Strongly considering hood latches

I share your disdain for the evil peril of these fake preposterous hood scoops, in addition to all other things I can't afford. (Wait -- I mean... things I never wanted in the first place!) But I definitely know how to to adjust the hood on this and my prior several pickup trucks, which all also had hood fitment issues as they aged. However, my present truck does have a goofy-looking aftermarket front bumper which may well have contributed to the issue over time -- my hood has been fluttering around for quite some time, despite my attempts to tame it via bumper and latch adjustments.

It sounds like we enjoy similar driving habits as well -- when legal and safe to do so, of course. This is going to sound like a jab, but as your profile suggests that you drive a 2014 model with 80k miles, I suspect you will have a different perspective regarding metal fatigue issues on these truck once you've driven yours this way for an additional 9 years and 160k miles. But I genuinely hope that this never becomes a problem for you -- likely, keeping the hood adjusted will help reduce the odds.


Progress Update: I looked at my truck for a few minutes and then went to go buy supplies. A 24-pack of supplies in this case. Then I scrolled TW and other corners of the internet for several hours. It seems that I am destined to require hood pins.

Has anyone here used this style of hood pin?



I am tending towards these because they only require circular cutouts in the hood. There is a slight chance I could do that correctly. They are also less prominent... and as the base material is metal, I could more likely paint them to match my hood, which would help conceal both how completely stupid they would look, as well as how egregiously poorly I would inevitably install them.

Is there any reason to favor one style of closure mechanism over the other? The benefit of this smaller balljoint-style clasp in my perception is that they might be easier to install correctly, due to the simplicity of a single concentric circular cutout. However, if they require tighter alignment tolerances than the transverse thru-pin style closures, then the advantage of simpler cutout geometry would be lost.

One concern is the reliability and strength of this ball-capture mechanism vs. the transverse thru-pin geometries. While both can provide positive interference once engaged, a transverse pin offers no mechanical advantage to the forces trying to blow my hood open -- whereas by necessity, a ball-capture mechanism must grasp against the tapered rear-side of the ball stud, potentially making it weaker than a similarly sized shear-pin arrangement. Of course this would all come down to material strength and geometry, and while most products offer a holding force rating, I have no idea what forces are required to keep my hood from blowing back into my windshield, much less how any of these products would hold up over time in the face of improper installation, neglect, corrosion, and winter weather. While it is crucially important that my hood stay closed when on the road, I sometimes also need to open it to shoo away raccoons and sprinkle holy water on the manifolds.

Another question is whether this more-compact product's means of attachment to the hood (i.e., compressive friction via the axially threaded nut) are adequate. This poses little risk in terms of the hood flying into the windshield, but if the latches loosen over time, they could wiggle around and potentially damage the paint on my otherwise pristine hood. The alternative product has an oblong cutout and is secured by a handful of peripheral screws, which seems better in this regard.

I don't care too much about cost--not because I'm rich or anything, but because I'll waste 10x more in terms of time than whatever I possibly spend on parts, between my relentless procrastination, fuck-ups, and follow-on repairs... regardless of what I choose.



So... I'm seeking feedback for the best hood pin solution. As someone who neither wants hood pins nor is likely capable of installing them successfully.

I believe the saying goes... "cut twice, measure once."

But I can measure something six ways from Sunday, score it in blue, center punch, re-measure, center drill, re-measure, pilot drill, then laser-scan it with micron precision... The final bore will be in the wrong area code. Actually, it's even worse: I'll only slightly misalign it, just enough so that nothing fits, but not enough that it's easy to fix. That is basically my superpower.

But I appreciate your energy, @Littles. I will imagine your voice whispering "you can do this" in my ear after I procrastinate this for another four months before eventually drilling into the hood. This is the motivation I need.

 

Another tip. Put a small dab of grease on the top of the pin, once you have it installed. Close the hood on the pin. Transfers grease. Then cut a small hole. Add dab of grease again. Closing the hood this time will transfer the grease to the underside of the the top of the hood. Carefully drill.

That gets things going more easily, for the template that comes with the Aerocatch.