?

[maxnix]

Here's the real problem with the above solution: the hood is designed to bend and crumple in a crash.

Strengthening at that crumple point could result in it coming through the windshield and decapitating the driver. In some cases, not much of a difference, I guess.

[jamesmost]

yeah Goody - thats the ticket - i printed the picture and am going to let the body shop do it.

No decapitation , thats crazy talk the hood will just buckle in 2 spots instead of one

[maxnix]

thats crazy talk the hood will just buckle in 2 spots instead of one

I don't think so. It is designed to only buckle in that one spot.

Oh well, life is cheap and there are too many h0m0 sapiens anyway. Removing your carbon footprint will support 4 Chinese families or 6 in India!

[jmorasch]

Id talk with the people you got the hood from...are they also the ones that painted it too?if thats the case you might talk to them about the hood and let them know whats taken place. unless there was some MAJOR defects with your hood struts Im sure to believe that the hoods the problem. oldmako is right,once she bends the hood skins shot.

I stand corrected....hood struts probably are the issue.and looks like goody has the ticket to your show!!!!!