My hood needs some slight alignment.......the left side at the windshield is almost touching the fender while the right side has a bigger gap. Didn't notice this before......nothing has happened outside my possession except Xpel install. Maybe I just missed it till recently

Anyone else have to do this? Would love some guidance.

Thanks,

 

That should be easy for a quality body shop to realign. The question is whether you find that quality body man at the dealer or elsewhere. I'd probably just do it myself.

 

Watch the 'Dreamcars Corvette' youtube video where they show the guy aligning the hood. It looked to me like this is something you can do yourself if it is the hood that's not aligned right (seems like it is by the photos) by adjusting some bolts.

 

I actually have this same issue, and I agree with the above posters who say the fix should be simple.

The only thing I'm basing this on is the fact that my hood seemed to be perfectly aligned when I took delivery of the car. But I had opened and closed it multiple times when showing people the engine.

A few months later, I noticed that it seemed to be mildly misaligned, so I almost feel as though repeatedly opening and closing it had moved it my mere millimeters each time. If true, I could probably just "move" it myself.

I haven't had time to do this, and it's barely noticeable so I really haven't cared. If I have time I'll take some before and after shots to see if I can realign it myself.

 

That's what I'm thinking. Can't believe I missed it for the first few months. And I'm thinkin' I should be able to do it myself, just wondering if anyone has and can provide any pointers.

 

hood strikers are easy to adjust

 

Our new coupe was delivered this way too. It should never have left the plant! The dealer fixed it quickly. BTW, the plant has gauges that are supposed to be used on the hood assembly..... our cars must have been Friday or Monday cars.......

 

I'm actually thinking johnnypro is on to something. I would have not missed this in the beginning........something has moved. I don't open the hood that often.......and I actually noticed it the first time right after it came back from the Xpel installer (for the second time.....not saying he did anything though). So don't think mine came from the factory this way.

I just don't want it to keep shifting and start hitting the fender.

 

I was going to start a thread on this subject earlier this week. Mine also seems to have creeped a bit toward the left, now at 4mm left and 7mm right near the rearmost part of the hood. I also thought moving the strikers (female part in engine compartment) would do it, but wonder how you move the right and left side the same to maintain the proper distance. Assuming they are that way now, how do you insure that you move them exactly the same amount on both sides?

Also, could someone with a service manual check the torque spec for those bolts?

 

The gap looks even, just too wide...
Are you sure it is not the fender that needs adjusting?

 

takes time & practice to become proficient @ door, hood, deck lid & fender gap tuning...patience is key

 

I have the same issue, noticed it the day after picking the car up from the dealer. My car was built on Tuesday. Would like to hear from the dealer about what he will have to do to correct problem. I rather the dealer do as little as possible to my car. Its all I can do to let the dealer change my oil.

 

Someone at the GM plant is suppose to check the hood alignment. There is a little tool they use to stick on each side of the hood. Guess he called in sick that day? That is waaaay off!

 

This thread died rather rapidly before any concise feedback was provided on exactly how to realign the hood. As I mentioned before, loosening the latches is one thing, but how do you manage to get them at the correct distance? It would seem that if the latch doesn't match the striker, it could cause stress on the hood. I'm not keen on letting the dealer do this. Can anyone with a service manual help out with the correct procedure?

 

I, too, would like some directions/suggestions on how to do this myself. Anyone......................

 

 

Looking at the mechanism more closely it appears that neither the strikers nor the latches are the source of my alignment problem. If I lower the hood and don't latch it, the gap is still there. Since the gap starts almost even (but not quite) at the front, increasing on the right and decreasing on the left as it goes rearward, it would appear the problem is with hinge mounts. I think the right hinge needs to be adjusted forward very slightly, and that will pull the alignment of the hood all around. However, the hinge mechanism doesn't seem accessible without removing the front bumper.

I just talked with an old Corvette body man I've known for decades, who worked on my C2 more than once, and he said he wasn't familiar with the C7 mechanism yet but would like to take a look at it. At my earliest opportunity I'm going to pay him a visit and will report anything I find out.

In the meantime, anyone with a service manual might take a look to see if there's any guidance there.

Edit: Just checked the gap at each corner (perspective while sitting in the car):

Left rear (hood to fender): 3mm
Left front (hood to bumper): 4mm
Right front (hood to bumper): 6mm
Right rear (hood to fender): 6.5mm

Another observation is that if I push the hood to the right with light force while closing the gaps will become almost equal. I used the palm of my hand to push toward the right side of the car while I was positioned at the left rear when closing. When I drive the car next I'll see if it returns to its original position.

 

I have done this a couple of times, and it always returns to the misaligned position during a drive.

Thanks in advance on anything you find out.

 

That's what happened to me, too, but didn't go back quite as far--not yet anyway. The gap issue is obviously not the same for everyone, as the OP's biggest gap is on the left. Mine is on the right.

I'll take it by my body guy next week when (if) it stops raining. Lots of rain this spring in S. LA.

 

I paid my body man a visit yesterday and the trip was quite fruitful. I was sure that my problem was a misalignment at the hinges, but after some scrutiny he decided to approach the adjustment from the rear (latch-striker) end. He first lowered the hood where the striker just touched the latch, and using a flashlight he noticed that the striker on the right (large gap) was making contact with the latch early, too high on the "V" channel causing the hood to shift slightly as it locked into place. As it pushed that corner (right rear) rearward it effectively rotated the entire hood slightly. I must say that I would never have noticed this.

He ended up moving the striker, latch, and rubber bumper several times in a trial-and-error manner, as the former two have some movement when loosened, apparently for this purpose. The latch moves fore, aft, up, and down while the striker moves only laterally (left, right, fore, and aft). The rubber bumper just twists in and out without tools for a final height adjustment. It now aligns perfectly with the gap even on both sides.

When doing this be careful and move any component only in small increments, as it doesn't take much to put it out of alignment enough for it not to latch at all. With mine it took adjusting all three points (latch, striker, and bumper) only on that one side.