Ineffectual bonnet catches

[andydw]

Those little plastic pegs seem not to hold the bonnet firmly however much I adjust them in and out. On the one side they are clearly not aligned with the hole in the bonnet bracket, but I can't loosen off any bolts to effect an adjustment at all, on the other side I don't know what's going on but they hold the bonnet not at all despite looking like they are aligned OK. Over 70 the bonnet starts to rattle in a worrying way. I have no splitter so will it fly up? Seems OK up to about 80.

I need a quick adjustment/fix I can do with a basic set of tools for a trip I need to make tomorrow and ideas for a permanent fix that definitely holds the bonnet firmly closed.

I've had a bonnet fly up on me before - on a Sierra, and it was terrifying.

Cheers for any help/tips

[jackwibble]

You need to make sure the rubber grommets in the metal brackets are in good condition, as the bonnet hinges from the front I found it just lifts and floats up a few inches at 100 mph +
I did the plastic pegs and grommets and mine was fine.

[knight]

If in a tight fix I recommend gaffer tape! Always carry a roll in the car and it's silver to match the body colour

[DJR 7]

I had the same problem and adjusted the plastic ends but as mentioned earlier the grommets had collapsed and was fouling a trip to Halfords 2 new grommets and all seems well, there was a post about this a while ago that maybe of use to you.

[skidoo]

i seem to remember seeing somewhere that the plastic pegs were used so the bonnet could be lifted in an emergency/fire even when locked down soooooooooo why not fit some metal pegs that lock the fker down properly (i could be wrong though as i have been drinking)

[C3BER]

Yes they need to fit into the rubber for a tight fit. Do you need to worry about them lifting... NO! 174 mph with no pegs and I could only lift the bonnet a few inches.

[DJR 7]

I was happy to let mine lift until I noticed the damage on the F2 panel

[andydw]

C3BER said:

Yes they need to fit into the rubber for a tight fit. Do you need to worry about them lifting... NO! 174 mph with no pegs and I could only lift the bonnet a few inches.

cheers all. Did I imagine it then or was there a thread a short while back where someone's bonnet flew up at speed? The absence of the splitter was talked about quite a bit IIRC.

Still, I rest easier now so thanks.

[itiejim]

If the bonnet is insecure it will start to float up at about 60/70 mph without the splitter.

[andydw]

itiejim said:

If the bonnet is insecure it will start to float up at about 60/70 mph without the splitter.

er, how high?

[C3BER]

This high



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m5FKfGgN0AY&fea...

[andydw]

C3BER said:

This high



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m5FKfGgN0AY&fea...

And thats with no splitter? Or am I worrying about that unecessarily?

[Brummmie]

andydw said:

And thats with no splitter? Or am I worrying about that unecessarily?

I've cracked 200 with no splitter, i have also had the bonnet tear away from the strengthening bars, i had to re bond them.
I have given up on the standard locks.

[C3BER]

No splitter but maybe one day. Don't think you will require one because by the time you've had a few blasts out over bumpy roads your splitter will be gone.

[verminator]

I always worried about my floating bonet until i did 160 without any notable difference. I do however find that i need to change the gromets every year. I did read a thread on here saying that very few cerbs still have a splitter fitted, and that if they did, it would alliviate the floating bonet problem. Dont know how true this is.

[andydw]

Just driven home. The bonnet came out of the catches at 100, I backed off and it was fine. Then I managed to fix the catches properly so should all be good from now.

[DJR 7]

How did you manage to secure the catches? Still find mine lifting at speed, just a thought here has anyone tried drilling the hole right through on the actual bonnet ( the part the gromet is squeezed into) catch and then cutting off the sleeve on the nylon pin extending it fully so it passes all the way through the catch? I'm toying with trying this and having some new alloy pins made. Albeit not a major problem I'm finding it bl--dy annoying!

[gerradiuk]

I have just fitted a long bolt into the plastic end then
filled it with metal putty & topped it off with ispon's metalik filler. Waited until it was solid the pushed into place through the retaining bracket, bit awkward as the bolt is quite long, then pushed some metal putty deep into the ally tube that the plastic end fit's on before it set I pored some metalik filler in the tube then pushed it all together. I then kept in under pressure for an hour & so far it seems solid as a rock, I did however back off the length of the rods as they were a bit tight , but am now thinking (as above) that I will drill through the metal bracket that's fixed to the bonnet so it passes through, then glue a small grommet onto the wing lip so the rods end cannot dig into the l the wing .

PS any anthracite 17" RL's for sale ?

[DJR 7]

While you had it apart would you say alloy heads would work? I've not striped mine down yet I'm still at the idea stage! I've sourced a local company that would mill them for me, did you find that the rods were. Flexing or did you reinforce them to add support to the extended nylon? Did you leave the sleeve in place? Appreciate your input
DJR

[gerradiuk]

I would think that alloy heads would work, although
the thread of the alloy rods had both snapped off flush with the rubbish plastic ends. I drilled them out so i could reinforce them with the bolts, the way the bonnet moves at speed I would think its highly likely that the puny alloy rods are flexing.
I may re fit my other bonnet as this has vents at the front & back plus it has the bonnet retaining clips fitted, may not look as good but peace of mind .