Hood gap after repairs , is this dangerous ?
 

Hi.

Repair shop I took my 2004 Z did a terrible job. The hood seems to be straight but for some bizarre reason there is a gap on driver side and no gap on passenger side . The Gap on driver side is right in front of trh air intake tunnel. Isn't that super dangerous if it rains and the air intake will suck in all this water and ruin the engine ?

Pic attached
https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/my350z....c3ff2b4f2e.jpg
https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/my350z....79eea33de5.jpg

If I remember correctly there are some rubber bumper things you can screw in and out, try adjusting the drivers down and passenger up

I don't think there are any adjustable "bumpers" under the hood that will allow you to tweak the hood lines. I am dealing with this exact same issue on my 03Z after the hood was vandalized (someone took a knife to it) while it was sitting outside of a shop waiting to be inspected. After getting it back from the repair/paint shop, and them removing the 3m clear bra and painting the hood 3 times to get it right, the hood is now warped--I presume from them working on it, while propped open with the hood prop on the left side (when facign the front of the car). No, they didn't cover the engine bay either and gave me back pounds of sanded paint dust too, scattered all through the engine bay...I removed the entire front bumper to get the dust out, and there was probably 3 or 4 cups of paint dust collected in there bumper cover. I vowed to never use these guys again, not even to paint a tractor.

My hood alignment problem seems to be the reverse of yours... looking at the hood from the front of the car, the right side sits slightly lower, and is sunken in compared to the edge of the front quarterpanel. My only remedy after finding that there was no bumper adjustments, was to build up a few pieces of weather stripping to each other to make my own bumper, to retrain the hood on that side. My car will never be the same after this paint job and the vanadalism that occurred, but this simple fix seems to remedy the lines on the hood and makes the fit of the hood look proper again when closed.

I actually never even noticed these before. For reference, both of mine are turned all the way in. They have never been touched, so I'm sure that's the factory setting.

Also, there is weather stripping under the hood in the front. I don't think much water would get in regardless.

https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/my350z....e417a0d33f.jpg

maybe i was thnking of my vette,, hell i havent had the nissan in 5 years now

I don't know man . I feel like the almost finger thick opening right in front of the air intake tunnel never mind the intake itself is a recipe for hydro locking your engine in any kind of rain . See pic and circle ...
https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/my350z....36b9c5cff4.jpg

Did you look at the adjuster I posted

Where was the damage, if it wa the front end, something may still be off. Why dont you take it back to the shop and address your concerns with them

there are some small rubber bumpers about 4-6 inches from the front lip of the hood, one on each side...somehow I missed these. They might give you 3/16" to maybe 1/4" of adjustment... hopefully thats enough. Screw the one by the intake all the way in....and see what the gap looks like. Mine are screwed all the way in from the factory.

Woo hoo.....I am n6t crazy

I don't have any rubber bumpers at all. The bottom of my hood is completely bare.

I think hydro lock is more likely after you hit a fairly deep puddle at speed or decide to drive through a flooded area. I don’t really think hydro lock is something you need to worry about due to rain but I could be wrong.

Like others have asked, what exactly was the work you were having done in the first place? If they took the front bumper off it may need to be adjusted a bit as well.

You could try adjustment from the hood latch as well, can be moved vertically. The rubber bump stops would be used for slight adjustments and to help with vibrations.

However, it seems that something is misaligned, maybe the bumper? I wouldn't worry about hydro-locking from such a small opening, you would have to almost submerge the entire filter to run into an issue like that.

Shouldn't be. In addition to the hood bump stops, you should also have weather stripping seals at the front of the hood.

Post a pic of the underside of the hood

Attachment 455344

Check the list and see if you have everything.

the seals won't provide any adjustment, thats all they do is seal from water coming in or prevent vibration. The "seals" towards the middle of the hood, sit on the strut bar across the center of the engine bay. The bumpers located towards the hood lip are your only hope of any adjustment, without messing with the hood brackets inside the quarter panels or where the hood attaches to the brackets at each corner of windshield.

Don’t get all the debate on this. Clearly something’s f’d up so just take it back to the shop that “fixed it” and have them “fix it right”. How’s that not the obvious solution?

because that makes entirely too much sense, not to mention he didnt say where the damage is. if you zoom in on the pic, you can see scratches on bumper, so i guess you can assume that the bumper was not replaced

OP was asking if it was dangerous, at higher speeds, seals in the front keeps the hood better seated and planted by directing air over. A vacuum/low pressure area at the frontal cavity, at the bumper cover and front of hood, is created as air goes over the top and drawn into the radiator. You want this area to not catch air hence the two seals at the very front of the hood. Water goes through the radiator easily and where it sits further back. The air that does pass through exits underneath. Its a balance of upper and lower air flow management with body panels and undershrouds to create Nissan's "0 lift" marketing slogan for the z when it first came out.

OP stated his hood was bare. I'd take it back to the shop, missing pieces and parts after a repair isn't a sign of quality work.