DIY Hood Flutter Fix

We all know the cause of the major hood vibration on non scooped hoods and that the best way to fix it is take it to a competent dealer (easier said than done) or fix it yourself with 3M NVH dampening (#4274) and a two part gun (such as COX M200LVMR). Both of these can be found on Amazon prime. Anyhow, after having my hood fixed by a competent dealer, I still had an occasional minimal bit of flutter over 65 mph when following a semi or if driving in blustery conditions. I am sure lots of cars have this same issue but because of the seating position in the Tacoma you get a full view of the hood (lots of cars have the hood sloping out of view).

What I found was that the narrow cross braces on either side of the hood are flimsy enough that they easily flex despite having the hood skin bonded to them. I racked my brain on how to strengthen these without any sort of permanent modification and ultimately decided to order some 40 mil clear lamin-x film. I cut it size and put two layers of it on top of the cross braces, shrunk it slightly with a heat gun and voila--no more flutter that I can see. The thickness of the film makes it somewhat stiff and enough to take away most of the flex of the sheetmetal brace.

Most people probably wouldn't notice the flutter I am referring to, but if you are OCD like me then you should give this a try. It is simple and the film is not noticeable once installed.

 

Well props for trying. Time will tell how it holds up?

It's pretty ridiculous we have to deal with this IMO. One guy who was here lemoned his Tacoma because the dealership went through...get this...8 new factory replacement hoods, yes 8 hoods to try and get his fixed. Can't recall why it was not outsourced to a body shop (perhaps he refused a third party remedy). This was about a year ago now.

 

I did not post this thread to start a debate on the quality of our trucks.

 

There is no debate.

 

So what are we allowed to talk about in this thread. Just checking before I upset the OP.

 

took my dealer a couple of days to make the decision weather to attempt to fix it or buy new hood! they ended up ordering a new one even though they do have a collision shop! now im stuck in a borrowed tundra and i kind of like it!

 

Stupid Question: What the f*** is an OP?

 

anyone knows if this is still a problem on the 17's? i asked them for a scewped hood to avoid ever having this problem again but they said they can only replace with same exact parts!

 

Yes same.

 

damn it! i guess when the new one starts to do the same thing I will have to go the OP's rout and fix it myself! i was thinking 3M extreme duty double sided tape instead of lamin-x,

 

Stands for Original Poster.

 

Mine still flutters. I've learned to live with it. It's annoying but oh well. I don't want a body shop painting my truck and overspraying something. If anything I'll fix it myself with some adhesive like others have done eventually. I've made an issue out of it with the dealer but I don't want it going to a body shop so that's that.

 

Would you mind taking and posting some pic's, I'm having a hard time understanding exactly where you placed the film. I have the "functional" scooped hood, but it still sometimes vibrates right at the back when when wind is just right, and it drives me crazy. I say functional scoop and clearly it's function is to use it's mounting bolts to sandwich the hood between it and the cross bracing.

 

I did not fix it myself, my dealer fixed it. I would not let the dealer replace my hood considering how easy it is for them to fix it with proper adhesive. This is not a Toyota specific issue and fixes are well documented from other mfgs. My dealer talked to Toyota and was told what adhesive to use.

Once you have it fixed, you may still see some flutter from the bracing flexing in two spots depending upon speed and wind. If you never had the initial issue you probably wouldn't notice this, but this is what the thick lamin-x is for. It keeps the two braces from flexing so much. If your hood frame is separated from the sheetmetal you need to get that fixed with proper adhesive prior to worrying about trying the lamin-x. Not sure what you think double sided tape will do......

 

I am not sure the underside of our hoods would be the same. I found this image online and circled the places where I put the clear lamin-x.

 

Cool air box

 

I believe that picture is of another TW members truck that popped up on google images. It is a nice looking air box...

 

Thanks very much for that. I believe the hood bracing is the same between hoods, it's the skin and scoop that are different. Notice the holes in the center two supports in your picture, that are a little further forward than the red marking. That's where the scoop bolts through to.

 

I noticed that, along with a ton of other changes on the engine. (Or so I thought). Then I realized it's the 2.7 I4.