Hood stuck
 

So, I closed my somewhat out of adjustment hood onto the safety catch now it wont release. :(

The front-back alignment is perfect and the left-right is nearly perfect too. The rear of the hood is popped up though.

I can push the hood down all the way and it closes nicely. Pull on the release and it pops normally. But from there, nada. I've tried letting go of the release, pushing down slightly, and pulling the release again- nothing. I've tried closing it all the way, pushing down slighting, pulling and holding the release, then yank the hood up all at once- nada. I've tried pushing the hood left and right, back and front while pulling up (and a weight on the release to keep it in the 'open' position) - nothing.

I guess the latch is broken or something. Very odd because I cleaned and oiled it before installation and everything seemed ok at that time.

Any ideas or tricks? What is the proper opening procedure (pull once or twice?)?

Thanks!

Try pulling the release at a 45 degree angle down and forward at the same time. My hood was difficult to open also until I figured that out.

Worth a try. I'll give it a go tonight and report back.

Thanks!

No go. :( Looks like I am taking the front end back apart.

-J

If the hood is "stuck" in the safety catch, get your fingers under the center and push down while pulling the release, then pull up. See if that helps.

Ok, so I went out with impact gun and tools and tried it one. last. time. (making this around the 25th attempt).

It reluctantly popped open!

Now that I can see what is going on, I can conclude the problem is the latch assembly itself. Pulling the release rod only moves the hook about half the distance it should. Pulling on the rod like you are literally trying to rip it off the car will get the hook to retract- in fact on one test, I was pulling so hard the e-clip that holds the rod in place popped off and the rod came out.

Looks like it needs to be removed and just flat out dunked in oil or needs replacing. At least now I can get to it! :)

In the mean time, I put a block on the core support so the hood doesn't accidentally get pushed closed. I'll take a look at it this weekend.

Thanks for all the help guys!

-J

My '68 hood has similar problems...will try some of this advice, it all sounds promising (I hope).

Me too...

So the answer is "pull harder"!

Mine takes too much force to actuate the safety release so may be time for a new latch.

http://forums.maxperformanceinc.com/...1&d=1690926167

I have to pull on mine and give it the "fonz", bonk it lightly with my fist and it pops open.

I haven't looked to understand the issue but something must get worn or bent to cause such high pulling force.

My latch just laughed at my Fonz bonk. I had to grab the rod with vice grips and give it quite a tug. Definitely not the way it was intended to operate.

Does anyone know if it's easy to fix? If not, are the aftermarket latches decent quality or junk? They are priced low, which makes me suspicious. But if all the originals wear out and act the same, buying a used one may not help.

Mike

[My brother has a 69 gto , same problem. He said he pushed the latch back ( not bolts). But latch, said it worked. Who knows stranger things have happened

Revisiting - can anyone explain what wears out or jams to cause the safety catch to be so hard to move?

Is it worth trying to fix, aftermarket latches good enough, or can a used latch be trusted?

Mike

I can't see any reason a used latch couldn't be trusted. Mine still works well. From what you guys are saying I'd guess that either the release rod is getting a groove worn into it or the hole that accepts the rod is wearing so that it's getting elongated.
If either of those things happen you'd have to move the rod further to get any movement out of the latch.

Thanks Greg

I guess I'll pull it out and take a closer look. I was missing the rod so replaced the bailing wire with a new one. It works fine for the release but not for the safety. I suspect something got bent and failed to check it closely before I bolted it in..

Mike

My hood latch was sticky like that too. I took it out and cleaned it up in the parts washer to get all the dried lube and dirt out of it.
After that I sprayed it with some dry lube and now with one medium pull the hood opens past both catches and I can simply lift the hood up.
It’s hard to believe how much difference it made.


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Thanks tstroud

I had cleaned it pretty well and it seemed to be working freely but I don't have a new one as a reference for comparison.

I just pulled it out and by hand, it all works as I think it should. I can manually pull the lever and retract the safety catch all the way to its stop.

I don't know how much effort this should take, and it does seem a little difficult, but that is more about the leverage/geometry and not because anything is bound up.

Is the gap indicated in this photo typical? It doesn't appear there's any significant wear or bent parts so I think it's probably normal:

http://forums.maxperformanceinc.com/...1&d=1693441402

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Does the hole in this lever arm need a bushing? I think maybe it does and the slop between the rod and this hole may allow the rod to bend and/or just not pull well on the lever. The rod is ~1/4" and the hole is ~5/16". I think I'll run to the hardware store tomorrow and find a flanged metal or plastic bushing to put in there.

http://forums.maxperformanceinc.com/...1&d=1693442388

There is a bushing in the radiator support that guides the rod so it makes sense for there to be one in the actuator hole.

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And do I have that clip on right? I suspect the "ear" goes on the outside but I don't think that would affect the latch operation.

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And finally, is the actuator rod supposed to have this bend in it or are they straight? Mine is obviously bent now, just not sure it's designed that way.

http://forums.maxperformanceinc.com/...1&d=1693442579

Mike

Most of that looks pretty good except the bent arm. I will have to go check mine tomorrow. I don’t think mine has a bushing either. The clip looks right.


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Based on this image from the Ames catalog, it appears the lever arm on my latch is bent:

http://forums.maxperformanceinc.com/...1&d=1693445894

Not sure how that would affect the safety release but I guess I'll try to straighten it out.

The gap between the actuating pawl and the safety lever is narrower on this Ames image than on mine.

I might think about buying a repro but Ames says theirs is not like the image but is bright zinc plated. The ones like that I see advertised online don't look anywhere near the quality of the original nor the image Ames shows so I'm going to keep trying to get mine working.

I wouldn't be shocked if that bend changed the geometry enough to be the culprit or that the bend is exerting pressure on something that is tightening the movement up.

Yeah. I would try bending that arm back first. Make sure it’s clean inside there.


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