Why isn't my hood closing?

[Darth Menace]

Hey I have a 98 viper gts and i just finished an oil change. I went to close the hood and it felt very stiff like i would crack it if i pushed it. I put it up and down many times with the same thing. The rear latch things seem to look normal, but the front is super stuff and I sure don't want to risk pushing it.

[Troublemaker]

Are you sure nothing is lining up poorly on the side tracks. Can you get to down to the first latch?

It's a stupid question, but are all the oil bottles accounted for?

[Darth Menace]

Are you sure nothing is lining up poorly on the side tracks. Can you get to down to the first latch?

It's a stupid question, but are all the oil bottles accounted for?

Yes, when I had the hood up I checked and there is nothing in the way as far as bottles etc.

I am not sure what you mean by getting down to the first latch. Are you talking about the two side latches?

[PatrickB]

Check to see if the hood is hitting the rubber on your front tires - if so, turn the wheels to either side and your hood should then close.

Had a similar issue after I put new tires on my Viper a few months ago (bigger tire than was there before).

[Darth Menace]

No the hood is not hitting the tires. One quick question, do the two rubber stoppers on both sides of car, do they adjust the hood hinges by any chance? I know a while ago the front of the hood looked low, so when I was changing the oil I thought they were just rubber stoppers for the front of the hood, and I twisted them both so they sat a bit lower. I am guessing this totally changed the alignment of the hood, instead of just being innocent rubber stoppers like I thought

[mjorgensen]

Did the hood get tossed around in the wind by chance while it was up? The front spring mounts could be damaged. put a little oil on all the spring/hood prop areas and try again. Are you pushing it closed with your hands on either side of the hood duct?

[TitleMine]

I agree with everyone here, oil the hinges, get a second person to line it up on the windshield-side, then try and close it.

Also, if you're a new owner, it takes a firm hand and commitment to manipulate that final latching of the hood. When I first test drove the car, both the salesman (dealership was in the middle of nowhere and typically sold low-end sedans and pickups) and I were too nervous and couldn't get it closed. It worked fine, we were just too timid and afraid of breaking something.

However, if it really is stuck, it may have sustained damage. The weight of the hood is considerable given the strength of the hinges, and damage can occur if it's opened too violently, twists in the wind, or is opened crooked.

Edit: I see you have wheels from a later gen Viper on there. It looks a lot like the hood is contacting the wheels in your photo. If that's the case, I would recommend either switching them out, or jacking the car up, which will cause the wheels to drop, and should allow you to close the hood without incident.

[PatrickB]

Edit: I see you have wheels from a later gen Viper on there. It looks a lot like the hood is contacting the wheels in your photo. If that's the case, I would recommend either switching them out, or jacking the car up, which will cause the wheels to drop, and should allow you to close the hood without incident.

I mentioned about the tires in my post because I too thought that from the picture, it looks as if the hood is touching the rubber right below the "Viper" lettering on the side of the hood. He says it's not rubbing though so I don't know?

[BlknBlu]

I am new to a Gen 2 as well and really had to press firmly to get the hood to close properly. Hopefully you did not spring the hinges.

Bruce

[bluesrt]

oil the rubber rollers on each side of hood, that's your problem I see it all the time in my shop, I oil them and its fixed

[Bugman Jeff]

Is that all the further down it goes, or does it go down most of the way and just not latch? If the latter, you may have just adjusted the rubber bumpers too far so the latch can't catch. If that's the case, it should be easy to test, just put the bumpers back where they were and see if it latches.

[Red Snake]

I would be careful oiling the hinges. That could cause the hood to NOT stay upright.
Thus trading one symptom for another.

Not saying don't oil them, just do so sparingly.

[JonB ~ PartsRack]

1) It is NOT the tires. As the hood closes, those wheel-wells align rearward. No issue. OE wheels and even wider tires fit fine. These look stock width at no more than 285s. Should fit even 315s !

2) I don't think lack of lubricant can be casuing this, apply only sparingly.

3) It could be the front hood-release latch-catches are broken, usually one. Do you cycle the hood release handle (cable) each try? This could help you diagnose IF either is a problem. I suspect 1 of them. Or the handle itself is not pulling the cable fully.

4) Those forward-corners rubber bumpers don't look even to me. Passenger side lower? If so, the looseness can hurt-wear the hinge release, so I suspect Passenger side. They are threaded and turn easily. Don't adjust too low or the pointy "tear duct" parts of the hood can impact the headlights and crack or even break tiny corners off. HATE WHEN THAT HAPPENS! I saw a guy at VOI-2 do it to his 1992 !! Id be CLOSELY investigating all the front hardware latches-releases.

5) Aftermarket VIPE-AIR baffle disintegrating / loosening upward into interference?

6) Be sure nobody's dumb-ass FINGERS were left in there.........

[ViperTony]

6) Be sure nobody's dumb-ass FINGERS were left in there.........

You beat me to it.

[Darth Menace]

Guys, thanks for the help. I finally found out what it was/and if it wasn't the cause..it solved it anyway. The two rubber turney things I mentioned I thought were stoppers for the front of the hood...I raised them up while doing the oil, which caused it to get out of alignment. I put them back to where they were (or close to it) and it closed fine. I will tackle perfect alignment in the winter on my down time.

To those that asked, yes I do close from the sides of the air vent, right above where the hinge is.

Anyway thanks again for the help. All is well