Help! Hood won’t open - overadjusted
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2nd Gear
Joined: Mar 2015
Posts: 2
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Help! Hood won’t open - overadjusted
I took the hood off of my 2007 and when I reconnected it, the bolts must have been too high because I closed the hood, and it rubbed a little going down. When I try to open it, it wants to put a lot of pressure on the front fender. I don’t want to force it but now I can’t re adjust the bolts because I can’t open the hood? I can’t remove the front bumper because the screws are under the hood.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 7,753
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From: North Western Connecticut
I took the hood off of my 2007 and when I reconnected it, the bolts must have been too high because I closed the hood, and it rubbed a little going down. When I try to open it, it wants to put a lot of pressure on the front fender. I don’t want to force it but now I can’t re adjust the bolts because I can’t open the hood? I can’t remove the front bumper because the screws are under the hood.
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I took the hood off of my 2007 and when I reconnected it, the bolts must have been too high because I closed the hood, and it rubbed a little going down. When I try to open it, it wants to put a lot of pressure on the front fender. I don’t want to force it but now I can’t re adjust the bolts because I can’t open the hood? I can’t remove the front bumper because the screws are under the hood.
You're probably gonna have to force it but there are a few things you can do to prevent or minimize any potential paint damage.
Try to work a thick sheet of plastic (i.e. green garbage bag) into the gap between the hood and the bumper. This will help protect the paint.
After popping the hood to get it started you might be able to push down on the bumper while somebody slowly tries to open the hood at the same time before. In the past when I've misaligned the hood doing this gave me just enough clearance. What also has worked for me is pushing the bumper down as you pop the hood.
Failing that you might have to bite the bullet and disconnect everything else holding the bumper on except for the screws you can't get to. The bumper kinda peels off the car from the underside and this should allow you to maneuver it enough to get the hood open.
Racer
Joined: Aug 2022
Posts: 416
Likes: 169
From: KS
You might try the plastic bag idea and use a suction cup puller like the glass workers use. I would go slow with it so you don't damage the hood.
https://www.harborfreight.com/2-14-i...-lb-57498.html
https://www.harborfreight.com/2-14-i...-lb-57498.html
