Hood Issues
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Hood Issues
When I open the hood of my 05 g35x, it is bushings against the body(passenger side) causing paint damage and seems to be lifting the body panel.
Has anyone had this problem? What is the fix? Recall?
Also, what type of oil do you use?
Has anyone had this problem? What is the fix? Recall?
Also, what type of oil do you use?
This is common for our cars, a search would help you out.
Basically, the hinges themselves have a very short axle for the hinge. Once the grease in there starts to break down, it becomes hard to move. In a regular hinge, this would just be hard to move and you'd lube it and it'd be fine. However, there's a second part of these hinges that's bad - they have a kinked bend in them so that they can get over the angled section of the hood in the back. This kink is not reinforced in any way, so with the huge mechanical advantage of the hood working on such a small spot, it's easier for the kink to bend than the hinge to rotate. If you catch it early you can use white lithium grease on it, place a rag between the hood and the fender at the hinge (to keep the panel from rubbing and scratching paint any worse) and work the grease in. This takes a long time, but if the kink wasn't bent, it will go back to normal. I re-greased and worked in my hinge like this for about 15min every other day for a week, and it got better.
Another tip - use white lithium grease in the aerosol can with a long precision tube. It's odor-free. This is important, since the passenger hinge is right next to the air inlet for the ventilation system. WD-40 or other ones with a strong smell will stink your whole car for nearly a week.
If that doesn't work, you have to buy new hinges (contact Tony@Riverside on this board), get them painted, and install.
Basically, the hinges themselves have a very short axle for the hinge. Once the grease in there starts to break down, it becomes hard to move. In a regular hinge, this would just be hard to move and you'd lube it and it'd be fine. However, there's a second part of these hinges that's bad - they have a kinked bend in them so that they can get over the angled section of the hood in the back. This kink is not reinforced in any way, so with the huge mechanical advantage of the hood working on such a small spot, it's easier for the kink to bend than the hinge to rotate. If you catch it early you can use white lithium grease on it, place a rag between the hood and the fender at the hinge (to keep the panel from rubbing and scratching paint any worse) and work the grease in. This takes a long time, but if the kink wasn't bent, it will go back to normal. I re-greased and worked in my hinge like this for about 15min every other day for a week, and it got better.
Another tip - use white lithium grease in the aerosol can with a long precision tube. It's odor-free. This is important, since the passenger hinge is right next to the air inlet for the ventilation system. WD-40 or other ones with a strong smell will stink your whole car for nearly a week.
If that doesn't work, you have to buy new hinges (contact Tony@Riverside on this board), get them painted, and install.
Spray the crap out of the hinges with some penetrating lube like PB liquid wrench and slowly work the hood up and down. I fixed my hinge issue like this, I figured it couldn't make it too much worse. Now I just make sure to spray silicone lube every so often.
Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 21,095
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From: Toronto, GTA north
Yup, hinges; a very common problem due to lack of lubrication.
Depends on how bad they are if you have to replace them
Depends on how bad they are if you have to replace them
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You're going to be smelling it for a week if you use that stuff, but if it fixes the problem, it's a worthwhile sacrifice.
As far as your rag remedy, what about if/when you have your car serviced by others (assuming you do)? They could mess up your hood/paint.
My passenger side hinge made a popping noise from the day I bought it. Wish I would have known about this so I could have saved it. I had both of mine replaced under the Elite warranty even though only the passenger side was bad.
It may be completely unrelated, but it seems like it's always the passenger side that goes first. Another poster mentioned that this may be due to the torque put on the hood when using the prop rod. Not sure if that has anything to do with it or not, but I've since installed some hood dampers so the hood is held up evenly on both sides. I'm also getting in the habit of spraying lube on the hinges every time I open the hood to change my oil.
It may be completely unrelated, but it seems like it's always the passenger side that goes first. Another poster mentioned that this may be due to the torque put on the hood when using the prop rod. Not sure if that has anything to do with it or not, but I've since installed some hood dampers so the hood is held up evenly on both sides. I'm also getting in the habit of spraying lube on the hinges every time I open the hood to change my oil.
