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Hood alignment problems

K

kickaxeguitars

CEG'er
Joined
Jul 12, 2007
Messages
67
I have a '98 SVT which had slight front end damage.(Mostly a cracked bumper and the headlight tabs sanpped) I bought both front fenders, hood, and bumper cover from another forum member here off his '2000 SVT.

For some reason, I'm not even close on the alignment of the hood. Has anyone else had this problem? Should I fear a bent frame? When these parts were installed I wonder if their is a specific order to amke everything line up properly??

Any suggestions?
 
in my experience, aligning a hood can be a very difficult ordeal, ESPECIALLY if you're doing it solo. get atleast one or two others, loosen the mounting bolts to the brackets, and take your time trying to set it in place, then holding it still and tightening. if you're way, way off, it might be a bent frame, but just know that you're most certainly not the first person to have trouble aligning a hood.

[edit] btw, pics are always a helpful addition when looking for help.
 
Yes please post pics of how bad it is, I have became pretty damn good at aligning hoods doing my cf one a few times, and this past weekend getting a new hood on hellcat91's car and done in a few minuites perfectly.

Sometimes you have to also position the hood latch to lower or raise the front.
 
With front end damage, what most people fail to realize is that it is possible that your fenders could have become misaligned as well.
 
Picture341.jpg
mine is like that 2.
 
^^ you need to loosen the hood latch on the drivers side lower it slightly till its aligned then tighten it up and you should be golden!
 
Yes it will, whats going on is your hood latch is too high on the drivers side (considering at the cowl they are lined up) and if you lower that side of the hood latch you will be good.
 
hehehe (flattered) so I take it it worked? It usually does, sometimes you just have to take baby steps in aligning it, with any body part. They arent made to bolt right up and be perfect the 1st go around. I just had to do mine and others soo many times that I know exactly where to tweak to fix the issue! Glad to be back to help you all.
 
I got around to taling the car up to Ford.. They said the frame has shifted and will need to be pulled straight. Also, the Upper Tie Bar is bent ($217) and they recommend replacing it. They said this would entail removing parts of the air conditioning so they would have to drain it and refill the system as well. Total Cost: $795.96

I took it to another off the wall collision shop and he said I don't need to replace the tie bar, that he would reshape it with a hammer then pull the front end straight on a frame puller. Final cost: $389.11

What do you guys think? Why the difference in opinion on the upper Tie bar? Is it worth the extra $400 for this unit and install through Ford?
 
dude, f*** ford, unless you have warranty. that guy probably knows his stuff, sounds like he's done this kinda thing before. ford just wants more money. they want to return everything to 100% new ford product, rather than to actually repair anything. take other opinions here, but mine's definitely to take it to the collision shop.
 
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