John:
When installing a new hood latch, the safety catch will be too
far forward and will bend the first time the hood is closed.
There is a metal tab on the new latch that acts as a forward
stop for the safety catch. You must bend that tab towards the rear of
the car to limit the forward motion of the catch, and to insure that it
aligns properly with the female portion of the latch that is mounted on
the firewall.
If you fail to attend to this adjustment when installing a new
latch, you will bend it severely the first time you close the hood. Some
people just hold the safety catch in the correct position with their
fingers when closing the hood, but the first time you forget or some
grease monkey forgets, your new latch is toast.
Cheers,
Vance
-----Original Message-----
From: owner-6pack@autox.team.net [mailto:owner-6pack@autox.team.net] On
Behalf Of sullij@att.net
Sent: September 26, 2005 6:03 PM
To: 6Pack 6pack_list
Subject: hood latch
For five years I had a hood latch which consisted of the spring / pin
and no safety latch. A month ago I replaced it with a new component,
including the latch. After picking up my car from a state inspection, I
found that the latch was bent. I suspect that the shop shut to bonnet /
hood and the latch was too far back when the hood was closed.
Was the latch that weak during the original production? Any suggestions
/ recommendations for improvement here?
Thanks,
John Sullivan
|