I am about to remove the six bolts that hold the hood in place.

Question: Will the six nuts fall out or are they welded / attached to the body?

 

They are attached.

One tip - use a felt marker to mark the location of the hinge bracket where it mates to the hood flange. Makes for a much easier realignment of the hood upon reinstallation.

 

A crayon or grease pencil works just as well and the marks are removable...

 

I thought by removing the whole hinge assembly that you didn't have to re-align the hood. The thre bolts on each side don't seem to have much play. Am I missing something?

 

You are correct, if you remove the 6 bolts from the inside of the fender you do not need to realign the hood.

 

No. I think you'll be OK. I've spent hours aligning the hood on my car. (Had some front end damage.) From that perspective, removing the hinges at the body strikes me as the smart way.

One piece of advice: shut it very slowly the first time.

(OK, two) Also, keep an eye on it. Mine tended to shift a little after the first drive.

 

I took mine off to install a blower motor and have not gotten it perfectly aligned since. But I did not mark it before.

 

If you remove the hood from the hinges you will have to mark the hinges and spacers for realignment.

If you remove the hood with the hinges from the fender, there will be no realignment needed.

 

Hey Dozman,

Yeah, I removed it from the fender...no alignment. The blower works great! Thanks for your help.

Regards,

Craig

 

Glad I could help another Rennlister out.

 

When remove my hood i remove the latching mech at the front and install the hood with out the hood shocks. This makes it a bit of a bear to work with but it wont apply any pressure on the bolts that hold the hood in alignment. I snug the bolts just enough to to hold the hood but loose enough to move it if i have to. Lower the hood, then slide it around by lifting..pushing..sliding etc at the corners near the windshield. I used two wood paint stiring sticks in the fender gap near the front of the hood to get a quick raw setup...then fine tuned from there. Once you get it set...SLOWLY lift the hood and tighten the bolts. CAREFUL, they do strip easily! It does take a some time getting it right!

 

Slightly off topic, but here goes.

How does one adjust the hood? I installed new hood shocks and noticed the passenger side is low and the driver's side high.

TIA!

 

HOOD SHOCK REPLACEMENT:

Prop or tape a broom or stick under the front edge of the hood. Put a dense pillow, folded carpet scrap, pad, etc. behind each trailing edge of hood sharp corners. Tape a pad or rag around the sharp trailing edge corner. Put your replacement shock where you can install it with your free hand. Loosen the 2 clips on one shock only with a little screwdriver. Grip that side of the lid because it will move during the next step. Pull the shock off of its ball joints. Replace one shock at a time. Just push each socket over the corresponding ball. Repeat on the other shock. The thick canister of each shock is higher than the thin rod.

HOOD REMOVAL AND INSTALLATION:

Remove the lower hinge bolts. People say that the benefit is that you don’t have to readjust the hood upon installation.

HOOD ALIGNMENT:

Never close hood completely unless male and female portions of latch are matched up pretty well. When in doubt about alignment of the latch, remove the male side. Center and re-attach male side upon completion of most alignment activities. If you get the hood stuck closed, reach up through the front grill. Grab the hood release cable right where it goes into the latch, and pull. If necessary, push on the pointy cone shaped thing that goes through the latch hole to center and release it while pulling the release cable.

Align using only the 4 hinge bolts at the hood interface, and the male part of the latch: See padding and support instructions above. Before upper hood bolt removal mark the position of the hinges with a chalk or grease pencil for future reference. Upon hood installation, tighten one side. Get the bolts almost tight on the other side. Push the hood around on that loose side until you think it is close. Tighten those bolts. Gently lower hood, and check alignment at edges and latch. Repeat procedures on both sides through as many iterations as it takes. You can push the hood way down onto the hinge by pushing on the hood with one hand, and tightening bolts with a ratchet socket wrench in the other hand.

Rear height is controlled mainly by hinge adjustment. Front height is controlled by turning the threaded male post of the latch.

Adjust the rubber bumpers for non-interference (screw them into the hood), and readjust them after alignment is complete.