Bonnet is loose!!!

[Tiggsy]

where the bonnet attaches at the front ther are two bolts on either side of a black plastic section that sits central to the cars nose. These bolts pass through a pivoting eye thing and are bolted to it.

now one of mine is loose but the bolts either side of the eye are tight- the looseness is due to the bolt head being loose inside the plastic housing?!"??!! how is the bolt normaly held here- on the good one it looks like the bolt is fixed/welded/stuck in place?

Tiggs

[markh]

I had the same it used to lift badly at high speed, ended up buying a new bonnet section ( the bit with bolts ) and having it bonded to the the lid

Mark

[Elwood]

The bonnets fixed to the hinge with 7 1/8 pop rivits and washers.

[Tiggsy]

markh, how much was the new bit and the bonding? and am i right that the bolts are hard fixed into that section?

Tiggs

[markh]

the new section was under £30 I had fitted and a front end respray for £600

[jellison]

Same here.

I was going to get round to getting bonnet off and presumably removing the left smal rose joint and rebonding it back in. Got any idea if this is right - or does a rod run between the 2 (doubt it cos' right one is solid - not wobbling). So like Tiggsy said are the backets already bonded into this new part?

[xain]

Mine got damaged slightly in a minor bump, and the bolt which makes up the pivot of the hinge came away from the bonnet body. The bodyshop just epoxied it back in it's recess I think, and it looks absolutely fine. No more bonnet lift.

[Tiggsy]

xain- i know nothing about epoxy stuff! was it a cheap simple job for them or did they need the whole for a while? also, can any old body shop do this sort of thing?

Tiggs

[nemery]

Same problem with mine. I just made the hole around the bolt a bit bigger and stuck a load of epoxy in the hole and smoothed it off nicely. Had to take the bonnet off first though and balance it in the living room for a day while the epoxy set. Cost 50p.

[Tiggsy]

whats epoxy! and what sort/type do i need?

daft question but once set...is it strong?

Tiggs

[zumbruk]

Tiggsy said: whats epoxy! and what sort/type do i need?

daft question but once set...is it strong?

Tiggs

Epoxy resin, aka Araldite.

Do you blokes read minds, BTW. I was meaning to ask about this, since I can see the leading edge of my bonnet flapping up and down at 130mph. Slightly worrying ...

[Tiggsy]

so i undo the allen bolts and take the bonnet and hinges of completly- lay it on the floor- smoother the loose bolt with epoxy resin where it enters the plastic housing- let it set and wack it back on?

T

[nemery]

That's what I did. Make sure you have some help when you lift off the bonnet it's all too easy to scratch the headlamp surrounds etc. Try to de-grease and rough up the hole before you pack it with araldite. You will probably need to devise some method of supporting the bolt while the epoxy sets. Araldite used to set in 5 minutes but it seems to take 24 hours nowadays. Happy gluing!

[jellison]

Sorted - thought it would be that easy - but just have to get round to it!!

[Tiggsy]

sorted 2! if all the jobs my car needs are this easy and cost 50p i'll be a happy bunny!