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Hood Latch


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Some reaction......

Because I did not know how the tumbler housing is installed (by use of the lateral bolt coming in from the driver's side of the vehicle (U.S. driver's side...Sorry guys.) I failed to realize that I could have saved myself some aggravation. Here is why:

When I carved out the backing grill I started from the center front on the grill. Once I got started and saw the orientation of the bolt, I should have opened a port from the side which would have allowed used of a 1/4 inch drive socket and ratchet, maybe with a universal joint adapter. A hole in the right place would have allowed me to go straight in from my right to my left as I viewed the front of the truck. As it was, my access hole restricted me to the use of an open end wrench. The opening only allowed a purchase of about 20 to 30 degrees on every turn of the wrench. I worked that bolt for a long time getting it out. Had I made the access hole on the side, the socket and ratchet would have had the bolt out in less than a minute.  

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Here are some photos.

First photo is of the carving job I did on the backing grill. You can just see the bolt near the top center of the photo. I would have been much better off carving out to the right of the bolt so I could get a socket in straight onto the head of the bolt.

Second two photos are of the damage to the lock/latch. You can see it is pretty well bent out of shape. A little damage is also visible on the top of the lock tumbler housing in the first photo. I guess something hit the front of the truck as in a minor accident. Carfax shows no insurance claims on the truck and no accident reports. But it is pretty clear this did not come from someone opening the hood with a key.

Hood latch 9.jpg

Hood Latch 8.jpg

Hood latch 1.jpg

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More photos.

First photo is of the sockets in the backing grill into which the studs in the outer grill extend as locators. Second photo is of my outer grill after I broke the top studs off so I could get the grill off. You can see that the bottom two studs are still in place and undamaged, but the top stud is missing completely.

 

Hood latch 6.jpg

Hood latch 7.jpg

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More photos.

The first photo shows the parts I used to repair the grill so it would remain in place. Stainless steel screw, locking nuts. a piece of fuel line cut to match the incline of the hood and make it look more natural and finally a little beveled washer to give it a more finished appearance.

Second and third photos are of the left and right side of the grill with the holding hardware in place.

 

With the hood closed and the outer grill in place, the only evidence that the hood latch was repaired is the two stainless steel screws.

Hood latch 4.jpg

Hood latch 2.jpg

Hood latch 3.jpg

Edited by Doc Hoy
MIs-spelling
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50 minutes ago, Unusual1 said:

Looks good, thanks for the write up. I might just do something like this as a pro-active measure in case I ever do have a latch problem.

You might want to remove the original screws and replace them with push rivets if it helps anything. Perhaps easier to remove at an angle.

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I will prolly go in and redo this in a way such that the screws go into the grill more perpendicular with the plane of the grill members. I would do this to try to avoid needing to use the fuel line bits to make it look right. Would also design the thing so that the screws  don't turn into nuts which have to be held from behind. As it is now, if my latch spots working again I would still have a heck of a time getting the outer grill off.

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You could always use some of these clip nuts to snap onto the receiving hole underneath. They provide for a fair amount of movement while still not spinning freely which should help with aligning the bolt between the non-parallel hole and trim surfaces.

https://www.amazon.com/Clip-On-Nuts/b?ie=UTF8&node=6826021011

Couple that with some oversize button head bolts and it should be a much simpler installation.

https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=Oversize+Button+Head+bolts

These are just examples, I've seen small packs of each at the local auto parts stores in the past.

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Agree completely Don.

Problem is finding something behind the grill to attach the clip nuts to. Maybe as simple as putting them on the existing tabs...the ones shown in the first photo in the 3:24 of yesterday.

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You should be able to slide the clips on those plastic tabs with holes shown in the first photo in the second group. You would have to select clip nuts with wider openings, some are very thin and meant to grab sheet metal. Turn the hole into a nut and the broken pin into a bolt and you've got a workable alternative to the original attachment method.

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  • 4 years later...

I’m in the UK , Scotland to be more precise. & what with our awful weather,, we get rust & Rot in everything & everywhere!!  The bonnet lock is a very common problem, 99% of people I know who’ve had this problem just drilled the pins out the lock / barrel & use a screwdriver to open it, I’m searching as I need to get mines opened, it’s spent 3 days in a “back street garage!”  To get new injector seals, P/S pipe & a radiator, only reason I got the garage to do it is so if any faults appear their liable lol , I could do it myself but the injectors are a baUGHER anyways after 3 days I got impatient went to said garage , Vans sitting outside ,, I’m thinking “Could’ve phone me when it was finished I need that van on the road!” 
they hadn’t even got the bonnet opened! So long & short is drill it out & you could replace it with a barrel from say a breakers yard or eBay or the the likes of,, , a small stubby screwdrivers how I’ll be opening mines as the locking mechanism is still all there its access to it & how often are you opening the “HOOD” (bonnet lol) & are folk actually watching, that’s all for me a big read for a small problem, kinda like my injector seals a BIG £$$£ job for penny ms worth of brass washers??????

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  • 4 weeks later...

2012 Transit Connect,  Had the same problem lock would not rotate left to unlock, but would rotate right to release.  to get to the locking device and remove bolts, I had to remove grill, which also was bolted in under the hood.  I looked up the price of a grill $50 and decided to just to rip it out.  After that there is a sub structure sill in the way of the hood lock.   I cut though this on both sides of the lock and on the inside of the mounting screw ( you can locate screw heads under hood , reaching up with fingers) . I cut it on the flat section figuring it would use a wood mending plate and pop rivets to re attach.

 

Then I removed 4 bolts 2 facing forward & 2 going in at the top.  also 2 inch bolt going sideways holing in lock.  We're open at this point.  it appears the key lock was the problem.  I ordered a new one from amazon https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08BNRDJ26/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1  $18.50 next day delivery.    Then ordered https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08BNWM75B/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1  Hood latch $20.59, the old one still worked but just a good time to do this. 

 

Attaching a picture of the cut out sub structure. 

 

key lock.jpg

hood lock.jpg

sub.jpg

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  • 7 months later...
On 2/19/2022 at 8:25 PM, Michael C said:

 

 

forget the 4 bolts mentioned above turns out you only have to remove horizontal bolt pictured

horiontal bolt.jpg

Does anyone know what this bolt is called or have the correct code for it as I had to change my latch and lock and lost this bolt!! 

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On 2/19/2022 at 8:25 PM, Michael C said:

 

 

forget the 4 bolts mentioned above turns out you only have to remove horizontal bolt pictured

horiontal bolt.jpg

Does anyone know the name or code of this bolt as lost mines whilst changing my latch and lock thank in advance 

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