Hood Rubbing

Here's a new one. I opened the hood today to discover a spot that had some of the gel coat rubbed off. It is rubbing on the radiator fluid reservoir. I'm happy I caught it because it was starting to damage the reservoir. Is there a way to adjust the hood farther forward? It hasn't been doing this before I discovered it today. I didn't notice it a week ago when I changed the oil. I did ride it about 175 miles yesterday. Thx Rick

Thanks for the heads up. I'll be checking mine tomorrow. Maybe you're missing a spacer or something?

I don't know what happened. The hood still seems to be aligned properly. I should say it's the fiberglass, not the gel coat, since it's inside the engine compartment.

Are you sure it's the hood that's the culprit & not the coolant reservoir or mounting bracket that's causing the problem? If the hood is lined up & hasn't moved I'd be leary of trying to adjust it (you can get into a real headache very quickly with all the adjustment they have).

[QUOTE=trike tech;560922]Are you sure it's the hood that's the culprit & not the coolant reservoir or mounting bracket that's causing the problem? If the hood is lined up & hasn't moved I'd be leary of trying to adjust it (you can get into a real headache very quickly with all the adjustment they have).[/QUOTE]

Thanks Richard. I don't know how the coolant reservoir could have moved. It's all the way forward. I'll get some pictures when I get home and post them to see if you have any ideas. Rick

After a little more coffee (ok, 1/2 pot more)... Even on the fiberglass units the hood is made up of the outer portion & the inner dash assembly & it held in place by bolts that secure the two parts together. I'd take a look at them; if they're loose it would allow the inner part of the dash to sag slightly & may cause rubbing without any noticeable visual changes to the hood alignment & fit to the body.

Here's some pictures of what's rubbing. You can see the spot I think it's rubbing on the coolant tank.

Not having the fiberglass body, I not sure about the hood stops that are adjustable like on the new body. I would look to see if there are adjustable bolts with a rubber end that would be on each side where the hood and body meet. I adjusted mine for better hood alignment as the hood was contacting the body at the edges by the mirrors. Tomg

Tom, As you can see by the first two pictures, the hood seems to be in good alignment with the body. I'm confused as to what's going on. Rick

Rick

I looked at MJ's Stallion and the spot that is rubbing on your fiberglass is most likely the front coolant tank bracket. Looking at your picture of the front bracket I see what appears to me to be a spot right on the corner where the black paint is worn off. On MJ's Stallion that spot matches exactly where the fiberglass is being rubbed off. I pushed on the bracket on her trike and there is a little movement but not much at all. Like Richard said I would look seriously at your coolant tank being a little loose.

It is possible that the inner part of the hood moved but that would mean a lot of nuts came loose. But anything is possible. Push on the inner hood and see if you can make it move at all.

Thanks Ted. I did push on the inner hood and it seemed tight. The bracket is also tight. I'll put some tape on the bracket and close the hood a few times and see if that's the culprit. Rick

If all is tight then maybe just a hard push back on the coolant tank will provide the necessary clearance again.

Got home and after I thought about it, there is an easy way to find out where it's rubbing. I put some tape on the coolant tank, sprayed some paint on the rubbing part of the hood and it's really obvious where it's rubbing. Both brackets on the tank are tight and solid. As you can see by the pictures, the hood mounting bracket screws don't seem like they moved and they were tight. Does anyone have suggestions on how this could have happened and how to fix it? Thx Rick

p.s. The oil around everything on the hood is probably from the left front shock leaking. R/S is dry. FedEx says the 4 new ones should be arriving from TX tomorrow. I'm interested in seeing if the ride will be better with the new style shocks. I understand it should be.

Been looking at your pictures & information as time allowed (yesterday was a bit nuts). I missed it previously, but noticed this morning you mentioned you made a small adjustment because the hood was close near the mirrors. I don't know if the rub is old or fairly new, but could it happen to be a result of that?

You may try posting a picture from a bit further back showing the coolant tank that shows the surrounding components, etc. They may indicate something that the close up pictures don't.

Thanks Richard. I didn't do any adjustments. Must of been someone else you're thinking about the mirrors. The only thing I did the week before I noticed this was change the oil. I drove the front wheel up on a ramp to do it. Went up very slow and came back down very slow. I usually look around pretty well and make sure nothing is loose or leaking. I did not notice the rubbing at that time. I did see it the next week. It couldn't have been rubbing very long or it would have rubbed a hole in the coolant tank as it has a spot worn on it from the little mileage I put on it last Saturday. It's under the tape where the black mark is.

I did take some close pictures of the hood to show that it still seems like it's aligned by the mirrors and the mounting bolts inside on the hinges don't look like the moved.