Howdy y'all,

Well, I know a lot of people here see their hoods shimmy with a bug deflector installed, specifically the Stampede. I was driving home this morning and noticed the dew on the hood was running towards the front of the truck instead of the back and sides.
So, this leads me to believe the bug deflector is altering the wind current so it creates a cowl when it hits the windshield. (the same effect as a closed in tailgate, where a pocket of air rotates between the front and rear edges of the hood.
So, when this air loops around, it lifts the rear of the hood.

Now my only question is... anyone know how to keep the hood from lifting???

 

Replacing the hood with a steel one. That or remove the bug deflector. Maybe welding some rebar onto the underside might help. Ford dropped the ball by using a thin aluminum hood.

 

Actually, I was quite happy to see an aluminum hood. My 93 had steel, and it was starting to rust around the edges, where I had drilled to mount the bug guard and where there were chips from the road. May not be a problem anywhere else, but in New England, I'll take the aluminum.

 

Every F150 hood since 97 has been aluminum. It's not something new. As heavy as the truck is, I expect to see more aluminum on them.

 

I was looking and I was thinking if I put some insulation similar to door insulation between the hood and the black plastic that it could prevent wind from scooping it up. Anyone have any suggestions on what to use there?

 

Maybe the vibration comes from the bug deflector but I don't have one and my hood shakes.

 

Well, you could get this cowl effect even without a bug shield, it just wouldn't be as severe.
It's actually designed to cowl, because that's where cabin air comes in - the black plastic piece that buts up to the windshield. I know I've seen vehicles with insulation between the back of the hood and wherever they but up, so I'm wondering if Ford design team just dropped the ball here.