SH!FT
Well-Known Member
- Thread starter
- #1
Ford Performance Hood Lift Kit is great with a little modification.
Here’s my fix for flimsy fender strut brackets and wiper fluid hose pinch point:
Brackets are now solid on the fenders and the wiper fluid hose is out of the way.
How-to:
Beefier retainer nut:
I milled a piece of steel all-thread rod into two 1.00” x 0.56” x 0.20” blocks then added M8 x 1.25 threaded center holes. These replace the provided ~0.9” x 0.56” x ~0.07” retainers.
Adding fender brackets studs:
NOTE: Bracket center hole locations are based on the stud screw size used.
#8-18 x ½” hex self-drilling screws: https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/imperial-stove-pipe-screws-hex-12-piece
Major Thread Dia: 0.16”
Minor Thread Dia: 0.13”
Washer Head Dia: 0.34”
My 0,0 is the “front inner corner” of each bracket. The x,y values are the center hole locations. The #8 screws slip through the 0.166” holes.
This is doable by hand if you’re careful. The goal is for A > B.
My minor diameter ‘B’ distance is 0.52”. The major is 0.49”. ‘A’ is 0.56”. This insures that the new retainer nut won’t fit between the stud screws and stays fairly perpendicular to the fender slot once installed.
Modified fender bracket Install:
0. Corrected the damage caused by the original install.
1. Placed the bracket against the outer pocket wall and slid it down towards the headlight until even with the top edge of the fender slot.
2. Used the 0.166” holes to add pilot holes in the fender with a #2 center drill.
3. Added an edge break to one end of the new retainer nut and Loctite to the threads before loosely assembling.
4. Dropped the retainer into the fender slot and aligned the retainer perpendicular to the slot.
5. Used the stamp marking on the M8 bolt head to maintain retainer nut alinement while securing the #8 stud screws hand tight.
6. Pulled up on the M8 bolt and snugged it to the top lock washer while the stud screws held the retainer and bracket in place.
7. Torqued the M8 bolt.
Wiper fluid hose relocation:
1. Removed the 3 clips to peel back passenger side of the hood insulation panel.
2. Popped the 2 wiper fluid hose clips off the hood and hose.
3. Added a tie wrap sticky mount which moves the pinch point into the hood recess, but still allows that foam block to properly protect and prevent rattling.
4. Any created hose slack from the move was fed back towards the wiper fluid reservoir before reinstalling the bottom hose clip on the hose and hood. Red markings show where the removed upper hose clip was located.
5. Cut a new notch in the insulation. The blade must be razor sharp. The cut must be completed in a single pass or big mess.
6. Trick is to seal the new cut with wood glue. Used fingernail to apply. Insulation wants to fray and stick to must other things.
7. Color matched the cut with Sharpie once glue is set.
8. Re-secured the insulation panel.
Why do this??
This hood strut kit had a high risk for failure and possible injury with just that single fender mounting bolt. The S550 hood becomes a heavyweight due to the chosen strut mounting points being so close to the hinges.
There’s high probability that the provided retainer nut and serrated washer will shift inside fender during the torque process. If you watch the CJ Pony install video closely, you’ll see Bill have this issue on the driver side fender bracket install. The provided retainer nut bypassed the small stud pin.
Retainer nut alignment is easy with the fender bracket only hand tight. I found that a 12mm wrench helped reduce the bracket from shifting during the torque process, but everything still moves scuffing the paint.
I’m a stickler for symmetry so it took couple tries to hit 20 ft-lbs with both fender brackets square and the hood opening height equal.
A good test before the first hood close is lightly push up and pull down on the fully open hood. See what flexes. It should be the entire fender pocket. Zero bracket rocking or rotation.
My brackets flexed… Here’s the result after the first hood close:
I opened the hood to find both fender brackets twisted and slightly lifted towards the headlights. I assessed the damage and slightly lost my sh!t before taking the struts assemblies to the workshop.
Cause of failure:
The 0.07” thick provided retainer nut will flex as it is tighten causing the M8 threads in the nut to deform and bind on the bolt. If the threads bind enough to overcome the holding strength of serrated washer before the torque spec is reached, the retainer will spin and shift. I might have had better luck with lubed threads.
Install links:
https://www.cjponyparts.com/media/images/install-pdf/install_m16826ma.pdf
Here’s my fix for flimsy fender strut brackets and wiper fluid hose pinch point:
Brackets are now solid on the fenders and the wiper fluid hose is out of the way.
How-to:
Beefier retainer nut:
I milled a piece of steel all-thread rod into two 1.00” x 0.56” x 0.20” blocks then added M8 x 1.25 threaded center holes. These replace the provided ~0.9” x 0.56” x ~0.07” retainers.
Adding fender brackets studs:
NOTE: Bracket center hole locations are based on the stud screw size used.
#8-18 x ½” hex self-drilling screws: https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/imperial-stove-pipe-screws-hex-12-piece
Major Thread Dia: 0.16”
Minor Thread Dia: 0.13”
Washer Head Dia: 0.34”
My 0,0 is the “front inner corner” of each bracket. The x,y values are the center hole locations. The #8 screws slip through the 0.166” holes.
This is doable by hand if you’re careful. The goal is for A > B.
My minor diameter ‘B’ distance is 0.52”. The major is 0.49”. ‘A’ is 0.56”. This insures that the new retainer nut won’t fit between the stud screws and stays fairly perpendicular to the fender slot once installed.
Modified fender bracket Install:
0. Corrected the damage caused by the original install.
1. Placed the bracket against the outer pocket wall and slid it down towards the headlight until even with the top edge of the fender slot.
2. Used the 0.166” holes to add pilot holes in the fender with a #2 center drill.
3. Added an edge break to one end of the new retainer nut and Loctite to the threads before loosely assembling.
4. Dropped the retainer into the fender slot and aligned the retainer perpendicular to the slot.
5. Used the stamp marking on the M8 bolt head to maintain retainer nut alinement while securing the #8 stud screws hand tight.
6. Pulled up on the M8 bolt and snugged it to the top lock washer while the stud screws held the retainer and bracket in place.
7. Torqued the M8 bolt.
Wiper fluid hose relocation:
1. Removed the 3 clips to peel back passenger side of the hood insulation panel.
2. Popped the 2 wiper fluid hose clips off the hood and hose.
3. Added a tie wrap sticky mount which moves the pinch point into the hood recess, but still allows that foam block to properly protect and prevent rattling.
4. Any created hose slack from the move was fed back towards the wiper fluid reservoir before reinstalling the bottom hose clip on the hose and hood. Red markings show where the removed upper hose clip was located.
5. Cut a new notch in the insulation. The blade must be razor sharp. The cut must be completed in a single pass or big mess.
6. Trick is to seal the new cut with wood glue. Used fingernail to apply. Insulation wants to fray and stick to must other things.
7. Color matched the cut with Sharpie once glue is set.
8. Re-secured the insulation panel.
Why do this??
This hood strut kit had a high risk for failure and possible injury with just that single fender mounting bolt. The S550 hood becomes a heavyweight due to the chosen strut mounting points being so close to the hinges.
There’s high probability that the provided retainer nut and serrated washer will shift inside fender during the torque process. If you watch the CJ Pony install video closely, you’ll see Bill have this issue on the driver side fender bracket install. The provided retainer nut bypassed the small stud pin.
Retainer nut alignment is easy with the fender bracket only hand tight. I found that a 12mm wrench helped reduce the bracket from shifting during the torque process, but everything still moves scuffing the paint.
I’m a stickler for symmetry so it took couple tries to hit 20 ft-lbs with both fender brackets square and the hood opening height equal.
A good test before the first hood close is lightly push up and pull down on the fully open hood. See what flexes. It should be the entire fender pocket. Zero bracket rocking or rotation.
My brackets flexed… Here’s the result after the first hood close:
I opened the hood to find both fender brackets twisted and slightly lifted towards the headlights. I assessed the damage and slightly lost my sh!t before taking the struts assemblies to the workshop.
Cause of failure:
The 0.07” thick provided retainer nut will flex as it is tighten causing the M8 threads in the nut to deform and bind on the bolt. If the threads bind enough to overcome the holding strength of serrated washer before the torque spec is reached, the retainer will spin and shift. I might have had better luck with lubed threads.
Install links:
https://www.cjponyparts.com/media/images/install-pdf/install_m16826ma.pdf
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