Anyone Have a Twisted Hood?

So my 2015 came with a Toyota bug deflector, which developed a vibration at highway speeds that got worse and worse over time. I attempted to diagnose the problem, but couldn't find anything that seemed abnormal. Tired of the buzzing noise it made, I took the POS off.

After removal, I notice there is clearly a gap between the hood and the passenger side headlight, while the driver side is tight against the weatherstripping on top of the light. I can push down on the hood on the passenger side and it doesn't hit anything, but it just pops back up. I'm thinking the whole hood is slightly bent/twisted diagonally.

My best guess is that I had the hood up at some point using the prop rod and a gust of wind came up and bent the hood while it was only being supported by one corner. May have even occurred while I was installing my Redline hood struts.

Anyway, has anyone had their hood twist and is there a simple fix? I considered just grabbing it and twisting it the opposite direction, but really don't want to break it. The gap doesn't look like much in pictures, but it's pretty noticeable in person.

 

you can just adjust the rubber stops under the hood

 

X2 i would try this before bending of any sort.
Below is a pic of the rubber stops on mine and the amount of threads showing. Recently took this pic when switching out hoods

 

Thanks. I'll have to check those out and see how even they are.

 

After you installed the struts, do you close the hood in the center, both hands on either side, or do you use one hand on the right side to close it?

 

I would try the rubber stops first like mentioned above. Those could just be out a little. I would start in the drivers side first.

 

Check measurements on hood strut placement one may be bottoming out early and holding hood up ?

 

I close it with one or 2 hands in the centre, trying to be easy on the bug deflector. But now that you mention it, I did close it from the right side about a week ago because the deflector made a plasticy creaking sound when I started pulling on it. Nothin but problems those bug deflectors. The dealer here puts them on every damn truck too.

 

I did check that but not by measuring. I could tell by the amount of shaft still covered by Krown undercoating.

 

Yeah, I would turn down the passenger side stopper a bit and see if it closes tighter.

 

I'll check the stoppers in the morning but I don't think that's the problem honestly. If I push down on the hood, it goes down a little, then hits something solid, (probably the rubber stopper) then pops back up.

 

I was asking because it is possible to bend the hood when using those struts, especially if you pull the hood down on just one side and not in the center.

Totally possible that's what happened.

 

Disconnect the struts and see if the hood closes properly. If better, remove them and test again.

If better, then hinge or bumper stop ajustments are next.

Quite doubtful hood is twisted, and more doubtful the deflector caused the issue.

 

Unclip the Redline strut on that side to see if that is the problem. I've had a set on for 4 years.... I love those struts.

 

Thanks for the ideas. I'll try popping of the end of the struts tomorrow and see what happens.

 

So it turns out the rubber stop on the passenger side was a bit too low. Turned it in a bit and the hood fits better, but not perfect. The weird part is that it sits perfectly flush with the fender, as it should, so if the hood goes any lower, the fender will be slightly higher than the hood. Maybe my OCD is just worse than the people who built my truck.

 

A body shop trick is to put a 2x4 in the center of the hood next the latch. Than push on the side that is higher.

 

Hmmm. Interesting...

 

Yes, I witnessed that technique back when i worked in a dealership body shop when i was in college. Some of the cheap Chinese hoods (I believe that was the origin) weren't always straight.

 

yes sir, lay some microfiber down before pushing and have someone of the other side of the hood just applying pressure while you push.