Whons Posted March 4, 2023 Share Posted March 4, 2023 My hood springs won't hold the hood up. anyone know how to change these safely? I tried to take one off with vise grips on it and couldn't even stretch it out at all. Thanks Wayne Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cbolt Posted March 4, 2023 Share Posted March 4, 2023 Ashamed to admit that when I did my hood springs way back about 22 years ago, I couldn't manage it either and had to take the car to a shop to have them change the springs for me. You need a big old prybar and a few extra hands as I recall.  Fast forward a few years and I wound up needing to do something with the hinges themselves because the pivot points had worn, elongated and the hinges were sloppy. Wound up sending them in to a place that rebuilt them with new springs and all new pins, plus powder coats them. In hindsight, I should have done that from the beginning. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Brichta Posted March 4, 2023 Share Posted March 4, 2023 The best solution is to have them rebuilt. Ship them and they do all the the work. I would not recommend trying to do the springs with the hinges still on the car. Those springs put up a good fight even if the hinge is in a vise. Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cny first gen 71 Posted March 4, 2023 Share Posted March 4, 2023 I just had mine done new springs and had hinges rebuilt. They look great. Hood hinge repair is the name of the place. I have them mounted on the car but don't have hood on yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dtret Posted March 4, 2023 Share Posted March 4, 2023 There’s a post on here somewhere. It’s actually really easy. Use an old belt to yank them off( one at a time) and place a bunch of washers or quarters in between the coils of the spring to stretch it. And when you shut the hood the quarters fall out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willie Posted March 4, 2023 Share Posted March 4, 2023 Dennis, Dennis, Dennis you need to be very careful doing stuff like this!!!  I agree with the others, take them off and send them out for rebuild. Safer and you are good for another 30-40 years!!! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dtret Posted March 4, 2023 Share Posted March 4, 2023 20 minutes ago, willie said: Dennis, Dennis, Dennis you need to be very careful doing stuff like this!!!  I agree with the others, take them off and send them out for rebuild. Safer and you are good for another 30-40 years!!! If I can find a way, I’m doing it. There’s enough that I can’t do that I have to pay to have done. A penny saved is a penny earned. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cny first gen 71 Posted March 4, 2023 Share Posted March 4, 2023 I thought about trying to make a tool for them then I thought how often would I really use it. That thought is still floating around in my mind with lots of other thoughts Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jft69z Posted March 4, 2023 Share Posted March 4, 2023 11 minutes ago, cny first gen 71 said: I thought about trying to make a tool for them then I thought how often would I really use it. That thought is still floating around in my mind with lots of other thoughts I made a J-hook tool years ago. Worked pretty good, until I started using the 'porta-power' method now. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stangeba Posted March 4, 2023 Share Posted March 4, 2023 After I sprayed some WD-40 on my squeaky hinges, the hood did not stay up like it should. My neighbor had a fix, he took a smaller spring, perhaps 3/4" that would fit inside of the hinge spring, added two S hooks one to the bottom inside, then the smaller spring, then the second S hook, pulled with a vice grip to attach the hook to the top inside. I don't have sizes for this smaller spring, but it worked! I do have a copper pipe to hold the hood open I still add for safety. I bet this was over 15 years ago! Good luck! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cny first gen 71 Posted March 4, 2023 Share Posted March 4, 2023 27 minutes ago, jft69z said: I made a J-hook tool years ago. Worked pretty good, until I started using the 'porta-power' method now. Yea that's what I was thinking only thing is getting enough strength in the hooks so they don't buckle under pressure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cny first gen 71 Posted March 4, 2023 Share Posted March 4, 2023 17 minutes ago, stangeba said: After I sprayed some WD-40 on my squeaky hinges, the hood did not stay up like it should. My neighbor had a fix, he took a smaller spring, perhaps 3/4" that would fit inside of the hinge spring, added two S hooks one to the bottom inside, then the smaller spring, then the second S hook, pulled with a vice grip to attach the hook to the top inside. I don't have sizes for this smaller spring, but it worked! I do have a copper pipe to hold the hood open I still add for safety. I bet this was over 15 years ago! Good luck! I thought about that too, hopefully now they are rebuilt with new springs they work like new. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jft69z Posted March 4, 2023 Share Posted March 4, 2023 39 minutes ago, cny first gen 71 said: Yea that's what I was thinking only thing is getting enough strength in the hooks so they don't buckle under pressure. I made it out of 1/4" stainless rod, never had any issues. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blackhawk Posted March 4, 2023 Share Posted March 4, 2023 Check the hood hinges for side play, they're probably worn out if you didn't lube them regularly. Willie from hoodhingerepair.com told me that the 1970 has stiffer springs than the other years, so replacing them with new springs may make the problem worse. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cny first gen 71 Posted March 4, 2023 Share Posted March 4, 2023 4 minutes ago, Blackhawk said: Check the hood hinges for side play, they're probably worn out if you didn't lube them regularly. Willie from hoodhingerepair.com told me that the 1970 has stiffer springs than the other years, so replacing them with new springs may make the problem worse. Willie knows his stuff for sure! They did a great job on mine. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MC1of80 Posted March 4, 2023 Share Posted March 4, 2023 Screwdriver. On and off. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare SS Posted March 5, 2023 Share Posted March 5, 2023 I have to tell you guys how 21 yr old me broke my nose and nearly took out my eye from working on these loaded missiles! Back in the day (1985) my 71 Monte SS (#1) had just been painted and there was overspray all over my newly chrome plated hood hinges and springs (hey! I did say it was 1985!) I removed them from the car, compressed the hood hinge with rope, and went to town on it with my wire brush attachment on my drill. I also used some paint reducer, without realizing it was providing lubrication for the rope to move, when WHAMMM!!!! The spring unloads sideways across the bridge of my nose, barely missing my eye! I was alone in my shop and came to a few minutes later in a drying pool of blood. (I know this because the last thing I remembered was a song just came on the radio and it was just ending when I peeled my face from the drying blood on the floor!) All in all I was sooo lucky, but man! was I hurt! ......SUCH AN IDIOT! I learned from that experience. Even though I'm older and wiser, I would not touch one of these again, though; best left to you professionals out there (those who "can" do this!) Jeff 70SS 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glen Posted March 5, 2023 Share Posted March 5, 2023 On 3/4/2023 at 12:22 PM, MC1of80 said: Screwdriver. On and off. Yep… Or… https://youtube.com/watch?v=2UVVUmolK8c&si=EnSIkaIECMiOmarE  Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare SS Posted March 5, 2023 Share Posted March 5, 2023 4 minutes ago, Glen said: Yep… Or… https://youtube.com/watch?v=2UVVUmolK8c&si=EnSIkaIECMiOmarE  MAN! This video came just 38 Years too late! It's ok though..."Who DOESN'T need a nosejob?" Jeff 70SS 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MC1of80 Posted March 5, 2023 Share Posted March 5, 2023 36 minutes ago, Glen said: Yep… Or… https://youtube.com/watch?v=2UVVUmolK8c&si=EnSIkaIECMiOmarE  Told ya! Lol ez pz. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leghome Posted March 6, 2023 Share Posted March 6, 2023 I used the washer method Mr Tretter mentioned earlier and it worked great. Screw driver to pry the spring apart slightly slide in washer and insert it a little farther with a pair of channel locks. On new springs put them in a vise and just bent them over inserting washers as I went on one side and bent it the other way and repeated. About halfway down a lot of the washer fell out and the others came out easily. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whons Posted March 8, 2023 Author Share Posted March 8, 2023 This whole spring thing sounds pretty risky. there is no way I'm going to remove my hood the hinges have no side play and my paint job is perfect, don't want to risk chipping it. I may try the spring inside the spring and the prop rod that I made is long enough to keep the hood open max. no chance of wind knocking it out. thanks for all the input. Wayne     2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Boyte Posted March 8, 2023 Share Posted March 8, 2023 Can't say that I blame you for not wanting to risk damaging a perfect paint job . The prop rod is always a safe solution !  2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cny first gen 71 Posted March 8, 2023 Share Posted March 8, 2023 Lots of people have removed hoods and hinges with no damage you just need a couple people to help and put protective stuff on the stuff that can be damaged fender covers, tape pieces of old carpet whatever works. I've removed mine twice and had no damage. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
overdrive Posted March 8, 2023 Share Posted March 8, 2023 The washer trick works good, but put a string through them. It's so much easier to find them all after you close the hood and they fall out. I took my springs off and put them back on with the hinges in a vice. I used #9 wire to put loops on an old bumper jack. It worked great and was very safe, but it may not work as easily on the car, just because of the size of the jack. Dan 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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