93 or any later C4 owners, look at this

[HPG]

I was looking at this web page
http://www.geocities.com/Yosemite/74...0Pump%20Repair
and I read the one about the cracked hood. I looked at mine, it's not cracked but it did look like the tip of the fan shroud was hitting the hood. There was a small white spot on the hood. Just thought you guys might wish to check your hood..

 

[John Robinson]

Mine To

I just went out and checked my radiator shroud and it had been ground down. I wonder if this was a dealer recall fix. My hood definitely was touching that corner before it was altered. Great information. :cool

 

[timotheous]

Just checked my 1992, same problem. I filed the corner down and no more contact. Great tip, thanks.

 

[vee93]

Just checked my 1992, same problem. I filed the corner down and no more contact. Great tip, thanks.

It's a design flaw and a common problem. I know of C4 owners who cut that little piece out because they fear over time that the constant stress will eventually put crack lines in the hood paint.
I have those little white spots under my hood also. It's especially a problem if you have any type of hood rattle and/or shake. A good quick fix is new hood bumpers--fore and aft. Check the quality of those bumpers. Thanks to Corvette Central, I just replaced both rear ones and the little shake I had due to worn out bumper-rubber is almost none existent.

 

[Greg Gore]

How can this be as serious as the report would imply? The corner of the radiator shroud could make contact with the hood inner structure or framework but not the hood panel itself.

 

[timotheous]

If it's to the point where it's wearing down the finish, and then shaving fiberglass off the underside of the hood, good enough for me to check it and file down the shroud a bit. Or, you can leave it and see what happens, might be another good story for the forums!

 

[Greg Gore]

I just checked my 96 and it's not making contact. Corvettes are packaged very tightly anyway and it could be that the parts are close enough and production tolerances vary enough that contact is possible for some but not all. I would look to see if it is possible to raise the bump stops a little and tighten the clamp load of the latches to reduce hood "shake" and see if I can get a little clearance before grinding parts on a nice car. I would not hesitate to grind on a modified or a hotrod but would prefer to look for another remedy on a Grand Sport or CE LT-4 vert.

 

[HPG]

It took me about 1 minute to file off the point. I don't know it it was hitting or not, however, it did give me peace of mind to eliminate a possible problem

 

[*89x2*]

...to file, or not to file - I have a wear mark on my 93 :ugh

 

[Greg Gore]

If it's a nice low mileage original car you would prefer not grinding on why not see if you can get some clearance with hood bump stop and latch adjustment? What about gluing a thin rubber piece to the corner of the fan shroud?

 

[GuyzVette]

If it's a nice low mileage original car you would prefer not grinding on why not see if you can get some clearance with hood bump stop and latch adjustment? What about gluing a thin rubber piece to the corner of the fan shroud?

But isn't part of the original point that the shroud pushes on the hood, creating stress and then fracturing the paint? It's not the rubbing that's the problem, it's every time you close the hood, it is pushing on a certain point from the inside, and a rubber piece will only make it push that much more.

I would think there are 3 choices. 1) Do nothing and hope for the best. 2) File down your shroud. 3) Try to adjust your hood enough so it doesn't hit any more.

 

[Greg Gore]

See if you can reposition the radiator. There might be enough oversize in the attachment point holes that would allow a slight downward movement. My 96 has clearance so if some cars are exhibiting enough interferance to actually force the hood up in that area I would consider that to be excessive build tolerance and major departure from the way the parts are aligned on my car. Some investigative engineering might correct that. Maybe the body shims need to be looked at or the core support attachment points.

 

[MARKSC4]

How can this be as serious as the report would imply? The corner of the radiator shroud could make contact with the hood inner structure or framework but not the hood panel itself.

I agree - not near the actual outside panel

 

[John Robinson]

Another Option

Try looking for service bulletins from GM on the car. If it's a prblem they will have a fix. I guantee if they say gring then that is the only solution to the problem.

 

[Greg Gore]

Or the easiest, simplist or least costly.

 

[timotheous]

The grinding is so minor that once complete, it's not even noticeable - in fact, it's probably better described as a "slight smoothing out". No power tools necessary, just a 1"x1" piece of sandpaper, two-minutes, and a bit of elbow grease.

 

[HPG]

The grinding is so minor that once complete, it's not even noticeable - in fact, it's probably better described as a "slight smoothing out". No power tools necessary, just a 1"x1" piece of sandpaper, two-minutes, and a bit of elbow grease.

Yep, used a flat file, took 30 seconds, and no one would ever be able to tell. Maybe some vette heads.

 

[Louis Bartay]

My 96 LT4 Coupe is fine. Nothing is touching the hood.

 

[Chetzki]

Thanks

I've

 

[Chetzki]

I've

got a problem hitting the wrong button...:L

Anyway, thanks for the post. I was wondering why I had a cut-out there.

Chetzki