Hood latch popping open
 

Ever since my hood was taken off and replaced after a paint job, when I drive over bumps the hood pops open (luckily, the safety latch prevents the hood from catching the wind and breaking my windshield).

What has gone wrong, fundamentally, which cause the hood not to be as secure as it was before the paint job? I have tried adjusting the depth of the stem as it goes through the latching guide hole, and sprayed some teflon/white grease on the linkage and latch, but that never solved the problem. Suggestions?

Thanks. lep

Take it back to the shop that screwed it up.
Chas.
356912911

It just need to be adjusted. It is not just the latch it is also the hood henge's that need adjustment.

I actually haven't driven the car much since the re-paint, and it seems the additional displacement presented from the new hood weatherstripping requires backing off maybe several mm at the hinges. Just more of 101 things to do on the weekend.

thx, lep

Did you find an answer? My '69 hood pops up and it is PIA!

Gene, yes, I was able to fix it. I loosened the nuts on that fasten the hood to the hinges on both sides, closed the hood, and then pushed the hood back and basically made the gaps near the edges all the same width. Next, Slowly opened the hood, then tightened the bolt -- worked like a charm. What happened was that after taking the hood off when the car was painted, they just bolted it and and never ran a quality check. However, if it closed after they reassembled it in the paint shop, and it didn't pop open then -- then that understandable. The paint shop technicians don't test drive the car several times after painting and reassebly, si I was able to do this.

Thanks I'll try that

The causal description for why my front hood latch was popping open when driving (which I learned after fixing the problem), was that if you loosen the hinge bolts and remove it, and then eventually replace it by simply refastening the hinge bolts -- and assume the front hood latch will work without a glitch, your are wrong.

Learning the hard way, you have to loosen the hinge bolts so they have a relatively strong amount of friction (so the hood is not loose but can be moved) and then close the hood. Next, position yourself in front of the latch near the bumper and carefully push the hood back so that the latch mechanism gets buried deeper in the catch -- LEAVING ABOUT 1/4"-3/8" between the rear edges of the hood and the body. IF YOU PUSH THE HOOD TOO FAR BACK, YOU WILL PUSH IT STRAIGHT INTO THE BODY AND SCRAPE PAINT OFF!!! SO BE CAREFUL AND ENSURE THAT A 1/4"-3/8" GAP REMAINS BETWEEN THE BACK EDGE OF THE HOOD AND THE BODY.

Of course you have to center the hood and ensure an equal gap between the hood edge and the right and left fenders as well. It's a slow process, but when done your hood latch should be the way it always was (and should never pop open).

The above is what the painters did not do, they simply tightened the hinge bolts and assumed they were done. Recall, painter are not going to do a quality control check and drive you car for several weeks after it is painted to ensure the body was reassembled. They are interested in getting your car out of the shop. Good luck, and if you are reading this before getting a paint job, then tell the painter that you want to be there when they put the front hood on, then follow the instructions above.

By the way, regarding the instruction immediately above, once you have pushed the hood back leaving the proper clearance, and pushed on it in the left-right directions to center it, gently pop the hood and slowly lift it up until you can access the hinge bolts, then tighten down the hinge bolts. It would be best to have a friend slowly left the hood after you pop the latch, and then you can get to the hinge bolts and tighten them while your friend hold the hood open.

The other cause is that the guide tube carrying the cable has been moved or is loose as it nears the latch mechanism. You can get the latch mechanism perfectly adjusted but the first bump that moves that cable housing will cause the hood to pop up.

I had this same problem with my trunk lid. You need to play with the adjustment on the hood moving it closer to the inside of the lip that secures the pin as it enters the hole. It may take a few times before you get it right.