Help! Hood won't open..

[Russ Dickey]

Came home from a leisurely cruise last night and went to open the hood to check the header bolts, only to have the hood refuse to open. When you go to raise the hood more than about four inches, the front lip of the hood is hitting the nose.

The hood does not appear to be out of alignment from side-to-side or front to back. My only theory at this point is that mabe the bolts in the nose that hold the hood hinge to the body have come loose, causing the front lip of the hood to sit just centimeters lower than it should be, thus not allowing it to clear when raised. But I can't get in there to tighten them up if I can't raise the hood.

So the question is, has anybody else had this happen, and if so, how did you remedy it? I guess I'll try slipping a thin strap underneath the front of the hood, and have a friend try to open it will I lift upward on the strap enough for the hood to clear. Any and all thoughts are welcome.

Thanks,
Russ

[TAGCAVE]

Russ,
I had them same thing happen to me, I raised the hinge plate back up to where the hood would open, tightened the orginal bolts and added two more bolts just for some extra insurance. Hope this helps.

Rodney

[bittentoo]

If you jack the front of the car up I'd think that you could access the bolts from underneath?

[Mike Del]

Hold the hood in position as you steady it and raise it up. Two people make it possible. Replace the bolts with clevis pins and you won't have to worry about it again.