Bonnet removal
Discussion
In order to get the radiator recored and do some general tidying up I'm going to need to remove the bonnet.
So, quick question:
What's the best way to do this?
Looking at it I thought that the best way would be to undo the foremost nut on the hinge assembly thus retaining the hinge setup for alignment. (Removing tubes and wires first of course)
But it looks like this will not move easily ~ especially in situ. So do I just undo the plates that holds the hinge to the bonnet?
I presume that radiator removal is fairly straightforward. Once again any tips appreciated.
Cheers
Tim
BTW Norm, if you're reading this do you have any SS hinges left just in case I need them?
So, quick question:
What's the best way to do this?
Looking at it I thought that the best way would be to undo the foremost nut on the hinge assembly thus retaining the hinge setup for alignment. (Removing tubes and wires first of course)
But it looks like this will not move easily ~ especially in situ. So do I just undo the plates that holds the hinge to the bonnet?
I presume that radiator removal is fairly straightforward. Once again any tips appreciated.
Cheers
Tim
BTW Norm, if you're reading this do you have any SS hinges left just in case I need them?
Elfit said:
Looking at it I thought that the best way would be to undo the foremost nut on the hinge assembly thus retaining the hinge setup for alignment. (Removing tubes and wires first of course)
That seems the best way, it certainly worked for me. If the nuts on the cross bolt are tight I'd just ease them a bit to give you some wiggle room. With two people its easy enough to get the bonnet off and back on.I've not tried it but you should be able to remove the radiator without taking the bonnet off. Try a search on here, IIRC you jack/block the front wheels a little so you can swing the bonnet to near vertical to give you room to work. Just two hoses and the two bolts at the top to remove from the rad, there are two pins at the bottom that locate in grommets in the chassis.
K
Remove the front indicator lenses and put them somewhere safe, and tape the bulb holder up out of the way.
Find some carpet or similar about 4' by 2' that is soft enough not to damage the paintwork.
Jack the front of the car up by about an inch and a half by a jack in the middle of the front cross member.
Open the bonnet as far as it will go, until the front lip touches the ground (put your nice soft bit of carpet under it to protect the paint.
Continue jacking the front up in small steps, watch as the bonnet opens further and further until the top and bottom of the front opening are both resting on the ground. The hinges are now more or less unloaded, and you can fully unload them by light hand pressure pushing the bonnet further open.
With the weight off the pins, slacken off the lock nuts half a turn and then unscrew the hinge pins from the chassis (they will remain in the tubes attached to the bonnet).
Disconnect electrics and ducts.
Carefully walk the bonnet forwards away from the car, being careful to keep it on the carpet and not scratch it.
The V8S bonnet will balance quite happily when it is stood on the front opening, I don't know whether any of the earlier bonnets will. Be prepared to lean it against something soft if necessary.
Access to the radiator is massively easier with the bonnet out of the way, but simply jacking the car up a couple of inches so you can open the bonnet to the vertical position gives pretty good access around the radiator.
Find some carpet or similar about 4' by 2' that is soft enough not to damage the paintwork.
Jack the front of the car up by about an inch and a half by a jack in the middle of the front cross member.
Open the bonnet as far as it will go, until the front lip touches the ground (put your nice soft bit of carpet under it to protect the paint.
Continue jacking the front up in small steps, watch as the bonnet opens further and further until the top and bottom of the front opening are both resting on the ground. The hinges are now more or less unloaded, and you can fully unload them by light hand pressure pushing the bonnet further open.
With the weight off the pins, slacken off the lock nuts half a turn and then unscrew the hinge pins from the chassis (they will remain in the tubes attached to the bonnet).
Disconnect electrics and ducts.
Carefully walk the bonnet forwards away from the car, being careful to keep it on the carpet and not scratch it.
The V8S bonnet will balance quite happily when it is stood on the front opening, I don't know whether any of the earlier bonnets will. Be prepared to lean it against something soft if necessary.
Access to the radiator is massively easier with the bonnet out of the way, but simply jacking the car up a couple of inches so you can open the bonnet to the vertical position gives pretty good access around the radiator.
I have removed the radiator on mine twice (once for a recore and then later because one of the stubs cracked) and you don't have to remove the bonnet. Definitely not.
The first steps are more or less as GreenV8S describes - put the front wheels on blocks or small ramps, put a bit of carpet down across the front of the car (just in case) and open the bonnet, it'll go almost vertical. On mine (an S3) the inner wheel arches rested against the tyres when the bonnet reached vertical, and the front of the bonnet was clear of the ground. On earlier cars without wheelarches, you might need to rest the bonnet on the ground or on a block with carpet over it.
With the bonnet vertical, the radiator comes out no problem at all - you only have to lift it an inch or so to disengage the bottom mountings, then it turns out and backwards towards you.
If you still want to take the bonnet off, then Green V8S shows the way to do it.
The first steps are more or less as GreenV8S describes - put the front wheels on blocks or small ramps, put a bit of carpet down across the front of the car (just in case) and open the bonnet, it'll go almost vertical. On mine (an S3) the inner wheel arches rested against the tyres when the bonnet reached vertical, and the front of the bonnet was clear of the ground. On earlier cars without wheelarches, you might need to rest the bonnet on the ground or on a block with carpet over it.
With the bonnet vertical, the radiator comes out no problem at all - you only have to lift it an inch or so to disengage the bottom mountings, then it turns out and backwards towards you.
If you still want to take the bonnet off, then Green V8S shows the way to do it.
I can't get mine to that position! I have to disconnect the light wiring but then again I have changed the connectors for waterproof Deutsch ones so I had to remove a couple of inches of cable for that, I also can't remember where the cable was attached to to prevent it hitting the front wheel so the cable ties restrain it quite a bit.
My air hose isn't long enough either though. It's quite brittle too so opening the bonnet more than about 50 degrees causes the hose to pull out of the bodywork (along with whatever that black stuff holding it in place is) and start ripping. Already have duct tape holding it together.
My air hose isn't long enough either though. It's quite brittle too so opening the bonnet more than about 50 degrees causes the hose to pull out of the bodywork (along with whatever that black stuff holding it in place is) and start ripping. Already have duct tape holding it together.
orange_dodo said:
Anyone know how easy the air hose is to replace?
fairly easy (if expensive) to source...http://www.revotecdirect.co.uk/catalogue_FlexDuct_...
easy enough to replace from the front ducts of the bonnet back to where it disappears into the bulkhead... I cut mine there and joined rather than mess about with the hidden stuff.
HTH
K
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