hood latch problem

[DUKE]

My hood has always been really hard to close on my 2000 GT. I have to drop the hood about 2 ft high to make it close. How do I go about adjusting the latch to make it easier to close. Thank you for any inputs.

 

[the98stang]

Yea I got the same problem, but I think that's Ford for ya

 

[bull2368]

i had that same problem, and all i did was you know on your hood.. the opening the latch goes into(its a square hole) take a crescent wrench or pliers and tighten them down on the side the latch uses and bend doen just a little at a time until you can close you hood easily. i did this and its great.

 

[bakos24]

Same problem here. All I do is lower the hood untill the latch and hole hit, push the latch in before I shut it so it goes into the hole. then just push the hood down. Latches everytime.

 

[lover]

That problem usually happens to aftermarket hoods a lot, but I had my factory one do it also. Prop the hood up and look at the latch from the side of the car. Go to the driver side front fender and bend or kneel down by the driver's side headlight and look at the latch to see if it's sitting straight up and down. The latch is supposed to be at a 12 o'clock angle, but what happens is, the opening and closing of the hood starts to push it outward or forward. The latch mechanism will start leaning at an 11 o'clock angle.
I think i took a crow bar or something and slightly bent the latch mechanism back towards the motor (back at the 12 o'clock angle)...

 

[Outlaw97GT]

Spray a little BP Blaster on the latch and springs. Thats what I did, works alot better now.
I spray a little on every month or so.

 

[Bugman.dave]

The latch system is adjustable. Just look for the two bolts holding it to the sheet metal. No bending (unless it's bent of course) is required.

 

[SunburstGoldGT]

Spray a little BP Blaster on the latch and springs. Thats what I did, works alot better now.
I spray a little on every month or so.

Yeah mine does it too but i went the simpler route as stated above, but i used regular motor oil and just pour a little on the latch every 4 months or so, works like a charm.

 

[03GT4ME]

had the same problem the other day. it was very loose so i just made it tighter and made sure it was stright and it works fine now.