guerillax
04-14-2008, 06:47 PM
Hey all, I'm looking for some input on hood striker alignment.
Last year my hood latch failed and a body shop replaced my hood/latch/striker. When I brought the car home the hood would not latch all the way, so I tied it down and took it back to the shop. They said it was normal and just required a lot of force. It did not require a lot of force with the old hood, I basically had to slam the new hood shut. I searched and read on the forum somewhere that Subaru's spec is dropping the hood from 16 inches above closed position should lock it.
The hood seemed to be flush with the fender on the right side but a little higher than the fender on the left side. I didn't think much of it until I found the left hood bump stop laying under my airbox when I performed the snorkusectomy last week. (Thanks to Huffer and 2.5GT for helping ID that piece)
Upon further inspection, I noticed that washers had been installed as spacers between the frame and the fender on the left side, in order to raise the height of the fender to somewhere near the hood! I assume these washers were installed by the bodyshop that did the hood, seeing that the car has resided in Cleveland, Ohio for most of its life and every possible piece of metal has some rust on it, but the washers are rust free.
I assume that the shop took the bump stop off to install the washers, the bump stop fell into the engine and was forgotten. Upon further investigation, the hood striker is wearing and I noticed that the striker was off center and shaving the right side of the hood latch mechanism. I reseated the striker as per the 1999 full service manual, and now it's even worse. I can't get the hood to shut without significant metal shaving off the right side of the latch mechanism, and the tension cable isn't springing the hood up. I adjusted the black plastic knobs that the hood rests on, and I can't get it to properly sit. These knobs were unevenly set by the shop. My grille has to stay off for now because when the hood locks, it will not spring up far enough to fit my fingers under and undo the latch.
Once I get my car running (alternator adjustment bolt cracked) I guess I'll have to take it to the body shop and get things straightened out. I'm wondering if anyone has any tips for realigning the striker properly in the meantime. It seems off by just a few mm but I can't seem to adjust it properly. I'm guessing that the bodyshop is going to cause a lot of hassles.
It appears that the knobs absorb the weight of the hood, ensuring that the spring mechanism functions properly. Without the knobs the latch will take on way too much weight to allow the spring to pop the hood up. These being unevenly adjusted tell me that the shop did not put things together properly.
cliff notes: my hood striker is off and won't close the hood properly without excessive force and the striker scrapes the latch hard. any alignment tips/tricks/magic are welcome.
Thanks for reading, and I appreciate the input. This forum rocks!
Last year my hood latch failed and a body shop replaced my hood/latch/striker. When I brought the car home the hood would not latch all the way, so I tied it down and took it back to the shop. They said it was normal and just required a lot of force. It did not require a lot of force with the old hood, I basically had to slam the new hood shut. I searched and read on the forum somewhere that Subaru's spec is dropping the hood from 16 inches above closed position should lock it.
The hood seemed to be flush with the fender on the right side but a little higher than the fender on the left side. I didn't think much of it until I found the left hood bump stop laying under my airbox when I performed the snorkusectomy last week. (Thanks to Huffer and 2.5GT for helping ID that piece)
Upon further inspection, I noticed that washers had been installed as spacers between the frame and the fender on the left side, in order to raise the height of the fender to somewhere near the hood! I assume these washers were installed by the bodyshop that did the hood, seeing that the car has resided in Cleveland, Ohio for most of its life and every possible piece of metal has some rust on it, but the washers are rust free.
I assume that the shop took the bump stop off to install the washers, the bump stop fell into the engine and was forgotten. Upon further investigation, the hood striker is wearing and I noticed that the striker was off center and shaving the right side of the hood latch mechanism. I reseated the striker as per the 1999 full service manual, and now it's even worse. I can't get the hood to shut without significant metal shaving off the right side of the latch mechanism, and the tension cable isn't springing the hood up. I adjusted the black plastic knobs that the hood rests on, and I can't get it to properly sit. These knobs were unevenly set by the shop. My grille has to stay off for now because when the hood locks, it will not spring up far enough to fit my fingers under and undo the latch.
Once I get my car running (alternator adjustment bolt cracked) I guess I'll have to take it to the body shop and get things straightened out. I'm wondering if anyone has any tips for realigning the striker properly in the meantime. It seems off by just a few mm but I can't seem to adjust it properly. I'm guessing that the bodyshop is going to cause a lot of hassles.
It appears that the knobs absorb the weight of the hood, ensuring that the spring mechanism functions properly. Without the knobs the latch will take on way too much weight to allow the spring to pop the hood up. These being unevenly adjusted tell me that the shop did not put things together properly.
cliff notes: my hood striker is off and won't close the hood properly without excessive force and the striker scrapes the latch hard. any alignment tips/tricks/magic are welcome.
Thanks for reading, and I appreciate the input. This forum rocks!