Removing hood by myself

[tony-muscle]

As I prepare for winter fixes on my car I am thinking that if I remove the hood it will make life easier. Now comes the question, have any of you removed the hood by yourself? I read to expect the weight to be 80-90 lbs. What about using ceiling hooks, like those used to hang your bicycle as help and then some kind of wire railing or something to move the hood out of the way. A crank winch may be handy as well. Or maybe this is a stupid idea risking the hood dropping on the nicely painted fenders, or maybe risking bringing the whole garage down :huh:

 

[Mister 4x4]

I've picked up and moved my hood around by myself before - it's awkward, but not too heavy - but I wouldn't recommend doing it all by yourself. Get a buddy.

That being said, I have a hard top hoist for my Jeep in the garage. It's a "T" shaped bar with plasti-coated bicycle hooks on each end. There's an eyelet on the long center of the "T" bar that slides (for finding balance to pull the top straight up. It's suspended above the Jeep by a large screw-eye in a ceiling joist above where the Jeep is normally parked, with a come-a-long attached to the wall with another screw-eye into a stud.

When I want to take off the Jeep's top, I back the Jeep in, put the T-bar on top of the roof, unbolt the fasteners, hoist it up to the ceiling, and that's where it lives until I put it back on (and do the opposite).

I'd say for a "take it off and put it back on after the repairs are done" situation, just get a buddy.

Hope that helps!

 

[tony-muscle]

I'd say for a "take it off and put it back on after the repairs are done" situation, just get a buddy.

I better start making friends....

 

[Jim and Jutta]

I'm not sure how you could do it by yourself without risking damaging something. I had the Frau help me remove mine, it's not that heavy but would be very awkward trying to do it alone.

 

[Qcode351mach]

Don't do it !!! You need 2 people 3 is even better..lay some towels in the corners of the fender into the windshield area..Triple tape the rear corners of the hood( prevents chips) One guy at the front one guy on each side removing the bolts while the guy at the front keeps it from sliding back..MARK THE HINGE LOCATION WITH MASKING TAPE BEFORE REMOVAL..this way you can align right back to where it was..

 

[Jeff73Mach1]

If you don't have any friends, call a contractor to come give you a bid on adding on to your house and while he is there ask if he would mind giving you a hand for a moment.

 

[tony-muscle]

Don't do it !!! You need 2 people 3 is even better..lay some towels in the corners of the fender into the windshield area..Triple tape the rear corners of the hood( prevents chips) One guy at the front one guy on each side removing the bolts while the guy at the front keeps it from sliding back..MARK THE HINGE LOCATION WITH MASKING TAPE BEFORE REMOVAL..this way you can align right back to where it was..

Great! now I have to make two friends instead of one, or have two contractors coming at the same time

 

[73vertproject]

Jeff's idea is great, and Q's even better. I removed mine with a friend, and replaced it with my wife and her girlfriend. If you can't find a friend, wife, or girlfriend, you need to find one, and not just for the hood...

 

[TommyK]

http://www.heininger.biz/garagemate_hoodhoist.php

 

[whitesoc]

I took my hood off by myself , but I did use a hook in the ceiling and a rope to the hood latch. After all the bolts were undone from the hinges I was able to pick up the back of the hood move it away from the car and put it on some racks I had standing by.

 

[imusa76]

when I removed mine, my wife helped, when we reinstalled it, I held one side, my dad held the other, and my wife bolted it down for us.

I really like Q's tips with the towels, and alot of tape on the edges.