Hood hinges

[Buzzzz]

I recently noticed that the gap between my headlights and hood is larger than it should be. It's not HUGE, but it does look a little larger than normal. It's something that's only obvious to someone who really knows Vipers...I didn't think anything of it when I bought the car. Anyway I brought the car over to my local dodge dealer for their opinion, and they said it did look a little on the large side. So they popped the hood and discovered that sometime in the past (before I owned the car) someone had slightly bent the front hood hinges. The dealer says this is what's causing the hood not to sit completely flush. However, they admitted that they are not Viper experts- they've only had one hood off before. That set off some red flags for me; I don't really want someone trying to line my hood up if they need to "figure it out". Am I being overly cautious? Is replacing a hood hinge something that any old dodge dealer could figure out? I'm wondering because the dealer is only about a mile from my house, which would make it really convenient. Otherwise I have to drive to another state and bring it to a specialist. As of now, I'm planning on driving the extra distance to go with the specialist; I'm hoping that you guys who are experienced in such matters can give me an opinion on where to go. Maybe a specialist is overkill- I really don't know. I'm still under a private warrantee from the dealer I bought it from; 100% parts/labor for about another 3 months. I can bring it wherever to have it fixed.
Thanks!

- Buzzzz

 

[scottgf]

Hi there,
I have spent many hours adjusting the dreaded "hood gap" on my snake. I finally got the gap adjusted close enough.
Adjusting the hood on the Viper is VERY COMPLEX. I would recommend having some one that realy knows snakes handle it for you.
You can probably search the archives under "hood gap" and read my old posts, and the posts from the other helpful snake owners.
Good Luck with it,
Cheers,
PS. Click on my avatar to see how the gap looked BEFORE I fixed it.

 

[Buzzzz]

Hi thanks for the info. Yeah I'm thinking that it's probably best to bring it to a real expert in case the new hinges don't fix it. The gap on mine is not as large as your avatar, but it's bigger than it should be.

 

[Buzzzz]

One more question on this. Whoever bent the hinges also put a small crack in the hood. It's hard to see, but you can find it if you look at the right angle. I did notice it when I bought the car, but the dealer told me it was a scratch that had been repaired. Will this crack grow with time, or do they usually stay about the same size? If they grow, that's something else I need to have the dealer take care of. Thanks.

 

[ruckdr]

Buzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz,
The front part of your hood MIGHT be hanging up on the inner fender. I noticed this on mine, and loosened the 6 thunb screws that hold the forward piece of the inner fender, and push down to slide the whole inner fender down, then tighten. I also used some large flat washers under the thumb screws, to prevent the flexable built-on plastic washer from working into the slotted holes.
May not help you, but worth a look.
Later,

 

[scottgf]

One other thing to mention here....
Make sure you are closing the hood the correct way...dont just push down on the very front edge.
You should only push with both hands directly over the support that runs between the headlights....
right guys, girls??
Cheers

 

[ggc]

I am a new owner, however when closing the hood, I always press on the hood about 8" inside of each louver. The hinge flange mounts there and I think that avoids the hood crecking problem.

I am not sure about pressing between the headlights. There are several topics on this subject in the forum, so I would search the archives to check on this.

You do not want to crack the hood.

 

[Buzzzz]

ggc sounds right to me wrt hand placement


<FONT COLOR="#ff0000" SIZE="1" FACE="Verdana, Arial">This message has been edited by Buzzzz on 04-08-2002 at 11:04 PM</font>

 

[CAP]

The '96 had a slight crack over both hood latch strikers which continued to grow. The dealer removed the hood, ground and re-glassed, re-painted. Several months later, the crack returned and grew. Repeat above process. Crack reappears. Hood replaced with new hood. HORRIBLE fit. Old hood repaired as above again. When I sold the car, the crack had reappeared on the right side only, about 1/2" long.

I check the '01 often, every time fearing the dreaded hood crack. None so far.

 

[99 R/T 10]

Hey Jeff,
Actually there is an adjustment for the hinges where they connect just under the headlights. It is a square opening on the three bolts that hold both hinges to the car. It is extremely difficult to get it right(as I have tried, what a pain). The latch adjustment you mention is to set the hood as it closes.

 

[Jeff Torrey]

Wilddude- Ok, Thanks for the info.

 

[Jeff Torrey]

Buzzz- We swaped e-mails on this earlier. I just last month had my hinges changed because the springs were weak. They could not hold the hood in the wind. Talking to Chuck Tator (The Viper Wizard on the board)about this he suggested that I change the hinges myself. I had taken the hood off to work around the thermostat (leaking coolant). There is no adjustment in the hinges. All the adjustment is at the latches. You just unbolt the hinges and bolt the new ones in.
I am surprised Chuck has not replyed to this thread. But his advise is free. Just a phone call away. Good luck.

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