Hood flew up while I was driving!

1994
Buick
Skylark
Engine size unknown (4-door)
197,000

I've already posted about several topics. Old cars do tend to have a lot of problems, you know?

Well, here's what happened: one day, driving home, I fell asleep at the wheel on the freeway cause I had stayed awake for a few days and thought I could make it home safely to take a nap. I woke up in time to slam on my breaks for a good 3 or 4 seconds, just enough time to avoid having a real major collision. Never-the-less, I hit the person in front of me and lost the grill that goes over the radiator, cracked the headlights (though they seem good enough to still be functional), and most notably, my latch is all kinds of stupid now.

Just to get it open, I have to manually pull on the switch located on the latch that is suppose to get pulled by the lever on the inside (which no longer works). Further more, to get the other part of the latch off, I have to literally hammer it with a screw driver until it gives. That's one of the problems, but not my main concern right now.

I was driving down the freeway after my car wouldn't start one day, and we had ended up getting it to. I hung out with my friends for a while and then left. I forgot to make sure the hood latch was secure before I went blazing down the freeway at 65mph, and wouldn't you know it, the hood flew up and smashed my windshield. It wasn't a big deal. I called a windshield replacement company and had it replaced that same day. However, now, I am afraid of taking it on the freeway, not because of the latch, but because the supports that hold the hood on (up by the windshield) are now compromised, and one of them is pretty bent, now only being held on by a single bolt out of three. Further more, the hydrolic arms that secure the hood when you put it up and keep it from going up too far are also now detached, but it looks like the places they hinge are still in tact enough to use.

Where do I go about finding new hood support thingies?
How do I fix the latch?-- the inside lever and the other part
How do I go about putting the hood arm things back on?
Boy did I have a bunch of suggestions for you; but then decided not to post all of them; other then just one.
You need help and I may not be talking about your car.

Dan.

Canadian "EH"




Wow. Thanks. That was a fantastic suggestion. In fact, I may not need any more help from anyone after that. That just about solves all my problems. Thanks a lot. Next time I need help, I will be sure to seek you out.

Now then, does anyone have any real advise?
koi; LOL. Trying very hard to be nice, here. So, I won't say anything other than it might be safer to just remove the hood until you can get it repaired correctly.
Loren
SW Washington Hahaha. Thank you. I'm a pretty big n00b about cars. So yea...

So you think I should remove the hood? Is there any downsides to that? I.e. Easier to steal. Bad for the engine. Anything like that?

Koi; People will steal anything. Your battery would be the most obvious thing to worry about. Most everything under the hood is impervious to weather, so that shouldn't be a big factor unless you get a serious downpour. When I was a teenager, it was 'cool' to drive a car without a hood. No, it wasn't a horse and buggy. I'm not THAT old. Almost.
Seriously, though, without seeing the car, it may be safer to remove the hood than to have it come up on you again.
There are a million of these cars in the wrecking yards and you should be able to get whatever parts you need to make it safe again.
Loren
SW Washington where you from koi? I'm from Arizona.

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In Reply To

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"Well, here's what happened: one day, driving home, I fell asleep at the wheel on the freeway cause I had stayed awake for a few days"

yayo is not good for you

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I'm not on drugs; I'm just irresponsible. =|
Haha i know this doesnt help but i just had to say HAHAHAHAHA because this happened to someone I know. But really...You don't know much about cars, you're worried about safety...What is it that you expect from here? My best advice would be to save up and get your car fixed by a professional =|
What a thread! OMG!

Get that fixed and fixed right. Some salvage yards may even install what you need. Both latches need to work as that's an enormous safety issue!

Don't drive in front of me please!

T
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Tom Greenleaf - MetroWest, Boston
http://acsource.net/acforum/index.php










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