Bent/Bowed Hood - Thoughts on Best Plan to Fix It?

[Farrell Martin]

The front of the hood on my truck has a bow in it so when it is closed, it does not sit flush on the grille.....it drives me nuts. I am trying to come up with a plan of attack to repair it (don't want to buy/paint new hood). My first thought was to place some pieces of wood on the outside edges of the core support to support the front corners of the hood and then hook a ratchet strap to a couple of places near the middle/front of the hood. I could wrap the ratchet strap around the front bumper and start ratcheting away until it got straight. Think this will work? Should I ratchet it until the hood is straight and then let it sit like that for a while to help it hold the new shape. Any other ideas are certainly welcome.

Thanks - F

 

[StnePny]

.... what happens if you adjust the left side hood stop ... down .. a coupe of turns .......

 

[jim3326]

Check the plates where the hood stops hit and see if they're bent up. Fab up a couple plates to attach to the stock ones (thicker of course) with some screws. Adjust the stops so the hood is flush with the fenders again. Now adjust the hood latch pin so it latches with a good push on the hood and see where your at. If you still have the gap, screw the latch pin in a little at a time. Do this each time you open the hood over time. A little driving around will flex it back into place.

Jim W.

 

[Farrell Martin]

.... what happens if you adjust the left side hood stop ... down .. a coupe of turns .......

It may not look like it in the picture, but when the hood is closed, the front corners (both sides) of the hood are where they should be and align ok with the fenders. The center of the nose of the hood is about 3/4 inch higher

 

[NGABronco]

2"x4" block on each side and press in the middle, trail and error!!!!
Probably don't need the ratchet strap??;D;D

 

[Farrell Martin]

2"x4" block on each side and press in the middle, trail and error!!!!
Probably don't need the ratchet strap??;D;D

Tried that. No way to do it without putting more dents in it - hood is way too sturdy. Ratchet straps on it now. I will let it sit until morning and then apply the method mentioned above by using the center latch to pull it down..

Thanks - F

 

[Farrell Martin]

Well damn, that didn't work. I kept it under the tension of the ratchet straps over night. When I released the tension this morning, it went right back to where it was.