VP Bonnet Hinge

[votality]

Hi guys when the bonnet hinges play up are they usually loose or wobble etc? Is there a visible defect?

My bonnet on the left has hit the glass and cracked the windscreen (bonnet seems low on the left) but the hinge seems completely rigid and not loose on any of the joins etc..

[deadstato]

my vp bonnet did that about a month ago im thinking the gas struts are stuffed i opened it then shut it and crack went the glass

[votality]

my vp bonnet did that about a month ago im thinking the gas struts are stuffed i opened it then shut it and crack went the glass

Mine actually impacted the glass on the lower left.. But it has always been low on the left... thing is near the panel where strut mount to the bonnet connects is/was slighty buckled up..

The strut mounts for the shocks are completely flogged just wondering if it could flex the panel enough to make a difference.. However it looks ok at the hinge mount point for the bonnet. As i said the bonnet has always had swett #uck all clearance over the font windscreen.

[Cheap6]

It'll be the hinges.

One of the items on the factory service item lists is to lube the door, bonnet and boot hinges and strikers. It doesn't always get done, especially after nearly 20 years.

If it is not, because the bonnet isn't normally opened very often the hinge pivots can rust and stick. When the bonnet is eventually opened, the hinges bend rather than rotate at the pivot points (the length of the bonnet is a pretty good lever). The bonnet moves and hits the windscreen when it is closed again.

New hinges will fix it, although you could probably stuff around bending them back.

(A Lithium based spray grease is pretty good as the lube. Don't bother with WD-40 etc. other than to perhaps free up a stuck pivot - heaps do and it's great stuff but not for this as it tends to disappear.))