new hood and fenders help

[200PSI]

man after 4 hours of playing around with it i decided to ask for some help. Ok i have a 94 ranger splash.. i installed 2 new fenders and a new hood yesterday and im having a time getting the hood lined up.. iv tried it alot of ways. even setting the gap with paint sticks and trying it that way.. iv even loosened the hinges and tried to line the hood up and getting under the truck and tightening the hinges up from the bottom. but thats did not work either.. the fenders are lined up because the little squares line up and the body lines are flush. I would have marked the old hood spot but the old fenders were dented and it had the hood out of line already. so whats the trick to doing this? :confused: :confused:

[Sid]

you probably don't have the fenders square on the truck, you need to line the hood up with the cowl first then line the fenders to the hood. if you can't get a good line across the back of the hood and the cowl your hinges might be bent

[Phil V]

What gaps don't line up ? (forward to back ?, is the hood cocked in the hole where it goes ?) Are you replacing those parts because of an accident ?

To start with you need to get the gaps correct between the rear parts of fenders to the front part of the doors. Get a tape measure and measure diagonally from say the left rear part of the cowl to the right front of the radiator support. Then right rear to left front. The two measurements need to be within 3/16 of an inch. If the hole where the good goes isn't square then there is no way the hood will line up correctly.

Assuming all that is correct then this is what an old alcoholic bodyman taught me 36 years ago (he was a really good bodyman, just had a serious drinking problem). anyway, start by removing the bolts that hold hood latch on and allow the hood latch to swing out of the way. Next secure all 4 bolts that go from the hinges to the hood. Then loosen those bolts just enough so that the hood is capable of moving forward and back and well as sideways a little on the hinges. Once the bolts are correctly loosened start closing the hood slowly pulling it all the way forward as you do, while you're doing this check the gaps in the back to make sure the hood isn't hitting the cowl or the fenders, slide the hood around accordingly. As you keep closing the hood continue to slide it around as needed until it sits square where it belongs. The next part gets a little touchy if you're doing this by yourself. CAREFULLY lift the hood just high enough to where you can get your arm and a wrench in the engine compartment so you can tighten down the hinge to hood bolts. If you're doing this by yourself then you'll need a block of wood or something to hold the front of the hood while you tighten the bolts. Make sure you don't move the hood around while you open the hood a little and while you are tightening the hinge bolts. At this point the hood should be line up correctly.

It just took me about ten minutes to write the previous, which is about three times as long as it would have actually taken to do the work aligning the hood.

[Len]

man after 4 hours of playing around with it i decided to ask for some help. Ok i have a 94 ranger splash.. i installed 2 new fenders and a new hood yesterday and im having a time getting the hood lined up.. iv tried it alot of ways. even setting the gap with paint sticks and trying it that way.. iv even loosened the hinges and tried to line the hood up and getting under the truck and tightening the hinges up from the bottom. but thats did not work either.. the fenders are lined up because the little squares line up and the body lines are flush. I would have marked the old hood spot but the old fenders were dented and it had the hood out of line already. so whats the trick to doing this? :confused: :confused:

Are you installing "aftermarket" parts or are the replacement parts OEM equipment from a junk yard? Aftermarket parts rarely fit properly.

[200PSI]

What gaps don't line up ? (forward to back ?, is the hood cocked in the hole where it goes ?) Are you replacing those parts because of an accident ?

To start with you need to get the gaps correct between the rear parts of fenders to the front part of the doors. Get a tape measure and measure diagonally from say the left rear part of the cowl to the right front of the radiator support. Then right rear to left front. The two measurements need to be within 3/16 of an inch. If the hole where the good goes isn't square then there is no way the hood will line up correctly.

Assuming all that is correct then this is what an old alcoholic bodyman taught me 36 years ago (he was a really good bodyman, just had a serious drinking problem). anyway, start by removing the bolts that hold hood latch on and allow the hood latch to swing out of the way. Next secure all 4 bolts that go from the hinges to the hood. Then loosen those bolts just enough so that the hood is capable of moving forward and back and well as sideways a little on the hinges. Once the bolts are correctly loosened start closing the hood slowly pulling it all the way forward as you do, while you're doing this check the gaps in the back to make sure the hood isn't hitting the cowl or the fenders, slide the hood around accordingly. As you keep closing the hood continue to slide it around as needed until it sits square where it belongs. The next part gets a little touchy if you're doing this by yourself. CAREFULLY lift the hood just high enough to where you can get your arm and a wrench in the engine compartment so you can tighten down the hinge to hood bolts. If you're doing this by yourself then you'll need a block of wood or something to hold the front of the hood while you tighten the bolts. Make sure you don't move the hood around while you open the hood a little and while you are tightening the hinge bolts. At this point the hood should be line up correctly.

It just took me about ten minutes to write the previous, which is about three times as long as it would have actually taken to do the work aligning the hood.

Well the whole hood kinda sits sideways.. no this replacement is not from a wreak.. just some drunk buddies deciding they want to play slick and try to slide across my hood :mad:. Well when i match the hood up with the cowl the gaps on the fenders are off so i tryed doing it that way and just adjusting the fenders to the gap from the hood.. well the fenders are pushed all the way in already. thanks for taking the time to reply.. most wouldn't.. i shall take these pointers and try it again.. guess it would be logical to set the gap on the cowl then deal with the fenders.. cause the cowl hasn't been removed and its prolly my straightest point to work with.

[dixie1776]

the little square holes that you refered to never line up, but sometimes close. its the little holes in the front of the fenders lip beside the front bolt, and the other hole that you are tring to line it up with is in the radiator support.the only ones that i have ever seen lined up are the cars that i've worked on and they aren't perfectly lined up either, but close as possible. another measurement to look for square would be from the back bolt on the left to the front on the right of the fenders, it should be the same as the measurement from the back on right to front on left.

[Len]

Aftermarket parts rarely fit as well as parts from the original manufacturer of the car. Sometimes you need to enlarge holes, use shims and accept less than perfect results when these inexpensive parts are used. I usually try to find parts in a junk yard because they usually fit better and are made better.