93 bonneville problems

[AndrewVolpe]

Hey guys I got a problem with the hood of my car. For a while now the hood has overlapped the fender causing it to not fully close. The first hook would keep it down but it wont latch. The hinge on one of the sides snapped off even though it was in good condition. I replaced the hinge and it looks a bit better but its still not quite fixed. I finally got it to look a bit better but it still wont latch all the way down. Something somewhere is hitting something its not supposed to and I have no clue what is going on or what caused it or how to even find whats wrong. My dad thinks that I hit someone or someone hit me. But I know for a fact that neither of those is true. Anyone know how to fix this? Thanks.

[Ringo64]

Has it always been misaligned? Did you take off your hood recently?

If your fenders aren't damaged or moved then seems to me that the struts/hinges (whatever they're called can't think of the proper name right now, brain dead blah) of the hood are damaged and causing the hood to close at an off-set angle.

[AndrewVolpe]

no i noticed it like a month ago but it wasnt a big problem then cus it was only a little off then i opened it and tried to close it one night and it overlapped the fender and i was like aww fuak

[havoc1482]

Any pictures of the problem? I had the hood overlap on my Phoenix once, the hinges bent a little causes it to align wrong. I fixed it though.

Does the Bonneville have a self opeing hood or do you need the support bar that comes out of the car and holds it up?

[AndrewVolpe]

it has a self opening hood

[havoc1482]

hmm, okay when you close it do you force it down from the top or do you lower it until it falls by itself and then push on it to lock it? I used to slam it from the top and it would warp the hinges. A friend did the same thing to his truck, you gotta let down easy on the hood or else you might, as Ringo said, close it at a off-set angle. You won't notice it at first but it will add up to a noticeable over lap. I'm telling you this out of experience with my own car. We have completely different hoods, but some of the mechanics might be the same.

Do you think you provide pictures of the damage?

Take some pics of the hood open and closed and the hinges. I just want to get a feel of what I'm looking at, ya know?

[Frosty]

Havoc, I'm proud of you. You are giving advise like a pro. Way to go !!!

I would highly recommend finding a service manual for your car, a GM original, Chilton, or Hayes. My main branch public library carries service manuals for a lot fo GM vehicles. You can also buy many of them on CD/DVD now. Get one, it is invaluable. It will let you know the proper way to align your hood. Do you have support struts on the hood near the hinges to hold the weight of the hood up? I have them on my '86 Trans Am front and rear.

[havoc1482]

This might help

http://www.chiltonlibrary.com/Index.aspx

[AndrewVolpe]

yea i used to slam the hood but now i know not too ahahah and yea i dont got pics yet but ill take some when i go back home this weekend.

[AndrewVolpe]

This might help

http://www.chiltonli....com/Index.aspx

i cant access the site

[havoc1482]

i cant access the site

Sorry. Try Mark's link in this thread. 1st Post

/>http://foreverpontiac.com/topic/1820-online-chilton-manuals/

[havoc1482]

Fore and aft adjustment may be made at the hinge-to-hood attaching screws. Vertical adjustment at the front may be made by adjusting the rubber bumpers up or down. These adjustment may require several steps. Take care to lower the hood slowly each time. If the hood is closed hard when it is not aligned, you can damage the body or painted surface.

[havoc1482]

Hood Primary Latch

1. 
   Loosen the bolts and set the hood primary latch so that the top edge of the latch is 2.4 in. (61mm) from the top of the radiator support. This will be the starting point for up/down latch adjustment. The bolts should be snugged to hold the latch in position.
   
2. 
   Carefully lower the hood, but do not allow the striker to engage with the latch. Check the side-to-side adjustment of the latch to the striker. Raise the hood and tighten the primary latch bolts to 64 inch lbs. (8 Nm).
   

3. You must perform a drop test to determine if an up/down latch adjustment is necessary. The hood drop test will determine the amount of drop force required for the striker to fully engage with the latch.

• 
  Place a millimeter and inch ruler, between the hood and fender.
  
• 
  Raise the hood so the front upper edge is 3¹/₆ in. (60mm) above the top surface of the fender. This part of the test will determine if the latch is set too high.
  
• 
  Drop the hood. The striker should not engage with the latch.
  

[AndrewVolpe]

thanks man this really helps

[95naSTA]

Post pics if you can't figure it out from the info above. I had my whole front end apart and could probably tell you what you need to do.

[AndrewVolpe]

here are all the pics if you guys wanna se more let me know

[95naSTA]

I can't really see the latch do to the small pics but it looks like the hood is twisted or on crooked.

I would try adjusting the hood at the hood side hinge bolts. (be careful with that)

That could be the only problem. If it still won't line up with the latch after that, you can adjust the latch by removing the plastic upper rad support.

[AndrewVolpe]

So I fixed the problem. It was the little metal rod that is supposed to go into the latch that didn’t work. It was bent back into the hood a little bit allowing for extra space to come between the rod and the latch. I fixed this with a piece of wood and a clamp and had my dad tighten it until the metal moved back into place. It now closes but we still have a little bit of alignment problems which we will fix later. But on a side note, I drove the car for the first time in 3 weeks and I went to my friends house and parked it outside his house and when we got back to the car I tried to turn it on and the starter died…. Hopefully my car is like jesus and will resurrect after easter ahahah.

But anyway on another side note, what gives with every time im on this website I get a notification (usually when im writing a post) saying that the website needs to close? Because then I have to write the post all over again and I am literally almost always about to finish writing it when this happens as well.

[Ringo64]

But anyway on another side note, what gives with every time im on this website I get a notification (usually when im writing a post) saying that the website needs to close? Because then I have to write the post all over again and I am literally almost always about to finish writing it when this happens as well.

Weird... What browser and browser version number are you using?

[AndrewVolpe]

im using internet explorer i think it is IE8. i tried getting IE9 but it wont install because i have IE8 and i need to uninstall it but i dont have the option to do so.

[Ringo64]

IE8 should be fine running the website so I'm guessing something with one of your plugins or isn't liking it. I would kill browser history and cookies to run a bit smoother if you haven't in a while as well.

You can only get IE9 if you're running Windows 7 as well but you can uninstall all programs via "add or remove programs" just be careful what you remove

[killerspeed101]

im using internet explorer i think it is IE8. i tried getting IE9 but it wont install because i have IE8 and i need to uninstall it but i dont have the option to do so.

there is your problem. try google chrome

[AndrewVolpe]

yea i have windows 7. and google chrome? no way. every time i use that it will be fine for 5 minutes then ill get a message saying "Sorry bro! I hope you got insurance because we crashed!"

[Ringo64]

Then it sounds like you need a new computer cause your hardware can't handle simple applications

[AndrewVolpe]

Then it sounds like you need a new computer cause your hardware can't handle simple applications

hahaha no way its not the laptop its brand new i got it this year from my school ahahha