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When I bought the truck, it appeared the hood needed adjusted, as it sits proud of the fenders by about 3/4-1 inch. Finally got to checking it today, and the adjuster does not have any up/down play in it for you to adjust this gap. I did however notice that the striker plate that seems to be an integral part of the hood is worn out..... Looks like Ill have to drill the welds/rivets and weld in some new material to repair this. I sure as hell am not gonna spring for a new hood for this truck. Its my beater, so it gets bandaids. (for now at least)
This said, has anyone here ever either done this repair, or know of anyone who makes new plates to install into the hood. LMC truck doesnt, I already looked..... you can clearly see the notch worn into the striker side of the plate..... The primary and secondary latches work on opposite sides of the plate, so at least my secondary is holding the hood down if the primary isnt doing much (still cant open the hood without releasing it, so its holding something, however tenuous
All the up/down/left/right adjustment is on the latch and its bracket. Have you tried removing the latch to see if there is any adjustment in the bracket?
From what I can determine, the PO cut that notch out. That part is thick and wear didn't cause the gap. When the exposed latch in your picture is not being pressed because of the notch, the latch partially hidden is not being fully engaged to allow a complete lock. You need to fill the gap caused by the cut out for it to work properly and press the latch. I would cut a piece of like thickness that fits the notch and tack weld it. JMO
He probably had a broken cable at one point and didn't want the hood to latch completely. Then didn't bother to fix it.
All the up/down/left/right adjustment is on the latch and its bracket. Have you tried removing the latch to see if there is any adjustment in the bracket?
Yes, I tried adjusting the latch. no bueno, I did this before I noticed the worn out latch plate
Originally Posted by sandymane
From what I can determine, the PO cut that notch out. That part is thick and wear didn't cause the gap. When the exposed latch in your picture is not being pressed because of the notch, the latch partially hidden is not being fully engaged to allow a complete lock. You need to fill the gap caused by the cut out for it to work properly and press the latch. I would cut a piece of like thickness that fits the notch and tack weld it. JMO
He probably had a broken cable at one point and didn't want the hood to latch completely. Then didn't bother to fix it.
Ok, well I can say for sure that I didnt cut the plate, but another owner may have. I have only had the truck a little over a month. As for not worn, I am not so sure, the edges are not a "cut" its pretty well worn, plus a sliver finally popped out of the notch a week or so ago that was paper thin. this is when I noticed it. I plan on cutting some stock and filling the gap with weld, as the plate appears to be integral with the hood, and the rest of it is in good shape. Keep in mind this truck has over 300k miles on it, and has led a fairly hard life. The running gear is good, but there are signs all over the body that its been a working truck. the bed corners have been re-welded a few times, and I need to repair the drivers outer door skin where someone hooked the mirror on something and bent and split it at the window channel. (worst case, I ****can the door and get a different one). This is still a working truck, so show quality is not the goal, keeping it serviceable is.
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