Time for reading: 3 min.

Hood Hinges & Springs | Replacing Your Hood's 'Weak Link'

Over time, hood hinges lose flexibility, causing hood damage. Worn hinges may prevent a hood from staying up. Here, we discuss OEM-style replacements.
Hood Hinges & Springs | Replacing Your Hood's 'Weak Link'
Hood Hinges And Springs Banner

No matter what size your car or truck is, its hood is one of, if not the, largest, bulkiest, and heaviest body panels on it. Hoods are fastened to the body structure either near the windshield firewall or at the very front - using hinges and brackets designed to pivot and support the weight of the hood fully once it's opened.

When hinges are properly secured, aligned, and doing their job, a hood will open smoothly and easily, then stay raised at exactly the point you leave it. Additionally, closing the hood should be equally effortless - with it shutting in such a way that gaps are straight and even, and the hood panel sits level from side to side.

However, like all moving parts of a vehicle, hood hinges and springs become compromised by wear as the vehicle ages. It's easy to forget that these hinges are under enormous stress because energy from the vehicle frame is constantly being transferred to them over bumps, and because twisting forces inherent to vehicle movement are always causing chassis flex.

Broken Hood Hinge
Hood hinges are subject to metal fatigue more than you might think.
Bent Hood
A bent hood can also result from hinges that bind up because they've become too tight or misaligned.

Hood hinges are subject to lateral stresses as the mass of the hood is pulled left-to-right and up-and-down. These constant forces can cause metal fatigue, which interferes with proper opening and closing. In worst cases, a hinge can even fail completely when the hood is opened - creating a dangerous condition.

If you've got a higher-mileage car, worn-out hinges may have become stiff and less flexible - creating a misalignment condition or even a bent hood. Conversely, loose hinges and worn springs will cause a hood to not stay up - resulting in a hard hit to the head should it drop unexpectedly. Even if those conditions don't exist, constant buzzes, squeaks, and rattles can visit at every turn.

Misaligned Hood With Bent Hinges
If your vehicle has never been in an accident but has a misaligned hood, bent hinges could be the problem.

Some vehicles even have hood hinges with built-in detent positions. These are designed to support the weight of the hood at various angles at which it may be opened. A great feature - however, forget to release the tabs as you're closing it just once and you've got a bent hinge that's much weaker as a result.

In the Hood Hinges & Springs section of our website, we make it easy to find the replacement hinges and springs you need. And, as always, we ensure everything we offer is designed to match the size, thicknesses, operation, and strength of your OE (Original Equipment) part.

Sherman Hood Hinges
Sherman Hood Hinges.
Auto Metal Direct Hood Hinges And Springs
Auto Metal Direct Hood Hinges and Springs.

Hood Hinges And Springs For Classic Cars

If you're looking for hood hinges and springs for classic cars, Auto Metal Direct Hood Hinges and Goodmark Hood Hinges have a good selection of components for cars and trucks from the 1940s through the early 1990s. With Auto Metal Direct hinges, the springs may be included with the hinges, or they may be offered separately in the Product Options field. Hood hinge springs from Goodmark are available on a separate product page.

Replace Hood Hinges
Replace Hood Hinges.

OPGI Hood Hinges and Hood Springs are designed for midsize, rear-wheel-drive GM cars from 1965-88. And while Sherman Hood Hinges include selections for a wide range of American and import vehicles from today back to the 1990s, they also include Jeep Wranglers back to 1987, GM trucks back to 1973, and older classics back to 1955.

Hood Hinges And Springs For Newer Cars

For newer cars, Replace Hood Hinges and K-Metal Hood Hinges cover a wide range of American and import vehicles back to the early 1990s, with select models dating back decades further.

OER Hood Hinge Springs
OER Hood Hinge Springs, with hood pop-up springs available.

Hood hinge springs which are sold separately include OER Hood Hinge Springs for limited GM models from 1964-81. (Some of these springs are specifically designed for lighter-weight fiberglass hoods.) Note that, on this product page, OER also offers "hood adjuster" springs for these vehicles, which serve as hood pop-up springs next to the center release latch at the front of the vehicle. Replace Hood Hinge Springs are specific to Ford F-Series trucks from 1987-97 and 2007-newer GM full-size 4x4s.

Hood Hinges And Springs Installation

Installation of hood hinges and springs isn't overly complicated. If you do decide to perform the swap yourself, there are several cautionary points we'd like to make. First, car and truck hoods are heavy! Don't think that you're going to unbolt one hood hinge and be able to support the now-unstable hood yourself. Enlist a helper, or, arrange some sort of support, such as wood blocks, before you loosen the first bolt.

If you're working with hood hinge springs, please be reminded that these springs, like suspension springs, are under a lot of tension. They therefore have lots of energy, and can fly off and inflict damage or injury if you're not careful.

If you don't feel comfortable performing the replacements yourself, professional shops usually won't charge much labor for swapping new ones in if the hood panel isn't being replaced. Whichever route you take, you'll be pleasantly surprised at how easy it is to open and close your hood once it's gotten its new hinges and springs!

Shop Now
CARiD FacebookCARiD TwitterCARiD YouTube ChannelCARiD PinterestCARiD Instagram
Inspiration Gallery
All manufacturer names, symbols, and descriptions, used in our images and text are used solely for identification purposes only. It is neither inferred nor implied that any item sold by CARiD.com is a product authorized by or in any way connected with any vehicle manufacturers displayed on this page.
CUSTOMER SERVICE
INFORMATION
CONTACTS