i have opened my bonnet 20 times max since fitting them and the crappy plastic construction of the hinges have worn/elongated so now i have to flick it forward with a screw driver to allow the pins to go forward and engage,,,,, and this is on both of them !!!!

make matters worse i aint opened since 20th of july and that was to charge the batt to start the car as it was dead

what a load of crap AND now ive cut into my carbon bonnet so im stuck with this crap

anyone got ideas to fix this perhaps ?

 

sounds like you have fitted them wrong so you are loading up the hinges too much as you open and shut it,like if they arent aligned quite right?

 

You HAVE to keep them well lubed.. otherwise the plastic wears the plastic then they stick or jam.

I replaced the first set that did this and keep lubed up. Not had an issue since.

 

Yeah but Luca, the rest of us dont ALWAYS have lube in our pocket so its not as convenient for us as it is for people like you.

 

Would it be possible to get the bonnet patched from underneath (neatly of course)and fit what i would call proper motorsport no nonsense ones ?

 

Preparation is the key to success

Failing that the pool of oil dripping from the engine should suffice! (Vauxhall or Ford)

 

anoying as thats what i told a mate of mine who had the same problem, im gonna see if there is a way to take them apart and sort of bush them in some way

btw this car never has its bonnet opened apart from when i changed the gearbox which is when i fitted them back in may,,,, then when i have had to charge the battery

ive spoken to the importers who ill give them there due they are VERY helpfull, sugested a few things to try first which i dont think is issue BUT its given me a idea to fix them

they said give a try and get back to me if it dont work when they could have just said " go back to where you bought them from" which,,,,,, i cant remember pmsl

So i wont give in on them just yet,,,,, well i aint got a choice anyway pmsl

 

its a subaru mate,,,,,,, BUT i ALWAYS have Ambersill in the car aswell as various other stuff to get me out of trouble should i be broken down as nothing worse than having a issue to then realise " crap its in the garage"

 

chip to fit them on the car you dont get alot of room for mistakes, i had to bend the front panel to get the correct angles for the holes,,,,, took me bloody ages to get right and i measured it like a fooker to attempt it perfect in the first place 5 degrees angle or they wont go in the slot

 

Funny thing is the replacement set I bought had a small note under the catch when i opened it...

Little pic of a can of oil and said something like - KEEP WELL LUBRICATED.

 

that was on BOTH of them AND in the instructions,,,,,, i remember telling my mate who didnt bother but was ALWAYS opening hes bonnet,,,,, which is why i carry ambersil in the car

try to catch up luca pmsl

 

Ive caught up now!

Il send you some lube

 

ambersil is a PTFE lube,,,,, its fuck all like WD40 as its a actual lube rather than a penitrating oil which is too thin and will drain away at the bottom to allow you to relube

just cause i act the fool i do tend to look into things before i attack them hence im attempting to rebuild a gearbox on my subaru rather than just pay for it to be done ( ok im a tight arse too)

oh and it helps that i work at a main dealer so anytime i wanna try something i just ask the techs for advice OR they fix my fuck ups pmsl

 

http://www.lawson-his.co.uk/scripts/...&product=27059

 

Ive got them on my car without problem, i know how to fit them, what I dont know is how to fuck up fitting them like you have is order to get them to go wrong, lol

 

chip mine work fine apart from the wear issue on the plastic which is not uncomon im afraid also the striker pin can also attrach dirt too and make it stick near the stop i was also told is comon

fitment is fine,,,,, the lever does not go down due to the cam system they have to allow them to fit flush on closing

amazed at how when something has a issue its always down to someone fitting it incorrectly,,,, even when the problem has been identified

 

Ginge, even unlubed and covered in mud it should work more than 20 times mate.

if they arent aligned correctly though then the extra resistance from the pin rubbing against the release hole drastically increases the load on the catches.

I noticed this when fitting mine, if they arent quite lined up its a lot more effort to open and close them, and that effort is transmitted directly to the plastic mechanism which then drastically increases its wear.


But feel free to ignore me if you like while Im talking perfect sense

 

chip i know what the problem is, i thought it was not lining up BUT this is on BOTH catches at the same time, the holes are worn the same and they was fine before,,,, now both fail together sounds iffy but the lining up is spot on and not catching as it took me AGES to perfect it when i fitted them,,,,, then again when i took the bonnet off and had to realign it from the hinges,,,,, that was most fun i promise you

 

Well mine have never been lubed, and its taken quite a few hundred uses of them before they are starting to show any signs of wear (they start to get harder to shut as the lobe wears)
So maybe yours are just a different make to mine, like a copy or something, where did you get them from?

There has to be some reason why yours are fucked and the rest of ours arent?

 

chip when you say " rest of ours" you mean on this post,,,,, luca AND myself have had issues, you have not,,,, OR in the real world,,,,, well a mate has a issue the same as mine that made me look there for the issue and bollox can you get fake aerocatch pmsl, my key fits into the same lock as the other 2 i have tried unless they was also fake pmsl

not sure why mine has the issue, i just know what the problem is and i KNEW it was gonna happen aswell due to the design just not expected as quick

 

As Luke says, lubrication is the name of the game !

 

Mike thats just showing off!

Well oiled though

 

fucking hell mike you still got that escort,,, or is that a REALLY old photo as i aint heard about it for years if im honest

 

No I mean myself and the other people I know who have used them.

Ive personally seen Dave moss open and shut his bonnet more than 20 times without the catches breaking for example when we have been doing stuff with his car.

 

CHIP I BLOODY KNOW THEY AINT MENT TO LAST 20 TIMES FFS

mine have,,,,, its really that simple and its nothing to do with the striker on the alloy lug,,,,,, as that as what i FIRST THOUGHT was the reason for it not working

 

my aerocatches are fitted to a car thats not yet left the garage, after a few uses mine would lock up, even with the bonnet open so not getting caught on the catch. I thought they were buggered cos they felt like they locked solid. I sprayed them with a PTFE dry lube, which keeps them lubed without making them wet so doesnt attract dirt. They've been absolutely perfect ever since.

 

Indeed, even when not lubed they will last a lot longer than that IME if fitted correctly.



If there is extra resistance there then the lobe will wear quicker, like a cam lobe does when you use double valve springs, so its not "nothing" to do with it, its a contributary factor.
(with lube being the main cause undoubtable judging by the feedback in this thread, in fact im going to lube mine up this weekend as well!)

 

You lube them once when fitting then if fitted/adjusted correctly they give no problems. Mine are used more than most as peeps aint interested in the car only whats under the bonnet.

 

again here. i have 4 on mine, and little bit of lube now and then makes then open shut perfect

 

My resto thread is regularly updated .

 

mike link please,,,,, cant find it but was a good read when i last read it

 

Lazy fuck - there is only one thread in the resto section that I have started .

 

I'm sure you've started threads in that section for your Sapphire before?

 

Nope, Sapphire is in the Photos section, as it was after it died, so not a project .

(However, I did see that I did one on Harvey's car, the Lotus and Charlie's kit car that I had forgotten about ). I should update the Lotus one, as it has some new wheels and the V8 body kit being put on .

 

LINK !!!

 

It is at the top of the resto section!!!!!!!!!!

 

fuck me its changed,,,,,, i have a feeling you done some of the work yourself aswell,,,, fair play mr winton

downside it is makes me wanna get a escos now !!!!

 

Ive got 6 of them, 2 on the bonnet and 4 on the front bumper, all of them are ok after a little lube.

 

im gonna relube again just incase as it has been sitting a while of im honest due to my special single speed gearbox conversion my friend done for me

 

I have them on my bonnet. They went exactly the same way as yours but abit of lube seemed to sort it.