hood hinges am i overlooking something?
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hood hinges am i overlooking something?
when i got this truck the hood was off , i am wanting to check my hood gaps and for the life of me i can not get this to close . the hinges are installed the way the mid fifty photos show ,and they are the correct ones for the truck according to the measurements of the arms . when i installed them the way it shows in the catalog everything is fine but there is noway that the hood will close . HELP.
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I assume it is staying up at the cowl area? Do a search on "hood" or "hood hinges" and see what you get as this has been discussed at length in the past and you will probably get some ideas from those discussions.
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sorry , i do not have a digi cam . it seems that when i try to close the hood it is solid like something is working against itself . however when the hinges are not mounted to the hood they work fine . i did crawl into the engine bay with the hood set on without the hinges and the hood fits well, but the arms look like they are going in the wrong direction for the hood to close right.
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well i got the hood on , and the angle of the hood looks to be about the sams as some of the photos i've seen on this thread . however it will not close seems locked in the up position now what guys?
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I'm not real familiar with the OEM hinges as my truck has the forward tilt setup. I assume there is a right and left hinge. Could it be possible that you have the hinges on the opposite sides of the cowl?
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Usually you can adjust the center front hood mount (on the grill side not the hood) forward some and the hood will close.
Last edited by theGman; Dec 10, 2005 at 03:21 PM. Reason: mistake
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From: Durham NC
Are you using the shoulder bolts to attach it to the hood, does the diameter of the larger part of the bolt match the holes in the hinge arms? The 53-55 hinges have 7/16" holes in the arms and use 7/16" shoulder bolts (the smooth part of the bolt) the 56 uses 5/8" bolts in 5/8" holes in the arms, if you use the 5/8" bolts with the 7/16" arms the hinges will lock solid. The arms should be able to move in and out slightly on the bolts. The longer arm with the spring attached should be the top arm when on the truck. I'm surprised you can get your to work when the hood is not attached, I found that difficult to do. The springs may be too tight also. Grab the end of the spring with a pair of vise grips and unhook it, Unwind it slowly, counting how many turns it unwinds. With the springs unhooked, see if the hinges work and the hood closes (be careful it will not stay open by itself!). if it does, then don't wind the springs as much when you put them back on. Increase the tension and test until the hood just stays open and closes properly.
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no, i don't think the hinges are interchangeable (r to l ) and as far as the center hood mount i am really not certain if you mean the lock and safety catch area but in any case that doesn 't apply here as the hood is fully opened and will not budge. it is almost like the hinges are working different than they should when they are in the opened position without the hood attached to them and are moving freely they open back toward the cab instead of closing foward this has really got me baffled , i can usually figure crap like this out it has to be something simple . any more thoughts?
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yes , they are brand new shoulder bolts , i just got them from mid fifty and they are the correct ones , they fit snug but turn freely . AX RACER did you read my message i posted before this one? i know you have helped me out in the past with this ole gal . should the hinges work like that ( move backwards towards the cab ) or did the last owner replace the springs wrong? i know when i get to the bottom of this ,it will be something simple . thanks
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From: Durham NC
No I don't think they should move the way you describe. IIRC mine won't move much at all with the hood off. It is possible to switch the spring around tho. The spring should wrap clockwise on the driver's side, CC on the pass side with the hook on the end hooking onto the tab on the arm on the side closest to the cab so it is pushing towards the front of the truck. Hmmm, I wonder if the springs had been removed if the arms could have been rotated over center? I'll look at mine tomorrow since they are off the truck. Are you absolutely sure they can't be installed on the wrong side? IIRC mine are even stamped left and right, but mine are for a 56.
Thinking about it, the springs should be forcing the arms to the full open position against the stops, so they can't possibly move further towards the cab.
Thinking about it, the springs should be forcing the arms to the full open position against the stops, so they can't possibly move further towards the cab.
Last edited by AXracer; Dec 10, 2005 at 05:59 PM.
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I know its the wrong year, but maybe this thread will help? It has close up pics of 56 hinges.
https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/s...ighlight=hinge
https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/s...ighlight=hinge
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thanks brian b , yes mine look to be the same as yours in all three photos.i really had a chance to ponder this mess last night , still have not figured it out yet . when the hood is off the hinges but they are attached to the truck, the arms move in opposite directions, the front arm moves down towards the inner fender and the longer rear arm moves back into the cowl section , something tells me this is the problem as one is working against the other when they are in the fixed locations on the hood . is that the way they work under normal conditions ?
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From: Durham NC
Unhook the spring and see if the hinges work properly then. The arms must be kept the correct spacing apart and moved together when testing, bolt them to a piece of wood at the right spacing for testing. I suspect they have snapped over center that you can move the upper one back, the spring should be holding that one full back. If the hinge still won't work with the spring detached and bolted to the wood, unbolt the arms and manipulate them individually trying to find the right at rest position. I'll be going down to the basement in a little while and will take some detailed photos of mine, as well as test my theory.