PontiacBonnevilleClub.com

hello, since my 92 GTP that also had the air shocks? that hold the hood open, I gently lower to body and push lightly until I hear the lock engage.
I have seen many peeps including mechanics just let it fall and slam into place
I refuse to treat my cars in this manner, how about you guys???

I used to do the gentle method, until I actually creased the hood of my Impala ever so slightly. Since then I pull it about half way down then let it drop.

Letting it drop the last foot or so is the route I usually take.

I try and avoid drops from full open. It feels like a great way to break a grille.

Yeah, I let it drop a little. On some cars the struts that hold it up are pretty firm, you do have to slam them down a little.

After denting/scratching, I've learned dropping the last foot is the best option

Ditto.

I would never push it down to engage it for the reasons mentioned about denting the hood.

never had a problem on any car about dents but use palm and right at the hood point plus I clean and grease the lock so it very easy to lock.

this is aluminium so I'll be careful..thanks

Depends very much upon my mood and the reason for opening the hood in the first place.

nos4blood70 wrote:Depends very much upon my mood and the reason for opening the hood in the first place.

I sometimes consider running along the roof of my garage, diving off and elbow slamming the thing closed. Then I worry about possibly denting it and the urge subsides...

Put me in the camp with the anti-hood-denters. But it also depends on the car...I've had some that only required a gentle push to latch. Others required a slamming that would bring the back tires off the ground. But, yeah, I typically try to find the spot to drop from that gives just enough force to latch the hood release, then let 'er go.

Same goes with the trunk (or "boot" if you're Simon or Roger). The Bonneville requires a little push on the wing to latch, the G8 I have to let drop about a foot.

Hood gets dropped from about a foot or so. thin metal on cars these days.

The trunk usually gets closed by pulling on the latch that hangs down, to keep me from touching the paint on the spoiler. My car is usually dusty so I get it moving downward just fast enough to close.

xxdabroxx wrote:Hood gets dropped from about a foot or so. thin metal on cars these days.

The trunk usually gets closed by pulling on the latch that hangs down, to keep me from touching the paint on the spoiler. My car is usually dusty so I get it moving downward just fast enough to close.

Agreed! The trunk is the easy one, grab the latch and a little tug, closes nicely and doesn't leave smudges. I try to do the same with my hood.

EDIT: I have my trunk's torsion bars set to JUST pop it. It used to try to flip the car over every time I opened it and now it's just a nice little pop, it comes up a little ways and then settles about a foot open. It made closing it easier too!

BBamm wrote:

xxdabroxx wrote:Hood gets dropped from about a foot or so. thin metal on cars these days.

The trunk usually gets closed by pulling on the latch that hangs down, to keep me from touching the paint on the spoiler. My car is usually dusty so I get it moving downward just fast enough to close.

Agreed! The trunk is the easy one, grab the latch and a little tug, closes nicely and doesn't leave smudges. I try to do the same with my hood.

EDIT: I have my trunk's torsion bars set to JUST pop it. It used to try to flip the car over every time I opened it and now it's just a nice little pop, it comes up a little ways and then settles about a foot open. It made closing it easier too!

How did you do this? I hate that it tries to bend the hinges every time it opens. I almost never open the trunk unless I'm there to catch it opening. I know it doesn't hurt anything but it's one of those OCD things.

Is it just a torsion bar type thing that you can adjust? I've honestly never looked into it. Seems like the one on the Olds had a few notches you could choose from, I vaguely remember reinstalling them after we stripped the deck lid.

From Techinfo:
http://www.pontiacbonnevilleclub.com/fo ... 13627.html

Yes, they're torsion style. I played with combos of positions until I found the one I liked the best. I think my left one is on the bottom notch and the right is on the middle one. I used a deep-well socket and a long extension to get some leverage on them and laid in the trunk. DON'T let the lid fall on you, it's HEAVY! Without the socket and extension, the bars are almost impossible to move and when they do go they slam down pretty hard.

Awesome. I take it that it still stays full open once you help it up that high.

+1 on dropping it the last foot or so. My wife's Malibu is one of those "said cars" with super stiff hood struts, so that one has to be pushed down, which I hate, but so far the way the hood is shaped it's "safer" to push it right over the latch at the tip of the hood.

xxdabroxx wrote:Awesome. I take it that it still stays full open once you help it up that high.

yessir!

SSEiMan01 wrote:I used to do the gentle method, until I actually creased the hood of my Impala ever so slightly. Since then I pull it about half way down then let it drop.

X2 - BC