Any way to lessen the force needed to open the hood? Thx

[ice445]

Mine requires a fair degree of force but once its open it's like butter. I'm guessing that when the hood latches there is a fair amount of load holding the hood down and it's this force that you have to overcome not something within the lever/cable/latch assembly. I bought the Steeda lever, apart from looking sexy it doesn't improve anything, I'm not sure it's stronger as the aluminium lever clips onto a plastic boss.

I think if your prepared to do some adjusting you could get it so that the latch has less load on it.

I don't think you'd want the latch to grab less tightly, with such a large hood I'm sure there's a lot of aerodynamic lift going on at higher speeds.

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[Vlad Soare]

Thank you for posting that. I figured I wasn't the only one with that stiff hood spring. As I mentioned earlier, I've lubed the crap out of that latch with very little results. That's why I'm planning to lube the cable next, and see if that helps. But ideally, I'd like to replace that damn spring. I feel the cable or the handle is not going to last my ownership of the vehicle.

The system is a lever, a cable, and the latch. There's nothing 'defective' to take it to a dealer, since it's been like that since day 1. They'd just tell me it's the way it is... and to bring it in if it breaks. If there's no solution (like I suspect), I'd like to replace both the lever, AND the cable, to avoid the damn thing breaking, and leaving me with no good options.

You can remove the hood latch altogether and install a pair of these:
https://www.steeda.com/steeda-slide-style-captive-mustang-hood-pins-480-3037.html

Problem solved forever. Those things will outlast the car.

 

[MaskedRacerX]

Maybe something got damaged when you backed onto your Rhino Ramps ...

 

[Elp_jc]

I bought the Steeda lever, apart from looking sexy it doesn't improve anything, I'm not sure it's stronger as the aluminium lever clips onto a plastic boss.
I think if your prepared to do some adjusting you could get it so that the latch has less load on it.

So do you think the Steeda lever is actually not preventing anything? What did you have to remove to install it?

And finally, as I stated in my first post, I had to adjust my hood higher, since it was below the front painted part... but that does NOT do anything to the force needed to open it, since you adjust the whole latch mechanism. And like you said, what's exerting the force on the hood rod is the super strong spring in the latch mechanism, so no matter how much you adjust it, it'd require exactly the same force to open. Just look at it, and you'll understand. Try to push that sucker down .

 

[ORRadtech]

If you're so sure the spring is the issue why not source one with a lighter pull? Or maybe get a stock one and heat treat or stretch it a little?

Personally, mine is tight but not outstandingly so. Certainly not the worst I've ever had. If I have any complaint about the hood is that I wish it would pop up just a bit higher when released. It's a bit difficult on my old, mildly arthritic fingers to slide in there to release the safety latch. My Fusion and Edge are much easier to release the safety latch than the Mustang.

 

[Elp_jc]

If you're so sure the spring is the issue why not source one with a lighter pull? Or maybe get a stock one and heat treat or stretch it a little?

Post one and I'd buy it immediately . Look at it; you're not going to find one at any auto parts or hardware store. And stretch it? Can't do it, and it wouldn't do anything to alleviate the problem anyway. And neither heating it. It has to be a weaker spring with the same shape as the stock one, but good luck finding one.

Can't really polish the surfaces where the latch slides as you pull the hood lever (buried in the latch assembly), so they should 'polish' themselves with use. Others have reported the latch getting easier to pull, obviously due to that. Just re-lubed everything again, hoping it gets a bit easier to pull. As long as I don't feel like something is about to break, I'd be okay. Checked the cable and ferrule at the latch, and it looks good.

 

[Farkel]

If I have any complaint about the hood is that I wish it would pop up just a bit higher when released. It's a bit difficult on my old, mildly arthritic fingers to slide in there to release the safety latch.

Me, too! I open the hood every time I pull into the garage, to plug it in to the battery tender. I use a plastic trim removal tool that's perfect for reaching under the hood to move the release.

 

[frank s]

[...]
Can't really polish the surfaces where the latch slides as you pull the hood lever (buried in the latch assembly), so they should 'polish' themselves with use. Others have reported the latch getting easier to pull, obviously due to that. Just re-lubed everything again, hoping it gets a bit easier to pull.
[...]

Seems to me if you're depending on use to polish it into easier compliance, applying lubricants will be counter-productive.

WRT Stretching or replacing a spring, an alternative approach would be to alter the spring's attachment points: If an end hooks into a hole, enlarge the hole? Add to the spring's length with a loop of wire or cable?

This gets me thinking about the narrow hood release finger space complained about above. Will it open a bit farther if some material is removed from the mating spots on the two components that determine the height of the opening?

Thinking is fun, even if it;s often wrong or misdirected.

 

[shogun32]

there are rubber bumpers that set the 'closed' height of the hood. The latch and hook that grabs the loop, if it's just a smidge too low it's pulling down on the entire hood thus flexing it. When you go to release the hook it has to slide against the U loop while the faces are under tension. In gun terms we call this a sticky/gritty trigger pull.

It should be possible to shim the latch mechanism (or hook mount if more convenient) with some 1mm thick washers and segnificantly lessen the pulling forces (preload) on the sliding parts. You don't want to shim it so much that the hood can float off it's rubber bases at speed. It won't come undone but it will rise 1mm or so.

 

[Elp_jc]

I use a plastic trim removal tool that's perfect for reaching under the hood to move the release.

Yeah, that damn release is a little tight. I know where it is, and my fingers (barely) fit, and reach it fine, so not an issue for me. But when you move that stupid lever and hits a stop, you think it should release but nope. You need to move it farther to the left to release, and it's hard to do as well. But for that, there's an easy solution: just push on the hood a little, to remove that stupid hard a$$ spring pressure on it, and it releases easy.

there are rubber bumpers that set the 'closed' height of the hood.

I relaxed mine completely, and same crap, so that's not a solution. But you don't want them making any more pressure on the latch either. I just unscrew them where they barely make contact with the hood (no tension, but no gap either), so at high speeds it doesn't flutter. Or at least not excessively, since I think it does flutter above certain speeds regardless.

And there's nothing to do to the latch folks; just look at it carefully, and you'll see what I mean. And if the last lube I just did doesn't improve the lever effort, will leave it alone after that, and hopefully it'll wear a little more over time, until it's basically polished, since at least one person reported less effort over time. We'll see. But with that super strong spring, it'll never be easy; that's for sure.

 

[Genxer]

I have the Steeda lever because the factory plastic piece seems really flimsy to me for the force required to pop the latch. As far as closing the hood? For any car I have over owned, I always let the hood drop to close vs. pushing it closed. It doesn't hurt anything, and in fact... like you said you might dent it trying to push on it.

 

[Elp_jc]

Yep; it's always better to always close the hood by its own weight... with the minimum height required. It's possible to not to close the Mustang hood all the way, as an FYI. So now I let it fall a bit higher than the absolute minimum, since it doesn't latch properly (hood ajar lit).

Hey, may I ask what did you have to remove to install the Steeda hood lever, and how it's attached? Thx.

 

[Genxer]

Yep; it's always better to always close the hood by its own weight... with the minimum height required. It's possible to not to close the Mustang hood all the way, as an FYI. So now I let it fall a bit higher than the absolute minimum, since it doesn't latch properly (hood ajar lit).

Hey, may I ask what did you have to remove to install the Steeda hood lever, and how it's attached? Thx.

CJ Pony Parts has an install video. It isn’t too bad.

 

[shogun32]

neither of my Mustang hoods latch from a drop. I have to shove (pretty hard too) on the bonnet to get to the locked position.

 

[Genxer]

neither of my Mustang hoods latch from a drop. I have to shove (pretty hard too) on the bonnet to get to the locked position.

That doesn’t seem right. Maybe your hood and latch are genuinely not lined up with each other, or as someone mentioned before the hood adjusters possibly need to screw in a little. That might be the easiest thing to check first.

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