I was waxing the hood the other day and I noticed something really interesting.
I popped the hood to wax the top edges of the fenders and while I was doing it I couldn't believe how much the hood wiggles when released to the safety catch. So I got to pressing and wiggling and thinking, noticing how pressing on one front edge of the hood would make the opposite corner "flap" around. It seems the hood relies on 2 hinges, 2 hood stops, 2 bumpers, and the center catch to keep the hood still. A loose front corner can actually make the opposite rear corner move! The hinges and the center catch are not enough to keep the hood still. Adjustment of the hood stops is strangely critical. Too high and the rubber bumpers on the front edge corner of the hood do not contact. Too low and the hood has a loose fit and the rubber bumpers on the front edge corner of the hood allow the hood to rub on the fender. This photo shows the point to check for rubbing caused by low hood stops.
2176

This is a hood stop. A simple large plastic bolt.


2177

Checking the fit is easy. I took a 4 gobs of car wax (since I had it right there) and put them on the 2 stops and the 2 rubber bumpers. Then I carefully pressed on the center of the hood until it locked into the closed position. Do not slam! You will get hood flex resulting in inaccurate wax transfer. At first, only one stop and one bumper were in contact on opposite sides. Evidenced by wax transfer. So I lowered the higher stop and raised the lower stop. After doing this several times, wiping off the wax, reapplying and closing the hood. I came to a point where all 4 contact points had equal amounts of wax transfer. Now the hood seems tight and well positioned.

Give it a try. It can't hurt.

Thanks. That was one of the best treatises and one of the best tips I've read here. It all makes good sense. I'm going to try it. God know my hoods a'flappen.

I noticed they were too low on my Patriot. I found they turned/lowered by themselves (likely due to vibration). I have since taped them around the threads to keep them from lowering.

I am going to try the 'wax' tip, great idea.

great info thanks man I was wondering bc it looked like I had movement from the hood at speeds of 70-85mph

Thanks man. That was some of the most useful Ive read on this forum for a while! Now I dont have to be afraid everytime I meet a truck...

Thanks for that very useful bit of info,yesterday due to my heart stopping incident the other day with my bonnet I decided to adjust a few things as spoken about on a previous thread.

My system was slightly different,I adjusted the rear hinge stops first taking out the lift then wound down the front stops totally turning each one up in equal amounts and slowly rocking the front of the bonnet until this was taken out.I confirmed the height adjustment using a tape measure taking a reading from the base of the stop frame to one of the under side nut flats on the stop on either side of the bonnet,mine was 3/4" but this will obviously differ on vehicles.:doh:

I have not tried high speed driving yet but the bonnet looks solid enough hopefully it will do the trick.:)

Thanks for the advice, Jeepster67 and Greenman. I'm going to try it later today. Then, have you checked that your hood doesn't flap any more now? Yesterday again I had to drive fast and in windy conditions and the flapping hood scared my girlfriend who was at the wheel.

Thax a lot jepstr67, that did the trick. I was a bit concerned the first time i over took a transport on the highway.

It might be useful to know that the Body Repair Manual (page 363 found at Nearly Normal Jimmy's site) states that the gap between the hood and front fascia should be of 9.3 +/- 1.5 milimeters. And between hood and side fender 6.5 +/-1.5 mm

I'm not near my car right now, but I'd say I have much closer gaps hood to fender in the front. More like 3mm. But it is almost 10 near the hinge. If I'm thinking in metric correctly ;)

I finally met my flapping hood today at speeds between 65-75 mph. :wow: It was scary! I remembered instantly of reading about the flapping hood on here sadly to say. Nevertheless is this the fix??? Please let me know, so I can tell my hubby to fix it before I travel the interstate for 5 hrs oneway next month for a vacation.

It may work for a while, but this doesn't explain why hinges were replaced on mine when it went to the body shop...

Flappy hood comes back.

I finally met my flapping hood today at speeds between 65-75 mph. :wow: It was scary! I remembered instantly of reading about the flapping hood on here sadly to say. Nevertheless is this the fix??? Please let me know, so I can tell my hubby to fix it before I travel the interstate for 5 hrs oneway next month for a vacation.

Yes it will cure it. Also look for a thread by Greenman concerning adjustment of the center catch. These two adjustments will cure the movement in the hood.

It may work for a while, but this doesn't explain why hinges were replaced on mine when it went to the body shop...

Flappy hood comes back.

Oh, I don't know....If I were a mechanic I might just replace parts to get a customer to quit breathing down my neck.

And if they did not adjust the stops and the catch, you bet, the flapping will come back.

Oh dear, what are we going to do?? I gather Jeep will not fix it?? If they even can, that is. I'll be callling my dealer tomorrow to see what they say...brush off I suspect? Any great fix advice will be greatly appreciated!!


__________________________________________

Okay, I will check into that Jepstr67. Thanks so much!!!

Oh, I don't know....If I were a mechanic I might just replace parts to get a customer to quit breathing down my neck.

Yeah, there is that.

If this works, it should probably be stickied to help others!

If this works, it should probably be stickied to help others!

I agree to that UN4GTBL :smiley_thumbs_up:

A pretty simple but very helpful tip...
I'm lucky to read this one...

Worked for me

If you still have trouble, check out a thread by Greenman, where he shows how to adjust the center catch.

If you still have trouble, check out a thread by Greenman, where he shows how to adjust the center catch.

Never seen that one yet... Time for me to check that out... :)

THANKS FOR THE TIP, THIS IS THE KIND OF POSTS THAT I JOINED THIS FORUM FOR. NOT THE JUNK ABOUT CORRECT PRECISE SPELLING OR WHEN TO USE CAPS. ETC,

THANKS FOR THE TIP, THIS IS THE KIND OF POSTS THAT I JOINED THIS FORUM FOR. NOT THE JUNK ABOUT CORRECT PRECISE SPELLING OR WHEN TO USE CAPS. ETC,

Did you know, typing in caps is considered YELLING:mad:

jepstr67, Bravo.

Nice job on explaining hood adjustment.

I'll investigate it this weekend.

THANKS FOR THE TIP, THIS IS THE KIND OF POSTS THAT I JOINED THIS FORUM FOR. NOT THE JUNK ABOUT CORRECT PRECISE SPELLING OR WHEN TO USE CAPS. ETC,

Simply don't read them. Some of us consider them funny and detensifying. I'm wondering if anyone in this forum has ever marked as Junk(!) any of your posts. I'm sure that the same people who post into "spelling" or such threads have helped you in the past with advices and encouragment. Why do you reject their other side? Why someone who is intersted in Jeeps, off-roading etc, can't also spell or type correct? We are not insociable!

AND DON'T YELL!!! we can hear you...

THAT IS WHY I DO IT!! SO YOU LISTEN!!!

A FORUM IS FOR VEHICLE RELATED ITEMS .NOT POLITICS ETC, GO TO A CHAT ROOM!!

A FORUM IS FOR VEHICLE RELATED ITEMS .NOT POLITICS ETC, GO TO A CHAT ROOM!!

We discuss them at Forum's bar. I can discuss there whatever I like, I can even smoke there!!:pepper:

Take it easy mates, the both of you has good points to prove...
Its just that people might see it differently...
Lets get back to the topic... :)

:hijacked::wrongforum:

How Did this get so far off of the examination process and repair of hoods that don't fit quite right?:mad:

I was waxing the hood the other day and I noticed something really interesting.
I popped the hood to wax the top edges of the fenders and while I was doing it I couldn't believe how much the hood wiggles when released to the safety catch. So I got to pressing and wiggling and thinking, noticing how pressing on one front edge of the hood would make the opposite corner "flap" around. It seems the hood relies on 2 hinges, 2 hood stops, 2 bumpers, and the center catch to keep the hood still. A loose front corner can actually make the opposite rear corner move! The hinges and the center catch are not enough to keep the hood still. Adjustment of the hood stops is strangely critical. Too high and the rubber bumpers on the front edge corner of the hood do not contact. Too low and the hood has a loose fit and the rubber bumpers on the front edge corner of the hood allow the hood to rub on the fender. This photo shows the point to check for rubbing caused by low hood stops.
2176

This is a hood stop. A simple large plastic bolt.


2177

Checking the fit is easy. I took a 4 gobs of car wax (since I had it right there) and put them on the 2 stops and the 2 rubber bumpers. Then I carefully pressed on the center of the hood until it locked into the closed position. Do not slam! You will get hood flex resulting in inaccurate wax transfer. At first, only one stop and one bumper were in contact on opposite sides. Evidenced by wax transfer. So I lowered the higher stop and raised the lower stop. After doing this several times, wiping off the wax, reapplying and closing the hood. I came to a point where all 4 contact points had equal amounts of wax transfer. Now the hood seems tight and well positioned.

Give it a try. It can't hurt.


Son of a! Just looked at my hood there and I have some freaking paint chips from the hood bouncing around! Adjusted the 2 stops so hopefully that will take care of any further damage.

Damn!!! Mine's got a big scratch where it meets because of this!!
Taking it back to the dealer this afternoon (the Riot has 1000 km and 1 month). I'll let you know what happens (should be covered right????)

Still....this should have been checked at the factory!!

They go out of adjustment rather easily, from my experience. I've adjusted mine several times.

I think someone should combine all the posts on the hood adjustments, hinges, stop pillars, latch, and make one good DIY post for the Knowledge Base.

That would be great combining all these together.

Anyways, I went to the dealer yesterday and it's covered under the warranty.

He wanted me to use a touch up, claiming that fixing it in the body shop would weaken the original pain!?!?!!?:zzz:

I got an appointment in the body shop anyways. That way it will be done right and since it's under the warranty, it's free! Everyone should check that spot and those adjusters, it seems like a problem area.

I need to remember to put a dot of paint on there before it rusts.

Just checked again today and that plastic stopper thing came loose (unscrewed itself) and its rubbing again!!

Anyone know how I can stop it from coming loose like that??

Just checked again today and that plastic stopper thing came loose (unscrewed itself) and its rubbing again!!

Anyone know how I can stop it from coming loose like that??

Dab of silicone glue on the threads.

Dab of silicone glue on the threads.

Nice! Thanks!

I went to my dealer last week, getting fed out with this hood or bonnet dancing on the freeway or in high wind situation. Stoppers are at the maximum (I had a bit of friction on the front corner of the hood. Resul = nothing has changed. The hood just lifts and wabble each time a semi trailer passes on the other side of the road or at high speed 100 km. Will phone Jeep Monday, will see a friend professional body repair man. This is ridiculous.

I'm thinking of addind springs to the rear hinges so they stay down. Anyway, I just wish the thing flies away without injuring anyone so I can bring this in a court of law as a major fault of conception and get Jeep to recall the Patriots with that problem.

So mister Chrysler engineer are you hearing me? I guess you will just keep your mouth shut. By doing so, you can be sure my next vehicle won't be a jeep.

I can't understand why some have it fixed and others don't. Do we all have the same hinges?

Let us know how it goes...I'd like to get this fixed for good also!

Did this awhile ago. One day I was driving my wife's patriot on the highway and noticed it. I said "babe how long has your goo been doing the moving thing (wife terms)"? She said since we bought the car. I was like didn't you think something could be wrong. No she replied