Expert hood latch adjuster needed

[Max (SD)]

Looking for some help in Bend, Oregon. Those of you might have followed the restoration of my 1970 911 called "Elphaba". Well have been driving it around Bend this summer, and having a lot of difficulty getting the hood not to pop up after hitting any serious road undulations or bump. I have tried everything short of buying new latch and receiver.

If there is anyone in Bend that would like to take a crack at it please let me know. Would like to get this issue resolved before the drive down to Rennsport. It would be a long trip if I have to stop every mile or so to close my hood.

Thanks,

[Zuluracerx]

I had the same problem. I ended up buying a new latch and sending it to Colin (Cantrell Motorsports, Kirkland, WA) not "too" far away from you. What he did was modify the pin by increasing the diameter of the pin so the "ledge" that actually hooks on the latch has more surface area. Sounds elaborate, but for his fab skills it was a snap. My car gets twisted under extreme track G loads and I have yet to have it pop open anymore. If Kirkland is too far to drive, remove the pieces and Fedex to Colin, he can hook you up. His number is: 425.820.0231 Tell him RSR John sent you! The next option is the one I would use at the track while I was still having this problem is a strip of helicopter tape. That would get you to RR as a bandaid solution. Good luck and remember it takes patience to get it adjusted for perfect results! John

[blucille]

I've had the same problem on my 2 hotrods, it can be handled yourself....keep in mind, if the cable adjustment is either too loose or too tight, it WILL pop open, you'll notice the latch 'tang' move in and out as you adjust the cable, so you want maximum 'tang' exposure.....if you achieve maximum tang exposure and it still pops open, seek a new latch receiver and/or new pin, repeat adjustment as necessary.

Lewis

[steve shea]

All of the upthread advice is good. You may also try to adjust the length of the pin. It's easy. Loosen the lock nut and screw out to very slightly lengthen. It does not take much. I'd go a 1/4 turn at a time. Make sure that the pin is centered over the opening before tightening. You can do this with a piece of paper and a dot of grease on the end of the pin. Once centered, tighten and try. Make sure everything is clean and lubed. Also make sure there is not too much upward pressure by proper adjustment of the hood. If the latch system is in good shape this should do the trick

[Max (SD)]

Thanks for all the advice. I have cleaned and oiled all the receiver and latch. I have aligned the latch, adjusted the receiver giving maximum coverage to catch, but it still pops up. I am wondering if the spring attached to the receiver could be too week, will try to get a stronger tensioned spring and see if this will keep the latch in place. I am thinking while driving over a bump the spring gives and the latch vibrates open. Any thoughts?

[steve shea]

When you push down to shut can you hear/feel it close? If you can and it is still opening over bumps your pin still may not be deep enough but you might be onto something with the spring tension. Every 911/912 that I have owned clicked when closing. I had the exact problem you describe; it was pin length. But i'm not a hood expert just lucky.

[NeunElf]

I had a similar problem and solved it by adjusting the cable length to the latch receiver.

The 911 hood latch is a clever design which will release if the cable breaks. I think it’s common to the VW Type 3. If you experiment, you'll see that the metal latch piece that actually holds the pin from the upper latch is disengaged when the cable is fully loose (or removed).

1. With the cable disengaged, the latch piece is mostly invisible when you look down at the latch. That's how the latch releases if the cable breaks.

2. As the cable's pulled the end of the latch opposite the cable attachment moves in increasing the latch engagement until it hits a stop.

3. Then after it hits that stop, pulling further on the cable decreases the engagement until the hood latch opens.

You want to adjust the cable so that the latch piece is right on that stop (or real close) when the knob isn't pulled ("2" above). That gives you maximum latch engagement. It's a job that's easiest if you grow one or two extra hands...

You can either unbolt the lower latch from the car, lift it out an inch or two and adjust the cable by trial and error or use those extra hands to reach in through the little hole behind the latch mechanism. Needle nose vice grips or a small, highly-trained monkey might be useful. At least there’s some margin for error.

[Max (SD)]

Thanks all for the advice, I ended up taking the the receiver and latch apart, cleaned out the part, put it back, noticed that the latch on the hood was slightly bent at an angle, I took it off again and straightened it a bit, and it now enters the receiver at perfect 90 degree, drove around has not popped open as of yet. Will take on a slightly longer drive this afternoon to make sure this thing does not pop open. Thank goodness for that safety catch.

[Eminence Gris]

One thing to watch out for is that the 'ledge' on the plunger starts to round off a bit with repeated hood pops. Likewise, the knife-edge on the release gets worn. It's possible to rotate the plunger to improve the catch surface, but the release latch needs replacing when it's worn. Adjusting the screw clamp on the cable is easier with long nose Vice Grips to hold the cable tension correctly for the receiver release latch to fully close.

[Sacto S]

Don't forget about the rubber snubbers at the front corners of the hood. These need to be turned out far enough to put ample pressure on the latch. The spring on the latch itself may not be providing enough pressure to seat the latch against the post tightly. Try turning the snubbers out a little at a time until you have a tight latch.