[yacoub]

The front edge of the hood seems to have a tighter fit and less vertical gap on one end than the other.

The side edges look aligned and the hood is even front to back, it's just like the right portion of the hood's leading edge isn't as low down as the left portion.

See how there's increasingly more black gap showing along the leading edge of the hood going from left to right?
[img removed]

Is there any way to adjust this or any idea what would alleviate this?

It bugs me because it shows up so clearly on the white car. I can't take head-on shots of it without noticing it.

Thanks.

 

[HereKnorThere]

Judging by a pic of my engine bay(at work so I can't actually look at the car) there are two rubber stops on either side for the hood. The one on the drivers side is by the hood prop and headlight. You should be able to adjust the height of those by turning them.

 

[XYJORGEYX]

Judging by a pic of my engine bay(at work so I can't actually look at the car) there are two rubber stops on either side for the hood. The one on the drivers side is by the hood prop and headlight. You should be able to adjust the height of those by turning them.

:+1:

Thats what I did for the X and one of my previous cars as well.

 

[koa257]

Best thing to do is what hereknorthere said but also get 2 friends to help you out. It took me a while with 2 buddies to line everything up perfectly. Gotta keep loosening the bolts and tightening them. Good lcuk

 

[yacoub]

Thanks, I just played with those and was able to get it a bit closer to balanced, although to get it looking best from directly in front, the driver's side stopper has to be too far down (I think it's far enough down that it doesn't make much contact and the hood will vibrate a bit if i push and release on that side with my hand when it's closed) and the hood on the driver's side was actually slightly lower than the front bumper edge and quarter panel edge at the front corner where the three meet.
I think the hood may also be slightly further back toward the windshield on that side or something and sliding it 1/8" forward might account for that. I guess to adjust that I'd have to loosen the riser arm or something?

 

[Yxd68]

Adjust the center hood latch up/down to get the height of the hood closing point correct and then use the side bumper stops to balance left/right. There should be at least some contact with both bumper pads to prevent it from vibrating.

It's a careful balance between the push up from the corner bumpers and the downward tension of the latch. Too much and the hood will be very difficult to close, too little and it will rattle.

Also make sure your front cover is mounted securely.

 

[yacoub]

I didn't see any way to easily adjust the hood catch/latch, but I raised the other side bumper up a little and that seemed to help balance the look of the gap.

 

[Yxd68]

I didn't see any way to easily adjust the hood catch/latch,

You loosen the bolts, slide it up/down, then tighten the bolts. The holes in the latch are much larger than the bolts so it can be easily moved.

 

[yacoub]

Which bolts, though? Maybe I need to remove the bumper or something to get at the right ones? I didn't see any that appeared relatively accessible.

 

[Yxd68]

First take off that black plastic cover to expose the latch mountings.

There is one bolt on the passenger side, two on drives side (assuming USDM/LHD).

Pics 2 & 3 show the two sides with the mounting bolts. Pic four shows the latch off the car, with the front side up.

 

[razorlab]

It's actually your bumper cover. Loosen the top bolts and shift it around.

The reason why I know this is I noticed the exact same thing, but after I installed my FMIC. I never had that odd gap before. So I put 2 and 2 together.

 

[yacoub]

Ah, thanks guys.

Yeah my fail was I hadn't even removed the black plastic cover.

But I bet it could also be the bumper cover since the hood seemed aligned with the left and right fenders just fine.

Sounds like a good rainy day garage project to mess around with those to get it flush.