Increase Door Bonnet Gap

[Tim Lynam]

Can anyone please help with how to increase the gap in between the front of the door and bonnet?
When the sun is shinning on a warm day the door and or bonnet expands slightly reducing the gap and on opening the drivers side door it catches the edge of the bonnet quite badly.

The bonnet just needs moving forward a mm or two but I cannot see the best way to adjust the bonnet forwards slightly, can anyone please advise?

Thanks Tim

 

[Lunar]

Firstly I would be very careful as the only way to find out is when you close the bonnet after adjusting it - and hinge adjustment can sometimes defeat logic.

You do it by removing the plastic covers on the bonnet hinge fixings, slackening the fixings slightly and - bonnet open position - allow the bonnet to move say 1mm towards the floor, parallel on both sides. I imagine it to be something that needs 2 people minimum, or best to have 1 each side of the bonnet and 1 with the ratchet.

The dealer put the bonnet on wrong on my car having changed a water pump and the passenger door, when opened, caught on the bonnet edge. You could easily see that the washers on the hinges were not in their original position - even more so as they hadn't even put the plastic covers back on some of the fixings. They had to take it back, sort the bonnet properly, and get the paint corrected by a high end paint shop. But then what do you expect for £200+ per hour labour rates eh?!

Good luck if you decide to do it yourself and let us know how it goes.

 

[Tewy]

Is the gap on the passenger side the same. If it helps mine has an even 5mm gap from top to bottom. If yours is uneven has anyone worked on the car recently that needed the bonnet taking off.

 

[Tim Lynam]

Thanks Lunar, I will pluck up the courage and give it a go, I adjusted other panel gaps by the black knobs under the bonnet which worked nicely, but the door/bonnet gap sounds a bit more tricky.

Tewy, Thanks for the measurement, both sides look similar but I will check if both close to 5mm, I have only had the car a couple of months so it has not had any work since I have had it, but all the gaps were a bit out when I bought it.

 

[RPSN]

Can you edit your photo to show exactly where the driver’s side door catches the edge of the bonnet?

Out of curiosity, was it catching before you adjusted the black rubbers under the bonnet?

Take a look at the bonnet hinges to see if there are any signs they have been moved from their original position.

The gap between the door panels and bonnet on my car is approx 5mm at the top and tapers down to approx 4mm where it meets the fender panel (I’ve edited the photo you provided to include these details) and the doors open without catching against the rear of the bonnet.

If you do need to move the bonnet slightly forward, first of all check to make sure you have sufficient clearance between the bonnet and front bumper panel (front and sides). This alignment can be very tricky as you may find that once you stop the door catching the bonnet, something else will be out of alignment.

Have a look at this document.......pages 15-17 covers “Hood-to-Fender and Hood-to-Door Alignment”

 

[Malbec]

I have exactly the same problem with my car when in the sun.
Thanks RPSN for info. I think I’ll leave it since I’m bound to make it bind somewhere else!

 

[Tim Lynam]

Thanks RPSN, the gap where the door catches the bonnet (highlighted in new photo) is only 3.5mm measured whilst over cast and currently not catching, I had read the attached file but along with previous comments now all confirms how the bonnet/door gap is adjusted, the problem first occurred before I had made any other adjustments to the black bonnet stops.

Malbec, good to hear I am not on my own, looks like we have both got to get adjusting those front hinges,

 

[scm]

The bonnet is such a large pressing it's not easy to get it aligned in every dimension. Good luck!

 

[RPSN]

I have exactly the same problem with my car when in the sun.
Thanks RPSN for info. I think I’ll leave it since I’m bound to make it bind somewhere else!

If that was happening on my car it would play on me so I’d have to get it sorted. The last thing I’d want is the aluminium bonnet and door panel catching against each other (even occasionally). I can understand why you may leave it though, as it could be tricky getting things to align properly, in which case it may be better to have a good body shop do it?

Thanks RPSN, the gap where the door catches the bonnet (highlighted in new photo) is only 3.5mm measured whilst over cast and currently not catching, I had read the attached file but along with previous comments now all confirms how the bonnet/door gap is adjusted, the problem first occurred before I had made any other adjustments to the black bonnet stops.

Malbec, good to hear I am not on my own, looks like we have both got to get adjusting those front hinges,

That’s only a 0.5 - 0.75mm (approx) smaller gap than mine in that area but it's enough for your driver's door to sometimes catch the rear of the bonnet. As it's only happening on one side of the car, it may be that the bonnet adjustment is not needed and the issue could be caused by the alignment of the door itself, which can also be adjusted at its hinges?

It's worth checking to see if there are any signs that the driver's door hinges have been moved/adjusted from their original position. Also check around the exterior door panel to ensure the fitment looks ok against the surrounding bodywork e.g. no large or uneven gaps etc.

If the bonnet needs adjustment, have an assistant to help, but if satisfactory alignment cannot be achieved it's probably better to leave it to a good body shop as previously mentioned?

I've attached screenshots of the F-Type 'Gap and profile information' (convertible and coupe) for the front, side and rear end.

Hope this helps