1990 hood won't close

[Terrorizer]

Hey guys, for some reason my 1990 hood won't stay shut, its goes down like it will then it pops back up like an inch to the second little catch spot. Is this a problem on these cars? From what I can gather all the pieces and springs are working properly. Do I just need to adjust my hood? It looks like it may be shifted a little too far forward. I jsut bought this car so I'm still going through it trying to work out all the little kinks. Thanks guys.

 

[SHOmethewayhome]

check your latch and make sure the dowels are seated where they are supposed to go. there isn't any adjustment in the latch.

how would your hood have shifted forward? have you taken it off?

 

[Terrorizer]

How do I know if the dowels are seated where they are suppose to go? When I say adjustment I mean the bolts were the hood bolts to the actual hinge assembly near the wind shield. I have never removed the hood, but I just bought this car and I noticed the plastic cowl thing in front of the windsheild is missing a few screws and has a coulple that look like they are screwed in at the wrong angle leading me to believe that that area has been removed or messed with in the past.

 

[SHOmethewayhome]

where are you in AZ? if you want you can bring it by where i work on my car in a little bit and i can take a look at it.

i PMed you my phone number. text me if you're interested. it's north phoenix over by the Fry's electronics on Thunderbird rd.

 

[jonheese]

Make sure that the hood release handle (in the car) is pushed back into its "rest" position.

Sometimes the spring on the handle gets weak and the handle doesn't return from the "pulled" position to the "rest" position, and this will cause your exact symptom.

You've probably already checked this, but I figure it's worth mentioning...

 

[lowc]

How do I know if the dowels are seated where they are suppose to go? When I say adjustment I mean the bolts were the hood bolts to the actual hinge assembly near the wind shield. I have never removed the hood, but I just bought this car and I noticed the plastic cowl thing in front of the windsheild is missing a few screws and has a coulple that look like they are screwed in at the wrong angle leading me to believe that that area has been removed or messed with in the past.

i dont belive there should be any type or adjustment on those hinges try to spray some penitrating oil on the latch and give it a good slam if that dont work then check the lower spring in the latch assembly all fords are known for them braking

 

[SHOmethewayhome]

there isn't any adjustment but i've seen three separate taurii have those things popped out and off track (the bolt holes are slotted, but there are damn dowel pins that fit in holes not slots so they aren't adjustable at all) and the latch was sitting tilted to one side or about 3/8'' lower than it should be not allowing it to close.

my money is on this, or the latch being jammed funny. saw this on a gen 2 not too long ago and had to swap the latch for another one.

 

[Terrorizer]

there isn't any adjustment but i've seen three separate taurii have those things popped out and off track (the bolt holes are slotted, but there are damn dowel pins that fit in holes not slots so they aren't adjustable at all) and the latch was sitting tilted to one side or about 3/8'' lower than it should be not allowing it to close.

my money is on this, or the latch being jammed funny. saw this on a gen 2 not too long ago and had to swap the latch for another one.

What is it that makes it tilt to one side or sit lower? Does it just get bent from being slammed? Maybe I should try getting one from a junk yard. Will a hood latch from any taurus work?

 

[NP SHO]

Sometimes the spring on the handle gets weak and the handle doesn't return from the "pulled" position to the "rest" position, and this will cause your exact symptom.

^^ Seen this happen quite a few times.

 

[jonheese]

Will a hood latch from any taurus work?

Yes, there is no difference between the SHO part and the non-SHO part.

And I don't think they were changed (much?) over the '89-'95 years.

 

[SHO Continental]

Could be a broken cable.

 

[93rev2sev]

Try adjusting your bump stops. Those are the mushroom-shaped jobbies on the left and right side of the radiator core support.

 

[Terrorizer]

Try adjusting your bump stops. Those are the mushroom-shaped jobbies on the left and right side of the radiator core support.

Ah! Very interesting, I saw those this morning and wondered about them. I will definatly give that a try.

 

[walsh82]

I've had the same problem with several fords i've owned. What always worked for me is spraying pb on the hood latch while someone pulls the cable from inside the car. Keep moving back and forth the part of the latch that the cable is connected to until you can see it moving with just the cable. Just something you could try before you start messing with anything else.

 

[Terrorizer]

Screwed the bump stops in some, seems to work great now! No more hood slamming and 4 letter word usage every time I need to check under the hood.