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the car i just bought already has a carbon fiber hood. it's a really nice one and it's using hood pins as well as the release latch. the only problem is that the hood doesn't sit right. the front end has a large gap between the hood and the grill, and up by the windsheild the hood sticks up higher than the edge of the fenders. the seams do not seem to line up properly, but that doesn't bother me as much. the dealership is trying to get it to line up correctly, but if they can't they're going to put on the OEM hood for free.

has anybody else had a similar problem? if so how did you fix it. i really want to keep this hood, it looks really nice on the car. any help is greatly appreciated.

 
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It is a fairly widespread problem with cf hoods, expecially lesser quality ones. A few guys at my dealership have had the problem and the only thing you can do is play with the hinges, if the dealer already did that then you can either have them trade it, or drive around with it. Some people don't mind, but I hate it when stuff doesn't line up. Good Luck, peace.

 
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i looked at the hood and i found the problem. i can't find out why, but it won't go down to the second latch. you know, the one that you have to release with the lever inside the car. it get stuck at the second stage latch. anybody have a problem with this? the hood is using hood pins, but the pillars they connect to aren't getting in the way either. it just doesn't seem to go under the latch.

 
Rep Power: 419

There are several things you have to do.

First, to move the whole hood forward you'll have to drill out the hood latches to be adjustable. You need to be able to adjust both latches. There is some adjustability in there, but you need more. Take out the latches and file the holes out to be oval, so that they can be moved forward and back when they're on the car. Get me?

Second you'll have to buy a new latch spring. It's hard to close the hood, right? You'll need a weaker latch spring. I bought one from Home Depot. Just take out the stock one and go to Home Depot to look for a similiar spring. It will be weaker if it has more coils than the stock one. Look for chrome plated, so it remains shiny! [IMG]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/IMG]

Third, you'll need to adjust the whole latch mechanism down or up a little, so that it latches properly. Thart's after you take out the latch to replace the spring. You'll have to try it several times to get it right. There are two bolts that hold it down (if I remember correctly). I did this and all of the above and it helped to get rid of the gap.

Fourth, if the hood sticks up around the hood pins (assuming they're up front and near the sides) then you might want to adjust the little rubber stoppers. They screw in and out to adjust their height.

Hope this helps...

 
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grey, thanks, that helped more than you can imagine. now i just have to wait a few extra days for other parts to arrive and be installed. tuesday at the latest is what i told them, we'll see how good they come through. once again, thanks grey, so much stuff that i couldn't do without a contribution of yours.

 
Rep Power: 419

No problemo. Glad I could help. Yeah, I just stumbled into the "Other Parts and Products" section of this site and I picked out posts that had not bean answered very well. I came across yours, and viola! I should do that more often. That is how I became a moderator after all...

 
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ok, just one more thing i just thought of. do you know what size spring it is? i can't go check it out, but is it easy to locate and replace the spring, or does it require something big like taking off the whole bumper? i've already printed out your post and i'm going to have the dealership guys take care of it, but i need to bring them the replacement spring.

 
Rep Power: 419

You'll have to find one that matches in size. I don't have my old one (the stock one). I tried lookig for it, but I can't find it. It's approximately 1/2 an inch in diameter. Maybe a tiny bit more. Two inches in length. Maybe a little bit more. That's counting just the coils though. Not the hook like ends. There were about 20 coils and the diameter of each coil was maybe 3/32, or a tiny bit more. I think if you look in Home Depot you will find one that matches those dimentions. They only had one that really fit if I remember correctly. To take out the latch mechanism you just need to open the hood, remove the wire that comes from the handle to pop the hood inside the car, unblot the latch mechanism, and take out the spring.

 
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grey you're awesome, now i just need to get to the home depot to find a spring. i guess i'll take out my spring and look at it really good before i go down there, i don't want to end up getting something totaly wrong. thanks for all the help, i'll let you know how it works out. i can't wait to see my car today and show them that we can fix the hood.