fix for billet/speed grille and hood latch 95-97 possibly more

[expo5.0]

here are some pics of what i did so that i would be able to run a speed grille type insert and a billet grille (of course you would also need it with either of them) so that i could still open the hood easily. i didn't know where to post this, but i hope its alright here.

 

[expo5.0]

and another, i know this thing isn't pretty or anything, but it works perfect! and it was free

 

[expo5.0]

and an under hood shot just for fun, and to show that even though those look like crap i do take care of it

 

[Fish Man]

hey, im unclear on what you did. i need a fix for the hood latch problem as well, but i can not really tell how/what you did. i was thinking of modding the latch so that it stuck up so it could be reached through the crack between the hood and the grill when you popped it, but if youve got an idea that works for sure id be interested!

 

[Fischer]

Is that a RockShox "Pilot" sticker I see there?

 

[expo5.0]

here goes- i found two pieces of metal around 4 inches by a half that were skinny enough that i could bend them if i needed to (one of these is what you can see in the above picture as the actual lever). next i bent one of these 90 degrees (this one is hidden out of site) and drilled two holes in it. one hole went on the top where the hinge (you can see the nut coming through in the pic) would be and another to use for mounting it to the metal of the truck. next i removed the bolt that holds the plastic molding thing down and used it in its stock location to hold that bent piece of metal in place. now i had to make the actual lever (the other piece of metal) for this i drilled two holes: one for the hinge (same place as above) and one to attach the cable to the stock latch. after i drilled those holes i used a plastic nut thingy (one that can be glued together, but still allows swivelling of the two pieces, i got it at work and it was originally for hockey helmets but i'm sure you could find one elsewhere) after that was loctited together and the swivelling action was set up i drilled a hole in the stock latch and connected the cable from that hole to the end of the lever. and thats pretty much how it worked.

p.s. i just realized that was really confusing! i'll go take really good pictures and post those so you can better see what i'm talking about. this is something that i think a ton of people could benefit from if i could just explain it. and also it doesn't really involve modifying anything that would damage resale or anything like that and its cheap!

 

[expo5.0]

the sticker actually is for kmart fogs that i no longer use. but it could easily have been rockshox. i love to ride.

 

[expo5.0]

alright, if your gonna try to do this go to my thread here with many more pictures, at the very least it will help you make a plan for doing it yourself in a different way.
<http://www.midwest-xplorers.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=76>

 

[coolchris]

sweet, if i decide to get one of thhose grills im using that write up to fix the latch problem, YOU ROCK

 

[expo5.0]

thanks man, i'm glad it makes sense to at least one other person. this is one of those things that everyone could use, but i'm too lazy to do a really good write-up. so i hope the next person who does it takes pictures throughout and really shows the way so everyone who needs it can do it.

 

[Fish Man]

ok, im still kinda confused. just one quick question though...does the latch come up between the hood and the grille now?