Pulling the hood off...

[evil_twin]

Hey, when you all pull the hood off, do you remove the 4 bolts bolted directly to the hood or do you pull the 4 bolts that hold the sprung unit that lifts the hood?

Im going to pull the hood so I can start pulling bits and pieces off the front of the motor and it's just that much easier for me when Im working in my garage.

Thanks.

[RickSloan]

take the bolts out of the hood, should be 4 to take all the way out and 2 to just loosen, they slide out with the hood.

This is the way i always do it, seems like taking the hinge out of the car would be a PITA

[evil_twin]

Yah I just hate lining the hood back up. I did that when I did my motor swap and it was a bithc.

[Farbin Kaiber]

Then swap the engine by pulling the front subframe down and out, instead of thru the top of the bay.

[evil_twin]

That would be oh so nice if I had a lift in my garage. But not all of us can be as cool as you and do it that way.

[FredK]

I installed my S50US without removing the hood. It takes a lot of careful manuevering with a load leveler in a nearly vertical position and the car on jackstands, but it is definitely possible.

You undo the hood hinge and get the hood vertical by leaning it against the front grill with a towel in between the grill and the hood to prevent damaging the finish. The only time I had to remove the hood was when I pulled an M20 with the auto transmission.

[nando]

removing the hood is incredibly easy by yourself

Pop the hood open. Unhook the hood shock and the support arm. unhook the washer nozzle hose.

Set the hood down but don't close it. Undo six 10mm bolts that attach the hood to the hinge. Standing in front of the car, grab the hood from the sides and remove. It's not that heavy. Put it somewhere soft.

putting it back on is just as easy; set it on the hinge/rear brackets , position the hinge, put the bolts in, rehook the shock/support and nozzle hose, done. aligning isn't a big deal either, just snug two of the 10mm bolts, shift it around until you're happy and tighten the rest.

I don't see why you would go through the trouble of doing a motor swap with the hood still there. It takes like 5 minutes to remove it. lol.

[FredK]

Yeah, it takes 5 minutes to remove and 5 minutes to reinstall, but adjusting takes a little while sometimes. I guess you could make match marks on the screws or something to make life easier, but I can never find a paint marker while I'm in the garage!

[Farbin Kaiber]

Plus, if you know what you are doing, you can see the "grooves" where the washers sat on the bracket to get it pretty damn close.

[nando]

Yeah, it takes 5 minutes to remove and 5 minutes to reinstall, but adjusting takes a little while sometimes. I guess you could make match marks on the screws or something to make life easier, but I can never find a paint marker while I'm in the garage!

I don't know, maybe I'm not as anal as Jordan, but close enough works for me. Not like the panel fitment of a 20 year old E30 is spectacular (although still better than modern domestics, yikes!).

[evil_twin]

Yeah, it takes 5 minutes to remove and 5 minutes to reinstall, but adjusting takes a little while sometimes. I guess you could make match marks on the screws or something to make life easier, but I can never find a paint marker while I'm in the garage!

I hate having to match it up, because it never seems to sit right after that. Alright then, thanks guys

[Hallen]

I hate having to match it up, because it never seems to sit right after that. Alright then, thanks guys

That's just you being critical of your own work. Chances are it was worse before you took it off and you just didn't notice.:D

[evil_twin]

Thats what Im thinking, but thats why I figured if I pulled off the sprung tensioner it would be lined up when I put it back lol.

[jlevie]

Yeah, it takes 5 minutes to remove and 5 minutes to reinstall, but adjusting takes a little while sometimes. I guess you could make match marks on the screws or something to make life easier, but I can never find a paint marker while I'm in the garage!

There's an easy solution. Use a can of spray pain (any color) to mark the outline of where the hinge pads are before removing the hood. Or scribe a line around the hinge pads. Match that up when re-mounting the hood and it will adjusted to the same position as when you removed it.

[twright]

Here's the way I align the hood when I put it back on:

1.) Put the hood back on the hinges with the bolts in and loosely tightened. They should be tight enough to hold the hood, but loose enough so that you can still adjust the hood position.

2.) Line the opening in the body where the hood will sit, when closed, with towels. These towels should be on the edges of the fenders and front of the windshield where the hood interfaces.

3.) SLOWLY and CAREFULLY close the hood. If you have done this SLOWLY and CAREFULLY, the hood will magically align itself.

4.) Slowly raise the hood and tighten all of the bolts.

5.) Close the hood and check the alignment.