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Posted by: michael7810 Mar 10 2013, 09:35 AM

I've noticed most of the cars have the spring on the middle hook on the front trunk. There are 3 notches to hook the spring, has anyone tried moving the spring to force the lid up all the way?

Posted by: kg6dxn Mar 10 2013, 09:37 AM

Yes. These cars were not build perfectly and springs loose tension over time.

Posted by: toolguy Mar 10 2013, 10:20 AM

I put mine on the first hook both sides to get the hood to open properly. . hard little suckers to stretch without scratching paint.

Posted by: Bartlett 914 Mar 10 2013, 12:59 PM

Another issue is the hinge pivot bolt. These have a tendency to seize. Remove the springs and remove the bolt. Lubricate it with grease. This is the same bolt for the rear trunk. You see a lot of broken pivot brackets because this bolt seizes. Also put some grease where the spring touches the notched bracket. This is a source of squeaking when opening the hood

Posted by: michael7810 Mar 10 2013, 09:18 PM

I moved the spring to the next notch and lubed both ends of the spring attachment. What a difference, nice and quiet and the lid stays all the way up. Now I don't have to hold it up with my head when refueling. Thanks

Posted by: grogthegreat Mar 10 2013, 09:33 PM

I had to move my springs from the middle to the last notch in order to get the hood to stay all the way up. The easiest and safest way to do it is with bailing wire and a handle of some sort (I used a hammer).

Cut a 2 foot length of bailing wire and twist the ends together very well to make a loop. Hook the wire loop onto the hooked end of the spring that you want to move. Put the handle half way through the wire loop so the wire is in the middle of your handle. Grab both ends of the handle and slowly lean back and put more and more weight onto the loop. You'll be able to easily and safely move the spring to the next notch by yourself in a slow and controlled manor.

Posted by: ThePaintedMan Mar 11 2013, 07:50 AM

Just an FYI though. If one day you come out to your car and the hood isn't sitting quite right, or there seems to be a "hump" in it, it may very well be that you have too much tension on the hood/bonnet. I struggled with this for weeks while I was finishing up my body work, trying to get the thing aligned. Sure enough I forgot that I had moved the springs up a notch, which was a little too much tension on the rear brackets and they would flex. Moved one side one notch back down and it sits pretty now.

Posted by: Cap'n Krusty Mar 11 2013, 08:22 AM

The REAL easiest way is to use a pair of Vise Grips and just pull the spring out one notch from where it now sits. Personally, I've never seen a front trunk hinge bolt seize or break, but I suppose it could happen. Lubrication couldn't hurt ...............

The Cap'n

Posted by: JmuRiz Mar 11 2013, 08:28 AM

I use heavy duty leather yard-working gloves and just grab the spring. I'm going to re-install mine at some point when my car comes back, the lube trick may be worth trying.

Posted by: mepstein Mar 11 2013, 10:46 AM

Tie the ends of a nylon strap in a knot, loop over the end of the spring and pull.

Posted by: r_towle Mar 11 2013, 02:56 PM

coat hanger looped over the hook, vice grips on the coat hanger.
Simple enough to pull off one hook and place it on another, with no scratching of paint.

Rich

Posted by: stugray Mar 11 2013, 03:52 PM