Hood/fender gap

Moneywellspent

New member
Dec 27, 2013
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Idaho
Ok so I'm at my wits end with this. My drivers side fender/hood gap is noticeably larger than the passenger side. I wanna say it's an even 1/2" gap on the drivers side but the passanger is a perfect factory gap.

I tried adjusting the bolt by the wiper cowl and it only brought it down a tad bit but not much. Searched google and they said to adjust the hood latch. But that didn't do much of anything either.

Does anybody have aaaaannnny thing I can try to get this gap back down to a factory look
 

jlawles2

Well-known member
Jan 28, 2010
1,043
33
48
Danbury, TX
Loosen the bolts on the fender an move it in.

Otherwise you may need to loosen the core support and pull that side in.
 

Moneywellspent

New member
Dec 27, 2013
236
0
0
Idaho
Loosen the bolts on the fender an move it in.

Otherwise you may need to loosen the core support and pull that side in.

I mean it's like the fender needs to move up a 1/4". I could use washers but then I'm going to have to move my fender back causing the fender gap between the door to shrink
 

OregonDMAX

NOT IN OREGON, NO DURAMAX
Apr 28, 2013
3,964
8
38
35
Goodyear, AZ
I have the same gap, larger on the driver side but also the hood sits higher on the driver side also the the gap is huge
 

jlawles2

Well-known member
Jan 28, 2010
1,043
33
48
Danbury, TX
Is it in the front or back? Has it always been like this or was the truck wrecked?

If in front, check the rubber bumper on the core support. I check the side to side rock to see that its not sitting on the latch. If its just the front, you may need to raise the bumper and latch.

If its in the rear, check your hinge for signs of wear. wear in the pivot pins will cause strange things. Try pulling gently on the back corner to see if there is hinge play.
 

Moneywellspent

New member
Dec 27, 2013
236
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Idaho
Is it in the front or back? Has it always been like this or was the truck wrecked?

If in front, check the rubber bumper on the core support. I check the side to side rock to see that its not sitting on the latch. If its just the front, you may need to raise the bumper and latch.

If its in the rear, check your hinge for signs of wear. wear in the pivot pins will cause strange things. Try pulling gently on the back corner to see if there is hinge play.

Truck hasn't been wrecked. This all happened after I picked it up from a shop. I figured this isn't a big big deal and plus that shop is a long ways away now lol

I mean I moved the hood latch as far down as I could but the drivers side is still too fat of a gap compared to the passanger side. And from the front the hood rubs slightly on the grill on the right side.

I honestly think I'm going to need to tear the entire front clip apart. I'm just super surprised nobody has a fix to this, not even on gas forums. The hood Springs were replaced, there is no signs of wear or bending on the cowl latch. And nothing is sticking up far enough that would keep it from closing all the way
Im about to just take Facebook advice and pound it with a hammer lol
 

036.6turbo

Active member
Jan 17, 2014
703
42
28
Panel alignment can be a pain in the butt, you say the fender is low to the hood, but how is it to the door? (gap consistency and feature line alignment)

If the fender is good to the door, the issue is with your hood.

If the fender is bad to the door and hood both, then yeah, you are going to have to re set the fender.
 

Moneywellspent

New member
Dec 27, 2013
236
0
0
Idaho
Panel alignment can be a pain in the butt, you say the fender is low to the hood, but how is it to the door? (gap consistency and feature line alignment)

If the fender is good to the door, the issue is with your hood.

If the fender is bad to the door and hood both, then yeah, you are going to have to re set the fender.

The fender is perfect with the door.
 

subman1980

New member
Feb 4, 2013
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0
1
Check the drivers side hood hinge, it is likely bent. I left a screwdriver under my 04 and closed the hood and had the same issue. Ended up taking it off and straightened it out.
 

Moneywellspent

New member
Dec 27, 2013
236
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0
Idaho
Here's the DS. That was with me moving the hinge down all the way, and sitting on the hood while I loosened the hinge by the cowl and tightened it back down. I need a fat chick lol
 

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Leadfoot

Needs Bigger Tires!
Dec 27, 2006
898
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Western MA
www.matpa.org
Those gaps are BIG. I don't know the whole backstory, but it seems like you had some work done to it (something about replacing hinges). First question, what parts have been replaced (hinges, hood, fenders, etc)? Were the replacement parts OEM? I have boughten hinges for other vehicles that were supposedly "direct replacements" or "OEM equivalent" and they caused major alignment issues. It may just be a case of parts being "slightly" different. Also I had to replace the passenger's side front fender on my 06 GMC and there was a difference between Canada or USA made (two different part numbers), not sure if hinges or other parts are the same (could explain the issue...or maybe not).