My hood is about to FLY OFF!

This seems to be a very hit and miss issue with the S-197s. I have had absolutely no problem with mine at speeds of 100+, but others, like you have had bad hood vibration at even low speed. It seems that usually adjusting the stops takes care of it, but it soundl like you've already tried about everything. I wonder if the hood is out of alignment, and maybe needs to be adjusted at the hinges? I would definately use hood pins if you can't get it to stop vibrating.......I had my hood fly up on my '89 LX 5.0 at 75 MPH, and it was no fun

The hood lift is caused by built up air pressure underneath the hood. Hood pins are one option. The other is to add the louvered plastic belly pan Ford added to the 2010s. The part goes from the radiator support to the front of the K frame. Per Ford, this part, plus widening the cover that goes forward to the bumper, reduce aerodynamic drag by 7% and help balance front end lift. The bumper cover will not fit the ’05 – ’09 without a fair amount of work. The louvered shield however is a 15 minute install. High speed hood lift is reduced because the louvered shield creates a low pressure zone and helps evacuate some of the underhood air. A bonus is potentially improved gas mileage.

The rear of the shield has plastic mounts that snap into existing holes in the K frame. The screws (5.5mm or 7/32” socket) can be backed out so that the shield can be removed. Inboard of these screws are two bolt holes. These are to clear the steering rack mounting bolts. My ’07 did not have the square holes in the radiator support to accept the factory metal mounting clips for the front holes on the shield. With the rear mounts in, I was able to line up the front holes and drill pilot holes for self tapping fender screws. While I put in screws, others have said just putting the two tabs on the front of the shield between the metal radiator support and the front bumper cover is adequate.

The shield has to be removed for access to the oil filter on the V8. After finishing your oil change, when you screw in the two rear screws back into the plastic mounts be sure to push up on the shield at the same time. This prevents the mounts from just spinning around in the K frame when you tighten the screws.

The part number for what Ford calls a “heat shield” is AR3Z-6C038-A. I paid $62.65 at my local dealer. I used a couple of fender screws from my stockpile but these can be found at Home Depot, Lowes or auto parts stores. If your radiator support has the square holes, you can use the “inserts” (N801169-S900 -- two @ $1.87 each) and “screws” (W710564-S439 -- two @ $1.26 each).

Thats great info

My original belly pan got ripped off by a piece of rebar sticking out of a parking block (my car is lowered 1 1/2"). This looks like the perfect replacement, even though I've had no problems with hood lift.

Are the hood pins added as insurance that the hood does not fly open or do they also prevent it from shaking violently as well?

They help with the hood shake. As long as your hood is fully latched, it shouldn't fly off.

All the pins I have seen are adjustable. You can set the height so that the front of the hood is firmly set and won't shake.

First and foremost, check the height of the rubber bump stops. Some aren't adjusted correctly. However, most of the time it's just the nature of this damn hood. Hood pins are the easiest thing to do to fix it. I'd recommend the Scott-Drake hood pins as they are by far the best hood pins out there for our cars. They are model specific, not a generic hood pin.

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The bracket bolts to the radiator mount or you can mount them differently as well like drilling into the core.

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i had the same problem and just went with the STEEDA pins for like $50 or so i cant remember maybe it was $25 lol
But it definantly helped , but then some people can go 130 no problem , its hit and miss

The 06 & 07 GTs seem to be really bad with this hood problem. I had it on mine. The V-6s don't seem to have it, nor does my 2010 GT.

The hood scoop makes a difference.

I have the OEM hood scoop...and on windy days its kinda scary at 70+ mph.

I'd do hood pins if it would stop the flapping. I like the screw/turn version on the GT500 KR...I wonder if those are obtainable?

I have the Scott Drake pins. I like them better than the less expensive versions because if you pop the hood latch without remembering to undo the pins first, the billet plate won't bend (as does the flat chrome plate on the less expensive versions). My hood is stable as can be up to 160.

I have a 2009 GT/CS. The hood shook badly at high speeds. The problem was poor adjustment of the hood stops. Here is how I resolved the issue:
First, locate the 4 rubber hood stops above the headlights and grill. Unscrew all 4 stops counterclockwise with your hand 1/2 turn each. Next, open the hood and drop it from a height of 1 foot. If it latches completely closed, repete the procedure until the hood no longer closes completely, and only catches on the safety latch.
Next, begin to screw all 4 stops back down (clockwise) 1/4 turn at a time until the hood latches securely when dropped from a height of 1 foot. Check the alignment of the edges of the hood where they meet the fenders. If the alignment is OK, open the hood, tear 4 strips of newspaperand and place them on each of the hood stops so that they extend well beyond where the edge of the closed hood will be and drop the hood from 1 foot. All 4 pieces should get trapped between the closed hood and the hood stop. If any if the strips of paper are "blown out" or can be pulled out without tearing, adjust only those respective hood stops by turning counterclockwise 1/4 turn and try again. Once all 4 of the newspaper strips can not be removed without tearing, your hood shake problem should be resolved.
NOTES: 1. if there is an alignment problem with the edges, the hood latch itself may need to be adjusted up or down. 2. When properly adjusted, the hood will only catch on the safety latch if dropped from a height of less than 1 foot.

above post, yep thats it... if the car has a hood scoop, this is really a good post