2005 2500HD Hood Springs

mmmikkke · April 16, 2005

I took delivery on a 2500HD in February, and it's been good out of the gate. That's good, because I usually try not to take anything back for warranty repair because I'd rather fix it myself if it's not too expensive.

While I was wiring up my audio system, last week, I noticed that the hood is flexing (on the inside of the hood) while the hood is open. It's happening by the passenger side hood spring. I moved the hood up and down an inch or so with my left hand, and watched. I think the driver's side hood spring is not helping hold the hood up.

The reason I think this is that the passenger side spring opens to its stop (built into the hinge right by the spring). But the driver's side spring doesn't open to its stop. It seems like maybe the spring is weak. Of course, this would mean a manufacturing defect, covered by warranty.

But I think the cost of the hinge should be small enough--maybe $30 or $40--to make replacing it myself easier overall than convincing the service tech at the dealer that the flexing of the inner hood by the passenger side hinge is going to lead to a metal fatigue problem 5 years from now.

Anybody else have a lazy driver's side hinge spring on their 2500HD (built in Pontiac, MI)?

99-2door · April 16, 2005

I've seen tons of these trucks that way. Not just HDs either. The hoods are pretty thin and the base on the spring/hinge is fairly small.

Don't pony up the cash to fix something that should be covered under warranty, I don't care if it $5 or $5000. Worst case I have seen so far was the hood seperated on both sides and the springs pushed up bending the hood on both sides. I'm not convinced that wasn't a cheap aftermarket hood, but I have seen the original GM hoods flexing there too.

mmmikkke · April 17, 2005

I've seen tons of these trucks that way. Not just HDs either. The hoods are pretty thin and the base on the spring/hinge is fairly small.
Don't pony up the cash to fix something that should be covered under warranty, I don't care if it $5 or $5000. Worst case I have seen so far was the hood seperated on both sides and the springs pushed up bending the hood on both sides. I'm not convinced that wasn't a cheap aftermarket hood, but I have seen the original GM hoods flexing there too.

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By "that way" do you mean with one weak spring that's not doing its share of the lifting, or do you mean with a hood that flexes by the springS ?

Superman TNT · April 19, 2005

I took a quick look at mine and don't see any problems. However I did replace my OEM hood with a Goodmark 2" cowl induction hood right after I got it home from the dealer. What I have noticed, both on the OEM hood as well as my new hood is that at med to high speeds it vibrates or shakes a little. Right after I picked it up from the dealership I didn't drive 5 miles down the road when I noticed this and stopped to make sure it was fully latched. Something is wrong with this design I think. It still gives me the impression that the hood isn't latched.

This vibration could also be causing the problem with the hood I think. Does your's behave this way?

mmmikkke · April 19, 2005

I took a quick look at mine and don't see any problems. However I did replace my OEM hood with a Goodmark 2" cowl induction hood right after I got it home from the dealer. What I have noticed, both on the OEM hood as well as my new hood is that at med to high speeds it vibrates or shakes a little. Right after I picked it up from the dealership I didn't drive 5 miles down the road when I noticed this and stopped to make sure it was fully latched. Something is wrong with this design I think. It still gives me the impression that the hood isn't latched.

This vibration could also be causing the problem with the hood I think. Does your's behave this way?

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I haven't seen any vibration in my hood. In fact, when it's closed, it's fine. But when it's open, the passenger side hinge appears to be carrying most of the load, and the driver's side hinge is just loafing.