Cracked windscreen opening the bonnet

[V8BJC]

Evening everyone

I opened my bonnet today and the pointed edge nearest the screen touched the edge of the glass and cracked the screen.

I have always thought that the bonnet was mighty close to the screen and wondered if the hinge mechanism is setup correctly.

Also, when you first pull the bonnet up towards the screen before lifting the front edge one of the guide wheels at the front falls off the end of the body sections that they sit on suggesting that when open the hinge mech is moving closer to the screen than intended.

Has anyone else had this problem?

How close does your bonnet get to the glass when open. Is it normal to see them so close?

Brian

[Barreti]

Sorry to hear about the damage Brian.

My bonnet touches the screen when its pulled back, but its above the windscreen wipers - in fact I regularly have to push the passenger side wiper down a bit once the back edge has been lifted so I can then lift the front edge without scraping the wiper.

[bluezeeland]

Your bonnet must be really out of alignment.........the fact that the roller(s) get out of their guide(s) is tell-tale !

Having said that, its a bit of a faff to adjust the hinges (trial and error, bonnet on/off) not to mention the hinge brackets at the bonnet side can get out of alignment too....(as in bend in)

Frank

Edited by bluezeeland on Sunday 31st May 11:08

[V8 GRF]

If your bonnet actually touches the screen when it's pulled back it's way out of alignment. Mine gets close but it's at least an inch away from teh scree at it's closest when opening.

I agree with the observation above that if it's falling out of the runners it's going too far back.

[SteveSPG]

i thought there was some adjustment on the gas rams to control where the bonnet went back to..

could it be the rams on yours aren't strong enough, leaving the bonnet too low at the screen?

i recall mine would touch the wipers when opening, but never the screen itself

[Simpo Two]

SteveSPG said:

i recall mine would touch the wipers when opening, but never the screen itself

This. Somehow you need to figure out how to move the bonnet forwards. Suspect some monkeys have been at it.

[QBee]

Simpo Two said:

SteveSPG said:

i recall mine would touch the wipers when opening, but never the screen itself

This. Somehow you need to figure out how to move the bonnet forwards. Suspect some monkeys have been at it.

Would they be chimps?

[Barreti]

Here is my bonnet hing with the back of the bonnet left end and the front still in the rollers
Does yours look similar to this?

[bluezeeland]

Simpo Two said:

SteveSPG said:

i recall mine would touch the wipers when opening, but never the screen itself

This. Somehow you need to figure out how to move the bonnet forwards. Suspect some monkeys have been at it.

My thoughs exactly, the monkeys/chimps could have installed non-standard/wrong struts ?

[V8BJC]

The bonnet does not toch the screen when you first pull it back.

It just gets mighty close when you lift the front after pulling it back.

Will go and take some photos in a bit.

Brian

[jay-kay-em]

Mine never touches the screen - but its blooming close! That's a Biro that I can't pass between glass and bonnet tip.

I have a bonnet opening procedure which starts by nudging the passenger wiper down a touch. As you can see, the bonnet rests on top of said wiper.

When closed, all shut lines are good and the rollers don't fall out.





Sorry to hear about the screen. Keep us informed about how you source a replacement. I'm interested.

Jay.

[V8BJC]

Thanks for all the replies guys and the photos

Just been out to the garage for a closer look. I found that:

- The shut lines are all good when the bonnet is closed but it could do with moving 5mm towards the front of the car.
- When I pull the bonnet back initially the Rams no longer hold the bonnet properly. Need replacements.
- The front guide wheel on the near side falls inside of the guide rail. Moving the bonnet fwd 5mm plus 1-2nm washers between the guide wheels and the bonnet would stop this.
- When the bonnet is raised the pointed edges on both sides touch the screen very lightly.
- Screen broke yesterday as gas rams compressed causing pointed edges to hit screen right on the edge when lifting the front
- A slightly shorter bonnet stay would help. I think Removing 20mm from 900mm current length would stop bonnet touching screen. How long are other people's bonnet stays?

Adjusting the mechanism
- The gas rams are as far forward as they will go in the slots on the bracket bolted to the body
- The adjuster bolt on the hinge that connects to the bonnet looks like the place to start to move bonnet forwards. Baretti's picture above shows the bar extended far further than in my car. Do you have to remove the bonnet to adjust these?

My insurance company want me to use their glass company AA Auto Windshields who say that their Crawley branch has glass in stock and can do the job on Tuesday. I would be happier getting the job done at a TVR specialist so going to try and organise this tomorrow. Will let you know how the job goes.

Brian

[SteveSPG]

http://www.sgs-engineering.com/gas-struts

these guys sold me replacement rams for the tam boot

just gave them the number off the ram and replaced next day

adjust the ram bracket so it sits as close to the screen as possible. that has nil effect on alignment but pushes the bonnet higher = more clearance

HTH

Edited by SteveSPG on Monday 1st June 12:39

[Ozstyle]

Hi,

looking at your hinge attachment at the bonnet, the spring loaded attachment is screwed all the way down on the hinge arm.
If you you disconnect from the bonnet you can screw the clip up, there is probably 30+mm of adjustment. This will raise the back of your bonnet away from the windscreen and push the bonnet forward when its in the shut position. Rollers can be packed out with washers if they drop out of the rails.

Ozstyle