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Bent hood, reduced mpg

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Accessories & Modifications' started by Gstatus64, Apr 13, 2019.

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  1. Gstatus64

    Gstatus64 Junior Member

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    so a few years ago, my brother was driving my Prius and rear ended someone. The mechanic that repaired the engine left the same hood on the car, and there's a huge gap on both sides and the front (pictures will be added). What I'm wondering is, is there a way I can seal this gap off so that my hood doesnt try to fly away? Maybe some type of "puffy" weather strip seal? I tried using tape (a huge mistake, dont do it..) and that worked great, but when I needed to do an oil change, it was impossible to get it all off.

    I was able to find a hood for my car on a parts website, but it's a completely different color, and am not sure what exact color my car is. It's a silver/gray to me.

    I'm going to be going on a road trip for about 1100 miles next week, and would love for some advice from the pros on here.
     

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    #1 Gstatus64, Apr 13, 2019
  2. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    a dealer can tell you the color from your vin, or maybe the toyota owners sight.

    how much can you afford to spend on it? does the latch work properly?

    idk if a new hood will fit, there might be other damage.
     
    #2 bisco, Apr 13, 2019
  3. TMR-JWAP

    TMR-JWAP Senior Member

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    going by just the photos, it looks like a latch issue. Does the hood go further down if you apply pressure on it and then lift back up when pressure is released?
     
    #3 TMR-JWAP, Apr 13, 2019
  4. Gstatus64

    Gstatus64 Junior Member

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    Yes it goes down. But the hood is bent in 3 or 4 different places on the under side. I will take pictures after I get off of work tonight. The new hood from the scrap yard costs about $50 to $100 depending on if I turn in the current bent hood. Which is what I'd probably do. The only thing is that the scrap yard is about 2 hours away from my home, one way Haha. But it might increase the value of my car, and eelldefinitely the mpg. So I'll look into it.

    If I were to buy a new hood, would there be a way to put the weather seal on it to help stop water from getting in the engine bay, and to maybe increase mpg? Maybe I should just do it and let you all know if it works?

    Thanks for your replies!
     
    #4 Gstatus64, Apr 13, 2019
  5. Gstatus64

    Gstatus64 Junior Member

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    The hood does latch properly. I can try to record a video of it, post it on YouTube and then post the link to what's happening on here.

    It's just that at higher speeds (50mph and higher) the hood sometimes tries to fly off. And I just bought a new latch from Amazon a few months ago, and that has definitely controlled the hood a lot better. I should still have the old one (the repair shop chopped it at the mounting holes and used 4 steel plates to hold it in). Since I swapped the two latches, the "ballooning" or floating effect is gone.

    Sorry if I repeated myself haha. It's been a busy day..

    Thanks for your help!

    Garron
     
    #5 Gstatus64, Apr 13, 2019
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  6. 69shovlhed

    69shovlhed Surly tree hugger

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    just get a new or used hood. anything else is a waste of time and/or money. ebay has both aluminum and steel primed hoods. get it painted at maaco or a local body shop.
     
    #6 69shovlhed, Apr 14, 2019
  7. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk EGR Fanatic

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    I'd guess the whole front end is slightly pushed back. A new hood would be slightly longer, and then the problem would be it couldn't latch. A body shop could check and restore, but I'm guessing that's not happening.

    There's probably no fix that's both cheap and effective. If cheap is the operative word, I would just leave it as-is, for now.
     
    #7 Mendel Leisk, Apr 14, 2019
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  8. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    maybe get some wide weatherstripping like garage door bottom, and gorilla glue
     
    #8 bisco, Apr 14, 2019
  9. TMR-JWAP

    TMR-JWAP Senior Member

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    Tie one end of a rope to the upper crossmember where the latch is and the other end to a tree. Put car in reverse and have at it. That's cheap and effective, but maybe not high quality body work......................
     
    #9 TMR-JWAP, Apr 14, 2019
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  10. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk EGR Fanatic

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    Yeah, makes sense. If you can apply the same force, at approximately the same point on the body, except in reverse, you stand a fair chance. Maybe need to "bump it" a little, ie: have some slack in the rope, and get some momentum as you take up the slack.

    Me, I just get out the check book.
     
    #10 Mendel Leisk, Apr 14, 2019
  11. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    my father totally straightened the frame and body parts of a totaled almost new mg midget in the 60's.

    all of the work wa done with jacks, chains and dimensional lumber. it probably wasn't perfect, but it looked and ran great.
     
    #11 bisco, Apr 14, 2019
  12. Gstatus64

    Gstatus64 Junior Member

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    That's what I was thinking of doing.

    As for the hood and frame, the frame was repaired, and was minor damage. The front bumper was damaged and replaced. The hood should be lower down, but has 3 or 4 dents on the underside. I forgot to take pictures of it last night, but I will tomorrow (I will set a reminder on my phone haha).

    But yeah, it drives straight and everything, it's just that the hood doesn't look "natural".

    Thanks for your help everyone!


    Garron
     
    #12 Gstatus64, Apr 14, 2019
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