Hood Pins for mk4 and front hood alignment with struts

[mcwho]

Since I have the hood being aligned and notice that the front of the hood pops up when closed. looks like a couple shims to pull the hinge down a bit to make it flush at the front.

also,

[edwardb]

That's a common problem and pretty easily fixed. Basically, you need to adjust the hinges so they aren't binding when the hood is closed. Then it can retract all that way down when closed. Try this: Close the hood. From underneath, reach up to the hinges and back off the nuts on the hinge mounting plates on each side. Loose enough that the plate can be moved with a little force, and tight enough it will stay when moved. I do them one axis at a time. You may only need to do the two pairs for the vertical mounting. With the nuts backed off, go back to the top of the hood. Using the flat of your hand, bump the hood down into the proper location. Maybe even slightly lower with the bumpers or gasket material temporarily removed. Now back under and tighten the bolts. I'll bet that fixes it. If not, try the same thing with the horizontal mounting bolts.

You may find it a bit easier to do this with the car up on jack stands or a lift. It's a squeeze to reach some of the nuts, but I've found every one reachable with various combinations of box end wrenches, sockets with varying extensions, etc. Also you don't need to put the final torque on the nuts from underneath. Just snug enough that the hinges won't move, then final tighten from the top with the hood open and they're easier to reach.