XJEEP01

Long story short my hood flew up on the freeway. I am pretty sure that the hinges are bent, at least at the top. They still work, but I am wondering if they should be replaced. I am also wondering if it looks to anyone else like the firewall was bent. Any input is appreciated.

Since I absolutely hate the way that Cherokee Forum makes you upload photos, please direct yourself to this imgur album which should contain 3 photos.

http://imgur.com/a/sOD7W

DieselD

Yea they look messed up. Firewall might be bent, looks more like the little "lip" on the firewall is bent more. But as long as new brackets would line up flat you'd be cool.

Does your hood close right now? Does it look askew when opened?

XJEEP01

Yeah that lip is definitely going to have to be straightened out. The hood does close, it didn't open all the way because it bent slightly and therefore would run into that cowl vent behind the hood. When I took that off it opened and closed just fine. It was also pushed back maybe a quarter of an inch. There is a noticeably larger gap between the front of the hood and the body piece right in front of it.

DieselD

Yea needs some hinges and a hammer to beat some metal straight.

How did it fly up on you? Just curious.

XJEEP01

Well, as much as I don't want to tell this tale... I was driving through New Mexico and it was pretty hot out so every time I stopped I would pop the hood in a small attempt to prevent vapor lock in my injectors (another problem I have to deal with). Anyways just one time I forgot to close the hood and when I got back on the road it flew up into the windshield at about 60 mph. Fortunately the windshield did not crack, there could have been a lot more damage. So for that I am fortunate but I'm still looking at paying about 100 bucks total to fix this stupid mistake of mine.

jedijeb

Same thing happened to me back in high school with a 71 F100. Definitely not a fun experience. Glad nothing really bad happened.