Hood bracket screws Bud's Benz fix kit

[smiledoc]

I would like to have these 3 measurements please if someone has them.  Also looking for really great instructions with great photos on how to remove the hood and also retrieve the inner hidden bolts once a screw is removed.    Can these be retrieved without removing the hood?   Want to make sure I can find the inner bolts and make sure they are not stripped or stripped before attempting a Bud's Benz repair kit at $50 each side....plus the aggravation of cutting, aluminum welding and repainting etc.

[dirkbalter]

I think there are multiple threads with different approaches here. 
However, I don't think this is something you can do without removing the hood. And even then, it's a pain. I did something similar to what is suggested on the BB site. $50 for that bracket, I agree, is robbery. I made it myself but don't have the actual dimensions. Take the center distance for the holes from the hinge bracket and scale it accordingly. The outside dimensions are not critical. I used some welding rods to capture the old as well as the new brackets, so these don't get lost within the hood.

[dirkbalter]

one more. Disregard the pins. These are for alignment after painting. Mark the location of the hinges prior to disassembly.

[Pawel66]

When I had one of the threads stripped I removed the hood:
- marked the orientation of hinges on hood
- undo the limiting strap
- clipped the supporting rod in its upper position with a piece of "C" bent rod
- unscrewed the hinge from body on driver's side
- slid out the hood from the opposite hinge

Two persons. Taped the edge of the hood for protection.

I repaired the thread with bear coil.

[Cees Klumper]

If the threads strip, is it not possible to drill + tap a larger diameter thread in the existing nut?

[Pawel66]

Its been a while ago…

It probably is possible, but the screws are M6. Next size is M7, rare, I had neither tap nor screw at hand. So M8. Big hole and big screw head. I think the size of the hole would start interfere with the opening in the hood, which is supposed to allow adjustment, so you would have to make it bigger all the way. The screw head would be clearly visible that it is bigger…

I went for thread repair.

In any case - one needs to be careful not to over tighten.

[smiledoc]

I'd really like to have someone give me these measurements.   I think it's quite easy to make a "Bud's" fix very inexpensively with a piece of aluminum or steel and an M6 tap.    Just need the approximate dimensions.   

[smiledoc]

This one is very similar in size to the Bud's I would think..

[dirkbalter]

This one is very similar in size to the Bud's I would think..

Yes, looks like it. Its has been a while and I don't remember the actual dimension i made it to. The hinge bracket will give you the center distance of the taps. The rest can just be estimated.
Once inserted, I secured the bracket with flathead screws to the hood. I believe if the bracket is just sliding around unsecured, you will have a hard time finding the threads when attaching the hood.

The original bracket was some kind of sheet metal with cage nuts that allowed for adjustment front to rear. I aligned everything reasonably well prior to fixing the brackets. I did the (minor) front to rear hood alignment with the hood brackets that bolt to the inner fenders. 

[John Betsch - "SADIE"]

Let me begin by saying I know what I did wasn't to"Hoyle" but having taken off the hood for painting and reinstalling (with that spring loaded support) I didn't want to ever do that again

I had  the bolt failed on one side so I took an equivalent sized carriage bolt, ground the top into a "T" shape and simple reinserted into the slot, turned it to grab and tightened the bolt.  May not look exactly correct but no one has ever noticed it in many years.  I suppose you could also grind down the protruding thread to the bolt itself.  Has worked fine for ~20 years

jb

[smiledoc]

Just an imperfect measurement but going from center of bolt to center of bolt looks like 35mm on my car.    Are you getting the same?   Thanks for your photo.

[stickandrudderman]

If the threads strip, is it not possible to drill + tap a larger diameter thread in the existing nut?

No, because it's a cage nut loosely held in place by a flimsy metal bracket which will not grip the nut sufficiently tight for you to drill and tap it.
This job is actually very difficult to get right.
When I do it I remove the bonnet (hood), cut three sides of a rectangle around the area and bend it open. I repair or fabricate a new cage nut assembly then rivet it back in place using aircraft style countersunk rivets as per the original. I then have a specialist weld it shut. In most cases this can be done without damaging the paint to the upper surface of the bonnet (hood) so the repaiur can be painted with a rattle can of the correct colour.
By only cutting three sides I have the original rivet holes to rely on to ensure the assembly is correctly aligned but in extreme cases where someone has been ther before me and removed material I have a special jig.

[smiledoc]

I was really hoping someone could answer my measurement questions.    I basically want to know the measurements I laid out in the illustrations.   I am wanting to have my hood adjusted to the perfect 3mm gap all around, and I hope that all 4 bolts are tight enough as is.   But, I wanted to have a contingency plan in place just in case.    The manager of my local body shop (big facility) and his father (long deceased) ran the Mercedes-Benz body and paint portion of the Benz dealership in my town for years, so he knows how these hoods/brackets, etc. work going way back over the decades.  I appreciate the member efforts to help me so far, but I'm not getting the info. I asked for initially.   I basically want to fabricate my own Bud's style kit and save the $100.    There's not much to it.   In order to get the OEM style bolt sliders I've only found one vendor and they require buying the whole aluminum overlay piece and everything at around $500.  That's not what I want to do.   

[smiledoc]

I'm guessing 35mm but someone may know the exact distance.   

[PeterW113]

I get between 32mm & 33mm depending on approach.

I hope this helps.


Peter

[smiledoc]

Thanks so much!  What measurement do you get if you go dead center on the bolt to dead center to the other bolt?   I was getting about 35 mm on my car (not perfect lighting when I did it).   Appreciate the effort on my behalf.

[smiledoc]

Looks like 32 is really close!  Thank you!

[PeterW113]

I measured 32mm between the centres of the nuts, but my bonnet / hood has floating nuts as opposed to a single plate. There could easily be a 1mm of play so could be 33mm as taken by the other methods. Call it 32.5mm and you cannot go to far wrong.