FYI 124 hood hinge worn, causing hood misalignment - SOLVED

[gsxr]

The hood was not aligned with the fender, at the back near the windshield... took me a long time to eventually figure out the root cause was a worn hinge!

Painted a replacement hinge, installed & aligned, now everything is flush again. Getting both sides aligned perfectly takes lots and lots of trial and error. Then some more trial, then some more error. Not fun. At least it's a 1-time job.

Lousy out-of-focus video below. I gotta use a different camera next time. I didn't realize how bad the video was until after the job was done, ooops. At least you can see the obvious wear point, and how to check your hinges for the same problem. Put the hood vertical and gently rock back & forth, you'll be able to easily see if there is wear at this pivot.

UPDATE: Both left & right hinges are NLA, A1248800328 and A1248800428, as of Jan-2023.

 

[gsxr]

Photos below. Note the gap before & after. The opposite (driver) side was also in need of adjustment, but the hinge was tight and did not need replacement.

 

[JC220]

Thanks for this Dave, this is why all members should hoard at least half a dozen pairs of hood hinges, just in case ya know

 

[195910]

Good Video Dave,

Can I add that one more reason for the hood being too high is the Spring connected to the hinge from underneath.
I had the left side of the hood higher than the right for years, turned out the spring had jumped to a higher lever (hinge has 3 slots) which cause the left hinge to raise further when the hood is closed.
If someone has the same issue, they need to open the hood in service position (~80 degree), remove the left or right wheel well cladding, pull the spring into its correct slot which is the lowest. Check that the springs on both hinges are in the correct slot.

 

[dds28]

Nice informative video. Thank you. On my car the edge of the hood is hitting the A piller while the gap above the headlight with the fender is wider. The other side is perfect. Do you think that can also be the hood hinge that is causing the problem?

 

[gsxr]

Nice informative video. Thank you. On my car the edge of the hood is hitting the A piller while the gap above the headlight with the fender is wider. The other side is perfect. Do you think that can also be the hood hinge that is causing the problem?

Maybe... but I'm not certain. Can you post some photos?

 

[dds28]

I had a previously damaged hood and the right hinge and hood came from a donor car. I have tried to adjust it on the hinge an the latch but didn't get better.

 

[gsxr]

I had a previously damaged hood and the right hinge and hood came from a donor car. I have tried to adjust it on the hinge an the latch but didn't get better.

That looks odd. The driver side seam/gap looks ok but the passenger side does not. Is the passenger side gap wider at the headlight than by the glass, or is that an optical illusion? Was your car in an accident that you know of? What was the damage to the hood that necessitated replacement?

The hood adjustment is primarily up & down, and forward & back. There's zero adjustment side to side to fix uneven gaps. You could possibly try to adjust the driver side forward a bit, however if that does anything, it might just move the problem to the opposite side.

There's a faint possibility of a bent hinge that is making the hood shift as it opens, causing the rubbing. If you don't know for certain the donor hinge came from a car with absolutely no accident damage up front, it's worth further investigation.

The center latch adjustment won't help, btw... that's mostly for ease of closing and proper vertical alignment at the leading edge. I assume you've looked through the FSM adjustment procedures already.

 

[dds28]

That looks odd. The driver side seam/gap looks ok but the passenger side does not. Is the passenger side gap wider at the headlight than by the glass, or is that an optical illusion? Was your car in an accident that you know of? What was the damage to the hood that necessitated replacement?

The hood adjustment is primarily up & down, and forward & back. There's zero adjustment side to side to fix uneven gaps. You could possibly try to adjust the driver side forward a bit, however if that does anything, it might just move the problem to the opposite side.

There's a faint possibility of a bent hinge that is making the hood shift as it opens, causing the rubbing. If you don't know for certain the donor hinge came from a car with absolutely no accident damage up front, it's worth further investigation.

The center latch adjustment won't help, btw... that's mostly for ease of closing and proper vertical alignment at the leading edge. I assume you've looked through the FSM adjustment procedures already.

Thanks for informative reply. The picture is correct. It is wider at the headlight and narrows as it goes up. My car was damaged when it was on loan to my brother in law. He hit a truck bumper at low speed and damaged the headlight, fender and hood on Luckily no rail damage since he it at the headlight level. I couldn’t find any parts so I bought a non running car as a donor for parts. I do recall the hood gaps wasn’t lined up on the donor either. Body shop couldn’t get it to line up.

 

[OttoB]

If the hood on the car won’t stay open on its own (mine has been opened/shut far too many times at the shop this past year)…

1) is there a way to diagnose if it’s the hinges, springs or?

2) ours are interchangeable with all other w124 hinges + springs?

3) when buying second hand (eBay or ?), there’s no way of knowing how rigid they’ll be vs. what’s in the car already? In other words, how to know which to buy if they came off a 30 year old car that’s likely been parted?

 

[gsxr]

If the hood on the car won’t stay open on its own (mine has been opened/shut far too many times at the shop this past year)…

1) is there a way to diagnose if it’s the hinges, springs or?

Do you mean in the normal raised (~45°) position, it wants to sag downward? If so, try setting the springs on a higher tension setting. There are 3 settings on the hinge; 3 different positions where the spring can attach. See the FSM procedure for adjustment / aligmment.

2) ours are interchangeable with all other w124 hinges + springs?

I think the hinge is the same on all 124's, the EPC shows them fitting a vast number of 124 chassis.

3) when buying second hand (eBay or ?), there’s no way of knowing how rigid they’ll be vs. what’s in the car already? In other words, how to know which to buy if they came off a 30 year old car that’s likely been parted?

All you can do is check the pivot points. These should rotate smoothly with zero play. If there's any play, the pivot points will move around as seen in my videos. If your current hinges have no play, they should be OK. I just checked and found the hinges are NLA new, so used ones are the only option now.

 

[Jlaa]

Good Video Dave,

Can I add that one more reason for the hood being too high is the Spring connected to the hinge from underneath.
I had the left side of the hood higher than the right for years, turned out the spring had jumped to a higher lever (hinge has 3 slots) which cause the left hinge to raise further when the hood is closed.
If someone has the same issue, they need to open the hood in service position (~80 degree), remove the left or right wheel well cladding, pull the spring into its correct slot which is the lowest. Check that the springs on both hinges are in the correct slot.

Hello @195910, I have this same issue since I purchased the car eight years ago. The left side is a little higher. I suspect my issue is the same as yours - that the spring on one side has jumped to a higher lever. I am guessing this because:

1. When putting the hood to 90 degrees vertical and rocking the hood, I cannot see any movement in the hinge pivots (so I don't think the hinges themselves are worn)
2. When putting the hood to 90 degrees vertical, the L/R sequence is uneven. I always have to un-latch the left side first, and then I can unlatch the right side. I cannot unlatch the right side first.

I have not yet pulled off the left side wheel well liner to inspect (I will do so when the rains stop and and it gets a little warmer outside) but I am wondering ---- was your RIGHT side spring on the MIDDLE slot (is middle the default?) and your left side spring in the incorrect position?

FSM 88-302 pics below (thanks @gsxr) for reference:

 

[gsxr]

When putting the hood to 90 degrees vertical, the L/R sequence is uneven. I always have to un-latch the left side first, and then I can unlatch the right side. I cannot unlatch the right side first.

I believe this is normal, and by design, on the 124 chassis (and probably also 126, 201, 129, etc with dual latches)?

 

[TerryA]

I believe this is normal, and by design, on the 124 chassis (and probably also 126, 201, 129, etc with dual latches)?

@Jlaa,
+1 on opening the hood to 90 degrees. The PS hood button has to be pressed first. When pressed it releases the hood to lift up a notch higher thereby allowing the DS button to release. I believe this is normal.

lol

 

[Jlaa]

OK. I adjusted the 3 attachment bolts on the driver's side where the hood bolts to the hinge assembly. For what it is worth, I measured how the hinge assembly bolts to the hood, and, from the factory (as these painted bolts did not have tool marks on them until I introduced the bolts to my trusty 10mm socket today) there is a 3.2mm difference between driver's side and passenger's side (pics 1 and 2).

I adjusted the bolts on the driver's side and got an improvement --- the hood used to be 5-6mm proud of the fender, and now it is only 2-3mm proud of the fender. My next step, when the rains stop and it warms up a little, will be to pull off the fender liner and adjust how the hinge mechanism attaches to the car.

 

[Jlaa]

I think the hinge is the same on all 124's, the EPC shows them fitting a vast number of 124 chassis.

Just an update (since I dug into this a little more) - some older w124s used hinges without the locking mechanism..... up to identification number 820021. However, all 034s and 036s used the hinges with the locking mechanism.

 

[nocfn]

"I Never trusted a man unless he had a digital caliper in his pocket"

 

[maw1124]

OK. I adjusted the 3 attachment bolts on the driver's side where the hood bolts to the hinge assembly. For what it is worth, I measured how the hinge assembly bolts to the hood, and, from the factory (as these painted bolts did not have tool marks on them until I introduced the bolts to my trusty 10mm socket today) there is a 3.2mm difference between driver's side and passenger's side (pics 1 and 2).

I adjusted the bolts on the driver's side and got an improvement --- the hood used to be 5-6mm proud of the fender, and now it is only 2-3mm proud of the fender. My next step, when the rains stop and it warms up a little, will be to pull off the fender liner and adjust how the hinge mechanism attaches to the car.

The issue is those hinges stretch over time. Too bad they’re NLA.

I found this out the hard way when I messed my hinges up. I had the hood in service position (90*) and opened the garage door… which wasn’t tall enough to clear the hood. Trusty collision shop to the rescue. IIRC that cost me 2 new hinges and him aligning the hood the way @Jlaa is now trying to do. Luckily no paint (except of course for all those bolts I didn’t bother to touch up). Maybe I should do that now that a few years have passed. But TLDR version is the hinges had stretched. No bolts had moved, etc. Pure metal stretch.

maw

EDIT… the force applied by the garage door was surprisingly little… not enough to ruin the grille, just bend it... that was bent by hand back into shape… so if anyone did anything as silly as, for instance, leaving the hood in service position against a strong wind, I wouldn’t be surprised to see those hinges stretched... and of course as a second or third owner there’s no way you’ll be able to tell if that happened. But on a hand built car, adjusting fenders and hoods becomes the exercise, unfortunately.

 

[nocfn]

Derived from LBJ who once said, "I never trusted a man unless I had his pecker in my pocket"

 

[Jlaa]

The issue is those hinges stretch over time. … so if anyone did anything as silly as, for instance, leaving the hood in service position against a strong wind, I wouldn’t be surprised to see those hinges stretched... and of course as a second or third owner there’s no way you’ll be able to tell if that happened.

This is fascinating. Thank you for relaying your story, which I am sure is full of PTSD. My hood sits wonky on only the driver side. The passenger side is fine. This suggests to me that the hinge stretch on my car is not due to time. If time was the cause, then I would assume that both sides would be somewhat equally stretched. I can imagine that my car perhaps suffered some similar fate that your car did, which is that the hood was left up in the service position and somebody accidentally applied backwards force to the driver side thus stretching the hinge.

In fact, I have been extremely paranoid at the exact scenario that you mentioned to the degree that when I put my hood up in the service position, I am careful to shut off power to the garage door opener at the circuit breaker!

 

[maw1124]

Yeah, it just taught me to be more careful with the hood in service position in garages. But with a couple of adjustments, he got it back right for not too much weight on my wallet. IIRC it was less than a couple grand. Oh, and on mine, the pinstriping meant he couldn’t adjust the fender. Looking at it crooked was the worst part.

Live, learn, move on, wash, rinse, repeat.



maw

 

[Jlaa]

FYI gang --- I sourced a new driver's side hood hinge just in case. Actually, the E500E and w124.034 part, which is 124-880-03-28, is no longer available. Instead, I got 124-880-01-28, which is the NON-locking driver's side hinge for older w124s up to chassis 820021. You can see how the metal tab is shaped differently on 124-880-01-28 so that it doesn't lock (it shaped similar to the passenger's side hinge on the E500E which doesn't lock).

 

[500AMM]

@Jlaa - it's time to pull the grinder & welder!
Shouldn't be that difficult.

....you can hire a pro' for the cutting you know...