Headlight and hood misaligned

[Gallstaff]

My passenger's side headlight AND my hood are both a bit out of alignment meaning that together, they look REALLY ugly. I try to keep my car nice but this just makes me look like a redneck. Does anybody know how I can adjust my hood and headlight so they line up? What tools will I need if any? Thanks for your help! Here are some pictures of my little problem.


Here is what a normal (driver's side) headlight looks like down


Here's what my screwed up left passenger's side looks like


This shows how I can actually get my fingers in between the hood and headlight - this is not normal. There's supposed to be almost NO gap there.


This picture also shows how I can get my fingers inbetween the hood and bumper. On the right side I can't do this but the gap is so big that on the left I can.


It looks like the headlight lines up with the side of the car alright so it's not totally out of alignment. That's what confuses me. It seems like it's only jacked up the more it gets towards the front middle of the car.


Is it normal that the headlight sits so flush when opened with the car? If it is, then it seems odd to me that my unaligned headlight would sit very well when open yet I actually do have a gap on my driver's side headlight between the headlight unit and the car when open, yet when closed it's fine.

Any input you guys could give me would be fantastic, thanks!

[ June 27, 2005, 06:30 PM: Message edited by: Gallstaff ]

[PewterBird]

I don't have an answer for you, but I am also interested in the answer.

Nice post however, most people don't take the time to make a quality post with pictures and such.

[Gallstaff]

Thank you very much. I figure a question like this is sort of useless unless people can actually SEE what I'm talking about. Do you know if this is a common problem on firebirds or if it's just me?

[PewterBird]

Originally posted by Gallstaff:
Thank you very much. I figure a question like this is sort of useless unless people can actually SEE what I'm talking about. Do you know if this is a common problem on firebirds or if it's just me?

Mine is messed up, but that is because I think my aftermarket hood is not perfect.

Its possible that your car maybe had an accident with a previous owner, and didn't get fixed right.

[kristen]

take the hinges off and bend them

[Gallstaff]

Are you serious? I'm sure there's a different way to align my hood and than actually bending the hinges. I doubt the reason it's screwed up in the first place is cause the hinges are bent.

Anybody else have any ideas? Don't forget about the headlight

Thanks again everybody

[Speed Freak]

I bet the ruber spacer that the hood rests on is up to high on one side.
Just a guess.

[Gallstaff]

Hey it's worth a shot. Where is this rubber piece of which you speak?

[Gallstaff]

So I see the rubber pieces earlier mentioned and adjusting them (or even just taking them out)does nothing at all. Any other suggestions? Oh and also I think I might have actually bent my hood since I screwed both of them up all the way until they were almost out and closed the hood until it latched anyway. Now BOTH headlights have a gap ^_^;

[Digikiller]

When I was looking into an aftermarket hood for my firebird the first one I got didnt line up perfect just like urs looks like. If you look real carefully u will see two small black screws on the under side of the headlight cover, if you loosen them u can adjust the cover. Mine seemed like the cover had been taken off before and wasn't put back on right and that fixed my problem. Hope this helps alittle.

[Gallstaff]

How am i supposed to get to the scrws in the first place? Should they just be exposed cause i cant really get to them with a screw driver if I'm looking at the right stuff. If you had a picutre so I could figure out what you are talking about that would be awesome.

[ July 11, 2005, 09:56 PM: Message edited by: Gallstaff ]

[Digikiller]

email sent let me know if their ok if not i can take some more in the sunlight tomorrow ^^

-- Andrew

[Gallstaff]

I sent you one back - what kind of screws are those in the first picture you sent me?

[Gallstaff]

Alright so I got that far but i can really only move the shield side to side. The headlight unit itself keeps me from being able push the shield far enough back that it lines up perfectly. DO you think i can resituate the entire unit or should i try pushing my hood forward (which i really dont want to risk screwing with). By the way now BOTH my headlights have a large gap in between them and the hood
does ANYBODY know how to get it so they both look like my drivers side headlight in my first picture?

[99blackbird]

take this a step at a time.

open the hood. loosen all the hinge bolts a little so they move. the bolt holes are slotted to allow adjustment side to side and front to rear. bump the hood with your hands gently at first till you get the hang of it. SHUT THE HOOD SLOWLY BETWEEN EACH BUMP to get the spacing the same on each side between the fenders, using the back corner of each fender (up next to the window) as a rear guide. do the same front to rear. it may take a little time.

then proceed to the light covers. there a screws there also to adjust. be carfull w/ the lights since they pop up, they could hit your hood.

good luck!