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I am trying to adjust the hood on my 1976 F250 2wd with a 360 V8. In the pictures you can see one of the two bolts that hold the passenger side hood hinge that the nuts are simply turning on and will not allow me to tighten them. I can't see how to get to these without removing the entire fender or am I missing something. This bolt and the one at the front are the two that seem to have lost the captured nut This is the gap that I was attempting to adjust so the hood would close properly
If you pull the plastic wheel well liners, if they're still there, you can get to those nuts by going up from under the wheel well. It's all open under there. I wouldn't go to crazy lining stuff up, they didn't fit all that great of the assembly line to begin with. Nothing like the tight gaps cars have now.
Those bolts have a nut and washer on the inside of the wheel well (to attach them to the fender). You can reach them through the wheel-well. Just have to reach up in there and probably use a box-end wrench to grab them. The bolts themselves do not tighten on the wheel well. The gap you are trying to adjust, I believe, is controlled by the hood bolts that connect the hinge to the hood.
By the way, I second what speedfreak78 is saying. I've been trying to adjust my gaps for a couple months (since I replaced the hinges). Kind of like my golf game...very frustrating!
I have an update on the removal of the bolts. I got the plastic wheel cover off and found that the nuts were not turning but the bolts were stripped out and simply turning inside the nuts. I drilled out the heads on the two bolts that were stripped and then had to break the welds for the capture cover for the other bolt. Then I was able to clamp unto the nut and remove the final bolt that was holding the hinge. I then cut and removed the other welds and covers to remove the remanding pieces of the other two bolts. I now do have a flat surface to install new nuts and bolts to hold down the hinge and I will wait until I get the hood adjusted to reinstall the wheel well cover. Another thing someone used bolts and nuts to install the wheel well cover so that was a real pain to remove and caused at least three trips to the medicine cabinet to stop the bleeding. I guess someone in the future can yell at me out for not using the captured nuts on the hood hinge. Thanks for the advise.
If everything is in good shape you should be able to get your gaps near perfect if you're willing to work at it. my gaps are flawless but it took some effort.
Just remember you always start with the back of the door and work forward.
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