HOOD - COWL Gap ? How to?

[jondancer]

I have what I think is to big of gap between the hood and cowl . I had the hood off and I also added a cowl seal. Now the gap seems big. How can "adjust" this?

[davepl]

Can't you just loosen the hood hinges and (carefully) slide it back towards the windshield a bit? Normally there's room for adjustment.

Of course that might throw your rad support and latch out, but then they're wrong and need to be fixed. You always start with what you can't move (like the windshield, and the cowl up against it) and then move on to the things that can move...

[swamp rat]

If the gap was fine before and your confident the hinges are real close to the same location as before then you may want to give the hinges a few shots of some penetrating oil as they could be binding up.

[Ironangel]

Them seals bind the hood when they're new. Squirt some WD-40 all along the new seal. You may have the seal pushed in towards the cab a bit to far as well. If the WD-40 trick dont work right away, loosen the screws and pull the seal towards the motor a bit to allow it to fold more easily. If that dont work, then it may be time for new(er) and tighter hinges...~Ghostrider~

[71CHEVYSHORTBED402]

What the others have said. If it's an alignment issue, you might notice something between the hood and grille.

Here are some of the notes I took when I removed my hood recently. Items in red font seem most important in your case. You'll see "hood brace". This is the part where the hood mounts to the hinges. There may be a more better description.......


Hood to Hinges

Each hinge is mounted to the hood with two 9/16" head tapered screws with integrated washers. Incidental: The two “screws” on the fronts weren't tapered.

The front edge of each hinge was flush with the edge of the flat surface on the hood brace.

Reference the 1/2" holes on the hood brace. The outer edge of the nearest hole straight to the edge of the hinge was 17". This applies to both sides.


General Alignment of the Hood:

There was 3/10" separation on the RH side, and 2/10" separation on LH side, which is measured from the top corners of the cowl and hood.

The alignment on the rear portion of the hood and fender is too close on the RH side, and scratches the paint. Note this is near the rear rubber bumper that inserts into the fender. My first instinct is shim the RH fender, but the fender is flush with the door. However, the LH fender is approx. 1/10" an inch deeper than the LH door. If the LH fender is shimmed, that may solve the problem on the RH side, but could contribute to new problems, because the LH hood, cowl and fender line up nicely. Find out if the top rear fender should be flush with the door. Only input so far is I should feel lucky it's as straight as it is. Images captured.

[jondancer]

Thanks guys

[71CHEVYSHORTBED402]

I use WD-40 for lots of things. Depending on the source, it's hit and miss whether or not it should be used on rubber. Personally, I tend to avoid it, though in this case I'm sure you're fine using it....... Lots of info. on the web concerning correct lubes for rubber.....Good luck! http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums...bber_Lubricant