JCCCQ Member
bonnet hitting windscreen
for some reason my bonnet doesnt want to close without hitting the windscreen...apart from what ive done to try and fix it...(to no avail...move one side and the other side gets put out of whack) it hasnt been touched...my question is who do u call to fix this problem...a panelbeater??
Grandpa
JCCCQ Member
so im told...just called a panel beater he sed yep happens all the time...opens fine then wont shut...shut it via this procedure blah blah see u tomoro early...but in case anyone else runs into trouble and needs a quick fix...heres a rundown of how to get it shut.Originally Posted by Doctor Bob
a) needs two to three people to hold the front and two back corners
b) while the two back people are holding the corners stiff, the front person closes it slowly
c)as he is slowly closing it the others make sure it is going how it is supposed to (basically take weight off the hinges)...
d) continue like this and be sure to get it to clear the windscreen else it wont then open again without further damging the windscreen...
if you have tried to manouvre it before hand with a hammer and a socket set then it wont shut nicely...will look fnny...
and yeah i need a new windscreen as well from it...yay...NOT
you are going to have to undo your hinge bolts,the ones bolted to bonnet and pull forward,you will need someone to help you though...now it's not going to be the hinges buggered,a lot of people will tell you this,what actually is buggered,is the bracket that bolts onto the bonnet itself,they pull out of straightness,even though they are heavier than the hinge itself,my guess is because the bonnet is so flexible in some areas,when you get you bonnet to open,and you take your hinges off,they will look fine,they will actually feel tighter than when on the car,take that bracket off the actual bonnet,look at it and you will see where it's bent,it has a slight turn in them from factory,but you will see that it's bent more,lay it on flat concrete.....with all this said,it's still possible that you are one of the unlucky ones to have buggered hinges...complete set (hinge and bracket)comes as a set $33.00 genuine.
PS...thats if you have enough room to get a socket and extension in the gap before it's actually hitting windscreen.
JCCCQ Member
yeah it is indeed the hinges...the panel beater described them as dropped out...basically that to me means that the pivot isnt fitting the guide right...and the 2mm play is puttin it all out of whack beacause its a hinge...but at 33 for the hinges and whtever for the windscrreen...hope it only happens the once
i won't comment on what your panel beater says,i have done enough of them myself to know,but yes it's far easier to replace both,actually they only come as a set for each side,but i have found it to be the actual bracket on the bonnet,i had to do a bush job for someone as they didn't have any in stock,and they needed to be able to open their bonnet,sure the hinge felt shonky,but once off,was tight as,so i put that back on,put a different bonnet bracket on,problem fixed,i have since done countless cars like this,second hand part obviously
Exhaust Guru
Did the VP come standard with gas struts on the bonnet? I posted a warning in the other thread about the strut conversion on the VN about lubricating the hinges because of the windscreen problem. Every single Commodore I have seen with this problem has gas struts.
yeah my calais with gas stuts, VN..have you seen the slight bow in bonnet on each side where struts sit when bonnet is closed?
Almost not here!
Dont need the struts to smash the windscreen. A mechanic did it to my car. The hinge gets dry and locks up and then the hinge bends and thats when the front window goes west!
White 05 V6 VZ Executive - Thrashed Ex Telstra car
and 3 Dangerous non ABS VN's
JCCCQ Member
yes i have indeed...in fact i noticed this last month sometime...it may be due to them not closing fully due to lack of lubrication...and maybe if they have been sticky-stuck it would have strained the hinges and stuff...so when the hinges and bits get all changed i will oil or grease the struts if possible...
Exhaust Guru
I give my hinges a squirt with WD40 every service and i rub a bit of rubber grease on the shaft of the strut to keep the seals lubricated.
this is what bends the brackets on the bonnet,not the hinges going shonky,i'm not saying thats your problem,your hinges may well be gone...do you feel like doing an experiment,if you have them handy,only have to be second hand,just replace the bracket on the bonnet,then see if you can open and shut your bonnet(only if your windscreen is already cracked from trying to open/close your bonnet)
THE ENFORCER!!!
have you had the bonnet off lately? bonnet just might need an adjustment, undo all 4 bolts ( dont take them out, just take them a few turns but dont take them out ) , pull bonnet toward you ( if bonnet is up then pull it towards the sky) hold it there while someone does up the bolts and whaalaa youve adjusted the bonnet ( i know this because i took my bonnet off and didnt know to adjust it and bang byby windscreen lol )
JCCCQ Member
yeah thats good practice...once i replace the hinges, the mounts and the struts i will have to get into this routine also...and no i havent had it off ever...although the bolts look like theyve been altered on the passenger side which is where it happened first...so maybe the prev owner did...not sure...
Last edited by WhiteLightning; 19-04-2007 at 08:40 PM. Reason: added another sentence
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