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Hood will not stay open without prop


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I've searched several ways but have not been able to find the answer to my question.

My hood appears to be in very good condition...and all the hinges look good and complete.

The only problem is I can't open the hood, and leave it open, without propping it open with a broom handle.

Is there a way to adjust the hinges so the hood will stay open by itself?

Thanks,

Samplemaven

BMWCCA #420368

'72 2002 Tii Inka restoration project

'07 550i Titanium Silver, steptronic...ED 2006

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Most of the hoods I know (in California) stay up. Just take a look at a car show pictures. I didn't know the answer 10 minutes ago but I am intrigued by your question, so I did some quick investigating, these is what I found out (btw these german engineers are brilliant)

there is a tube that is located towards the front of the hood, inside there is a rod with 90 degree bend at each end. This acts as a torsion spring. It appears to be a counterweight of some sorts, to keep the hood from slamming down and to aid opening it. The hood is only held open if it is passed the equilibrium point, and this is the last half inch of motion. This is where the weight is actually pushing on the rest stop of the brackets attached to the torsion spring.

A couple things may stop from reaching that position, primarly rust on the hinges or the connection between the tube and the side brackets that bolt the torsion spring to the hood.

I would remove the tube and lubricate all the moving parts.

If someone knows, please correct me if I am wrong.

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FAQ Member # 91

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i have that problem with my 69...i didn't have before i removed the hood for paint but when i reinstalled it, it will not hold it's self up....

i've screw'd with it repeatedly, the braces & brackets look like those on my other o2's...i finally resorted to a 4' 1x2

same with the trunk...it did stay up before i removed it for paint, now it won't

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I guess I should clarify, my hood does stay up on its own, but all it takes is a gust of wind or a jostle to the car while working on it to send it slamming shut.

I consider the hood prop good insurance against damage to my head and/or the car.

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i have that problem with my 69...i didn't have before i removed the hood for paint but when i reinstalled it, it will not hold it's self up....

Same exact problem, same exact situation, Esty. If anyone knows the solution, please let us know. Otis is at the paint shop (fixing the problem, as some saw at V@V, with my yellow, shade-off hood). We took the hood off to dip, strip, ecoat and paint - and now the hood not only won't load and stay up, it makes a horrible "pop" when we open. I've had every expert in the body-shop biz take a look at it, and everyone is baffled. We even have Scooterboy's old hood hinges, from his wrecked Concours-winner, but I'm reluctant to put them on the car - bad karma. Blunt is helping with replacement parts and diagrams - but we're all baffled.

Bill W, we need to take a cruise over to Master Crafters to see if we can solve the load problem. Bring a camera!

In anticipation that we can't fix the problem, I just bought one of those hood props from Amazon.com. Figuring out their shipping options is a tricky proposition - but thanks for the link.

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I guess I should clarify, my hood does stay up on its own, but all it takes is a gust of wind or a jostle to the car while working on it to send it slamming shut.

I consider the hood prop good insurance against damage to my head and/or the car.

then it must be a East Coast only problem :-) :

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FAQ Member # 91

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It's possible you either need to replace the end brackets on the torsion tube, or, you do not have them installed right. My experience with both my ' 75 and my wife's ' 76 is that it takes large channel locks and about all the strength I have to get those puppies installed correctly. If is was not a high-strength-requiring procedure when you installed the end brackets, then you probably don't have them in correctly.

Bob Napier

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My trunk lid virtually pops open. If I just push in the trunk release, I have to grab it right away, before it flys up.. Here's a couple of pics of my trunk mechanism. They cross at some point, as shown in the pics.

The other shot is of my hood, which is really secure, once it is up.

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i have that problem with my 69...i didn't have before i removed the hood for paint but when i reinstalled it, it will not hold it's self up....

Same exact problem, same exact situation, Esty. If anyone knows the solution, please let us know. Otis is at the paint shop (fixing the problem, as some saw at V@V, with my yellow, shade-off hood). We took the hood off to dip, strip, ecoat and paint - and now the hood not only won't load and stay up, it makes a horrible "pop" when we open. I've had every expert in the body-shop biz take a look at it, and everyone is baffled. We even have Scooterboy's old hood hinges, from his wrecked Concours-winner, but I'm reluctant to put them on the car - bad karma. Blunt is helping with replacement parts and diagrams - but we're all baffled.

Bill W, we need to take a cruise over to Master Crafters to see if we can solve the load problem. Bring a camera!

In anticipation that we can't fix the problem, I just bought one of those hood props from Amazon.com. Figuring out their shipping options is a tricky proposition - but thanks for the link.

I went to Mastercrafters yesterday to drop off Horst with Kenny and I had the privilege of seeing Otis firsthand. An absolutely beautiful car - very nice!

-Marc

'73 2002 (Agave) - Horst

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My trunk lid virtually pops open. If I just push in the trunk release, I have to grab it right away, before it flys up.. Here's a couple of pics of my trunk mechanism. They cross at some point, as shown in the pics.

The other shot is of my hood, which is really secure, once it is up.

Tony - the trunk torsion rods may be "crossed" differently on your car, holding too much tension. Are they rubbing together anywhere along the lenght of the rods? IIRC, the "blue book" discusses how to adjust them.

ALSO, I don't see the separator "blocks" on your trunk rods. That may be the why.

Jim Gerock

 

Riviera 69 2002 built 5/30/69 "Oscar"

Royal Red 69 VW Squareback built 8/13/68 “Patty”

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[quote="dubois

then it must be a East Coast only problem ]

Nonsense ;-). My hood acts just like yours does - it takes driver effort to raise it almost to the full open position, then will "take over" and keep it open (even in strong wind conditions).

Maybe the weight of additional layers of paint has something to do with the issue (along with a lack of lubrication). The front hinges probably never get lubed.

The German Engineers came up with a nice solution to keep the hood open (simpler than the scary spring setup on the 1800 and 2000 NK sedans).

Jim Gerock

 

Riviera 69 2002 built 5/30/69 "Oscar"

Royal Red 69 VW Squareback built 8/13/68 “Patty”

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I think the problem is - well, I don't know. Nobody knows.

My end brackets are not like the ones in the photo above (the enclosed type - Dubois' 116_6979 photo). Bill W told me that the bracket/bar combo is not the correct one for the year of the car (71), and BLUNT confirmed. I have access to Scooterboy's brackets (the enclosed type) but when Kenny put them on the car, the hood still won't load correctly. Before Otis, they had painted Scooterboy's hood and installed the exact same brackets (remember, Scooter totalled his car, and Kenny saved the brackets - the only thing left that wasn't crumpled). They worked just fine in Scooter's car. But when he puts them on Otis - nothing.

It baffles me. And Kenny. And Bill. And the BMW Gods. PS - we thought of the "backwards" problem, too. Switched up; that didn't work, either.

Bob - Thanks for the comments, but we've tried just about everything. Any pictures of your end brackets?

Tony - Thanks for the pictures.

Marc - thanks for the compliments. Otis is a happy car, and likes to be stroked and petted and paid lots of compliments.

Esty - I only came back for the hood post. I lurk every now and then, but I'm busy with the Isetta (about 60 percent done).

Maybe I'll just go with a lineal actuator and forget all this nonsense.

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I got sick of trying to adjust the hood to stay up. I drilled a hole through both flat bars where they cross when the hood is open and install a removable pin with a clip. I keep this pin in my center console when the hood is closed. Since I have done this, the hood has never failed me by falling down. (Note: this is a '72 02 and may not work on other years)

Good Luck,

Mike (#87)

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