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Hood overhang in front

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Old 03-17-2018, 04:16 PM
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Question Hood overhang in front

My '93 F250 (regular cab, 7.3 IDI) has a hood that came from another truck since it has an emissions hose diagram for a 1993 gas engine!
But it overhangs slightly in front, close to 3/4 of an inch forward of the grille and headlights. The mounting bolts could use a bit of adjustment but the gap between the hood and the cowl is only about 3/8". I thought the nose was supposed to make a smooth contour from the hood to the headlights.

Does anyone have a close-up picture of the nose of the hood and grille/headlights? Is this normal, or were there different hoods for other '93 F-trucks and I have the wrong one? Thanks for any help.
-Charles
 
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Old 03-18-2018, 09:49 AM
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Nobody?
I found some good pics on Google and it does look like it's supposed to be flush. I know this truck had front end damage at some point because the two fenders don't perfectly color-match and as mentioned, the hood is off a different truck for sure. I've replaced the mangled headlight support, hopelessly fogged headlights, and grille (all quite inexpensive from the aftermarket) and it looks like everything lines up more or less correctly.
Anyway I've got more important things to fix than this, just wondering about what might be bent or mismatched...
 
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Old 03-18-2018, 10:47 AM
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The cowl is only fastened in the front, and slides a good deal underneath the windshield trim when installed. It could be possible to unfasten it entirely, or shim it out to meet the hood. You can check to see if there is any room to shift it aft, then adjust the hood to match.
 
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Old 03-18-2018, 10:56 AM
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Thanks, I didn't know that! Will take a look when it's not getting ready to rain. Anything on this truck could have been improperly rigged, and probably is.
I would actually need to slide the cowl BACK, not forward, since the nose of the hood is sticking out too far and I'd be moving it back toward the windshield
 
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Old 03-18-2018, 11:57 AM
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I have a '90 and '91, and have had the cowl off on both for wiper motor replacement, in fact the 90 is off right now. They may be different than the 93, but mine cannot be shifted to the rear.
And my '90, at some point before I owned it, had the hood bumped on the passenger side, light enough for a very small dent, but hard enough to do some damage where the cowl attaches. And enough to cause me some grief in my hood latch adjustment.
Having spent quite a bit of time and frustration adjusting the hood, I can't imagine that much overhang with the proper hood and a reasonable hood to cowl clearance.
I know the bodies changed around 92, maybe you have an earlier hood that is too long?
Somebody here is bound to know
 
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Old 03-18-2018, 06:50 PM
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You either need to adjust your cowl, your fenders, and/or your radiator support. The gaps on these trucks weren't laser straight from the factory to begin with, and they are almost infinitely adjustable. You should be able to get your gaps straight, it just depends on how particular you are and how much time you want to spend doing it.
 
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Old 03-18-2018, 08:33 PM
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Does your hood line up with your fenders?

Everything starts with properly aligned doors. Next, your fender height and your door to fender gap. The cowl panel really only has one place to go and no adjustment. The rad cradle adjustment will affect the door/fender gap. It must be shimmed to make this gap even. It also will affect the squareness of the hood opening. Once set correctly, you can install the hood. The hinges can be adjusted at the firewall to make the hood level with the cowl. The adjustment along the hood of the hinges must make the hood exactly parallel with the cowl and can also shift the hood left or right and back and forth to center between the fenders and line up the corners of the hood with the leading edge of the fenders. If all this is done, the grill and headlights should line up properly with the leading edge of the hood. If not, you may be dealing with a damaged rad cradle. There also is some adjustment in the grill mounting brackets.

Perhaps you could post a picture of how yours fits. Rule of thumb, all gaps should be even and not binding. I would expect they should be less than 1/4 inch, probably more like 1/8 inch.
​​​​​
 
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Old 03-18-2018, 08:55 PM
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Thanks. In fact, nothing lines up that great with anything else

I know the radiator support has had "problems" because it has cracks at the top on each side which were fixed with 6" pieces of angle iron. Would have been a neater job if they had cleaned up the spatter (or not used flux-core wire). But I digress.

It looks like they got it straight but who knows if any attempt at body panel alignment was done. I think not - they just bolted on a replacement fender and hood and that was it. Once the rain passes by tomorrow morning I will try and post some pictures.
 
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