3D-Aircrew

should it be shut closed. I know the little gas springs are sure to be depleted in my 1986.

How did the C4 hood shut when it was new?

gerardvg

Hi

I replaced my hood assist struts a couple of years ago, the hood stays open and I actually have to pull the hood down a bit to close it.
Is so much easier to lift the hood up now, those two small assist struts really help a lot.

I still "drop" the hood from around a foot high from the closed position,
has made a world of difference.

I have seen some late c4's hood that actually spring open when the latch is released, that large gas strut works great.

3D-Aircrew

Thanks -- I'll be looking for some new ones.

383tpimachine

The lil shocks make a huge difference. Mine I have to push shut to latch my hood pins. Used to just fall when I had the stock hood release before shocks.

bac22

The hood should drop closed, I don't believe it's recommend to push on the edges to close as they are not re-enforced.

FASTAZU

Never drop mine, Have always pushed it down to lock. I use the palm of my hand over the latch. been doing this sense 84 never any issues.

383vett

I've done that to my 84 since new.

bac22

Not sure about other years, but per the 96 Owners Manual page 6-9:

"...release the hood strut by moving it to the centered position and lowering the hood. Lower the hood until the bottom of the hood is the same height as the top of the windshield, then release it. "

I do admit I still remembering holding my breath the first time i did it that way back in 1997, didn't seem right, but since then it's the only way I shut my hood.

billschroeder5842

I usually "drop close" from about 6-8 inches. I never really thought about it.

BrandensBeast

I push mine closed, push in the middle of the hood (close to the windshield) and both sides click shut, don't feel confident dropping the hood like I do on other cars.

gerardvg

LOL ..... do you use white cotton gloves too ...

just drop that hood, she wont mind a bit.
Have been dropping my hood from around 6 to 8 inches from closed for the 20+ years I have had my c4, no issues at all.

haxxx

Pushing down on each side doesn't seem to hurt anything. Previous owner did that because it was out of alignment. I re-aligned the springs and now it will close from a drop distance of about 6-8 inches. It's much easier to close this way.

Also make sure when you open it all the way the rod locks correctly. I've had the hood open and didn't make sure the hood rod locked. Wind blew the hood shut while I was sitting in it. It was pretty violent. Could have been a really bad day but luckily everything was ok.

C4-85RedZ51

Drop from about 6" ... that's how the previous owner demonstrated so that's how I have been doing it for the 2 yrs that I have owned it. No issues, guess I didn't know there were even struts on the 85. I'll have to look this weekend.

catso

To the members that have replaced their hood struts: which brand do you think is best? I've replaced some on other cars with mixed results, including problems in very cold weather. Any ideas?

tlong

I slam my clam from just below the wibdshield frame. I seem to recall the manup suggesting this mrthod. Palm pushing sometimes doesn't latch.The new strut makes all the difference in handling that monster.

haxxx

Nothing like giving the clam a good slam every now and again.

jsmcol

have always dropped my clamshell hoods, never a problem. 6-8 inches, both latches catch. You just need to find the correct distance to get both sides to actually latch. It doesn't hurt it at all.

divotdug

I recently replaced mine with some no name Chinese ones I bought off of Amazon.

They seem to work just fine. Hood is much easier to handle with a set of struts that actually work. My car still had the pair it was born with in 1984.

catso

I bought some Stabilus for my Ford wagon, and they wont lift the tailgate up when the temp gets below about 25, so I was a bit disappointed with those.

JrRifleCoach

FWIW,
I've many different stories about the effectiveness of those two little struts with that heavy azz hood.
I found replacement struts had no effect on the hood assist. Some need to pull the hood closed others have the hood popup open.
My experience has been that those two little jobs had no effect.
Must have bought the wrong PN........