Hood lift supports

    Quote from Nemesis1701

    You mean the stock hood latch? That could've been a totally independent issue and the pins/springs where just being affected by it.
    I too have experienced difficulty opening the hood but it has been after many hours of riding. Rarely happens on short trips. Why I have no idea maybe in long trips the latch gets thighter, I have however sprayed the entire mechanism with garage door lube and it seems to have helped.

    Awhile back, my rear latches would sometimes come loose and the springs seemed to aggravate that. After removing the springs, the latches haven't come loose in quite awhile.
    The rear driver side latch now tends to release at least partially, but if I lift the hood w/o simultaneously lifting the driver side of the hood a few feet back from the front of the hood, the hood doesn't come up and seems to hang on something near the rear driver side latch. Problem started shortly after purchase, cleared up and then came back again. The springs helped, but also seemed to aggravate the latches coming loose, so I removed the springs.

    @BKL I had similar issues with hood not latching properly and / or uneven when latched. I removed stock latches and re-drilled, so to say, the latch holes in a oval shape so they could be attached lower enabling the hood drop lower. I then adjusted the front of the hood higher so the back could drop forcefully into the latch. When I close the hood I let it drop and I mean drop I just let it go and it falls perfectly level. This has worked well for me.

    Quote from Nemesis1701

    We are all clear that the hood brackets and the hood lift shocks are two different items.
    I have stock hatch .....looking to add the hood lift.Will be doing this soon!

    I agree they are the brackets and gas struts are indeed different things.
    I mentioned I had the Alpha brackets simply because I had already referenced the fact that my hood didn't always stay securely latched. Had I thought about modding the original brackets as you did, I might not have bought the Alpha brackets. The main reason I haven't installed the new brackets is I'm concerned the process may introduce problems and require additional adjustments.

    "
    I found my order flip from doing mine. I put a 30lb shock on each side. I ordered direct from liftsupportdepot.com.



    I've had them installed for just about a year with no issues. They do help in raising and lowering the hood.
    I used the longer ball end mount on both ends. It was extremely tight
    trying to get it in the hole already in the shock tower so I just
    drilled another hole and used it. I bought the washers from Lowe's.
    Note: make sure the ends of the shock are metal. Some come with a plastic end. You can request the metal if needed.
    Stephen."


    It appears they went up in price - $185 dollars now...

    Boating with the dolphins, US Navy '76-'84

    Quote from BKL

    I agree they are the brackets and gas struts are indeed different things.I mentioned I had the Alpha brackets simply because I had already referenced the fact that my hood didn't always stay securely latched.

    Brother I'm sure the Alfa brackets work great really not complicated to install. There are several very good post on the front and rear hood ajustments, someone to help you will be great also I just happen to have tooooooo muuuuuucccccch time on my hands!

    Quote from Nemesis1701

    Brother I'm sure the Alfa brackets work great really not complicated to install. There are several very good post on the front and rear hood ajustments, someone to help you will be great also I just happen to have tooooooo muuuuuucccccch time on my hands!

    It's funny, but since I retired I can't seem to get anywhere near as much done compared to when I was working!

    I had hood lift issues and was about to go to a lift mechanism. However, I took a good look at what was happening with my video recorder and I determined if I shifted the drivers side bracket 1/8" to the center( you have to drive the slot bigger) it works great. I have to hold the release handle down while at the same time lifting the hood up. Now I don't know if this would have worked without moving the racket but it does now.