Quik-Latch lubrication procedure for difficult latch pins

[Tomster]

My drivers side was also sticky. I had to drop the hood from over a foot in the air to get it to latch.
I HATE slamming hoods, even my wife noticed and asked what was going on.
I applied some non-aerosol liquid silicone lube to the depressed button and let it soak through.
Hood will now latch by pressing down with hand. Dropping from 4" closes and leaves no hand prints.

As the oasis procedure says, actuation by opening/closing the hood will eventually work the lube in and smooth the action. I am like you. I hate slamming hoods. That is why I use the ratchet extension to actuate the mechanism.

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[Tomster]

The Motorcraft XL10 lube was delivered today. The stuff is really viscous, but I think it will be more persistent than WD40. I started with opening the hood and applying the lube to the depressed top button and then using the squeeze bottle and nozzle to push the lube into the mechanism from the bottom. Then I exercised the mechanism as pictured in my first post.

I think the solution Quik-latch and Ford devised will be good for the long haul.

 

[Big John]

I’ll get a bottle ordered today. Looks like good stuff.

 

[Tomster]

I’ll get a bottle ordered today. Looks like good stuff.

Definitely better than WD40. For those that don't want to spend the $$, a silicone spray would be a good alternative. The XL10 is good because it is very thick.

 

[gfcobra04]

My drivers side was also sticky. I had to drop the hood from over a foot in the air to get it to latch.
I HATE slamming hoods, even my wife noticed and asked what was going on.
I applied some non-aerosol liquid silicone lube to the depressed button and let it soak through.
Hood will now latch by pressing down with hand. Dropping from 4" closes and leaves no hand prints.

Make sure the center button is depressed all the way in before closing the hood. Otherwise it is nearly impossible to close the hood unless you slam it down.

 

[Stang 19]

Today I ordered the XL10 lube from Rock Auto. It was like $12 or $13 bucks plus some minimal shipping. I decided to get a lube that was spec'd for the job for the long haul.

Ford really should send out a small sample size to all GT500 owners.

Anyway, I will report my findings. I'm sure the end result will be just as the procedure above concludes.

Interesting -the XL 10 Motorcraft lube package says it is for lubricating Windows. Multi-use, I suppose.

 

[Tomster]

Interesting -the XL 10 Motorcraft lube package says it is for lubricating Windows. Multi-use, I suppose.

It is a viscous persistent lube that will keep your pins lubed for longer periods. It was a motorcraft product that ford engineers found suitable.

 

[Stang 19]

It is a viscous persistent lube that will keep your pins lubed for longer periods. It was a motorcraft product that ford engineers found suitable.

I’m in. Placed on my next order.

Thx.

 

[Shelbyshakes]

A while ago, I was going to tear down my hood latch mechanisms because the button was very difficult to operate. I suspected this was due to my car sitting outside in the elements for over 2 months which caused a degradation of my pin latch lubrication.

I called Quik-Latch and spoke to the owner of the company who was a great guy to speak with. I explained what was going on and he mentioned that he was working on this very problem with Ford in trying to figure out why and what to do about it. Instead of me going out and tearing the mechanisms out and doing a teardown, he asked me to try a few things and report back to him. His suggestion was initially trying WD-40 on the mechanism. I was not given specific instructions as to how or where to apply, so I went out to the garage and assessed the situation.

A while back, I put a post like this up, but apparently Ford reads this site and contacted the owner of Quik-Latch and it was mutually agreed to remove the thread until Ford officially posts a fix. I asked the mods to take the thread down.

Here is the procedure that I came up with that was passed along to quik-latch and then onto Ford. Be sure to read my warning at the end of this procedure. It is written in bold.

1. Find a 1/4" ratchet extension. You will be using both ends of this tool to manipulate the mechanism.

The larger end resets the mechanism

The shorter end resets the mechanism button

2. Use your choice of lubricant and apply into the top of the depressed button on top of the hood. (the OASIS recommendation is to apply Motorcraft XL 10). The WD40 shown was part of the experimental procedure to establish principle. See the OASIS message below (courtesy of @kilobravo)

3. Using the large end of the 1/4" ratchet extension as seen in step 1, push it in until the mechanism resets. Then use the small end of the ratchet extension and push it in to reset the button. As per the OASIS procedure, they recommend opening and closing the hood several times. Using the ratchet extension is faster and allows you to feel when the mechanism becomes loose again. See below.

Set in it, then push

ratchet extension pushed in (shown below)

The small end of the ratchet extension will reset the button.

Next, press the top button of the latch in and repeat the mechanism reset.

That's it, keep repeating the manipulation of the latch mechanism until it frees up and becomes smooth. The WD-40 that I used a long time ago is still working great. I think they decided to use the XL10 lube is that it probably will be more persistent over time.

Edited to add:
When you are finished with this procedure, make sure your latch is in the correct position before closing the hood. This is accomplished by pressing the button in on the top of the latch mechanism. I haven't tried it, but I don't think it would go well to slam a hood down on a mechanism that isn't set to receive the pin.

Thanks for posting Tomster !

 

[lightrules]

@Tomster , to be clear, do we apply the lube from under the pins (like the wd40 image with the tube going up into them), or we do apply the lube from up top (dripping it down into the pins)? thanks.

 

[Tomster]

@Tomster , to be clear, do we apply the lube from under the pins (like the wd40 image with the tube going up into them), or we do apply the lube from up top (dripping it down into the pins)? thanks.

Wow, it's been a while. The problem with the lube that Ford recommends is that it comes in a squeeze bottle and it is very viscous. I don't think you will effectively be able to get the lube in from the bottom. The viscous lube is a good thing. It will be more persistent over time.

Without re-reading what I did, I seem to recall lubing from the top push pins with the Ford recommended lube. Apply to the depressed pin and keep exercising the mechanism as described. A thought...... one way to get the stuff to penetrate faster would be to heat up the lube to reduce its viscosity. Either way, that procedure will do the trick. I have not relubed my latches since the original posting and the still work like butter.

A side note, avoid slamming your hood. There was an issue a while back with the hoods cracking. I believe it was due to the stops being set incorrect from the factory in combination with people having to slam their hoods to get the latches to engage.

Make sure your hood adjustments are correct.

 

[Tomster]

The Motorcraft XL10 lube was delivered today. The stuff is really viscous, but I think it will be more persistent than WD40. I started with opening the hood and applying the lube to the depressed top button and then using the squeeze bottle and nozzle to push the lube into the mechanism from the bottom. Then I exercised the mechanism as pictured in my first post.

I think the solution Quik-latch and Ford devised will be good for the long haul.

Here, this is what I did.

 

[lightrules]

Here, this is what I did.

ok yeah, i was wondering how the thick lube would squeeze "up" whereas the wd40 you had a spray with plastic tubing. i'll try to track down some MC XL-10 otherwise i might just go with some silicone stuff. i'll research thanks.

 

[kilobravo]

I used a Q-Tip to get up inside with the lube but heating is a good eye deer, Tom.

 

[biminiLX]

A side note, avoid slamming your hood. There was an issue a while back with the hoods cracking. I believe it was due to the stops being set incorrect from the factory in combination with people having to slam their hoods to get the latches to engage.

Make sure your hood adjustments are correct.

What’s the preferred method?
I’ve just been dropping it from 8-12”
-J

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