W123 Hood Hinge Replacement Idea
 

I have removed both hood hinge spring assemblies on my '84 300td euro wagon and have discovered a seized bushing on the passenger side that will need to be welded back in place. I am cleaning up the drains, detailing and recoating the hinge channels with POR15 along with the battery tray which I bead blasted today - a few pin holes which I will JB weld first before the POR15 treatment. It occured to me that rather than reinstall the heavy hinge/spring assemblies, why not use existed mounting points, fabricate mounting hardware and use modern pneumatic shock assemblies much like those used for heavy tailgates, etc. They should fit nicely in the channels . . has anyone done this mod yet? Seems simple enough given the mounting points, etc.

Why redesign something that works well?

because of the rust issues that seize the bushing . . a very common repair on this site. Of course, if owners would remove spring assemblies annually and lubricate . . . lots of broken hood springs out there!

Only if...
 

there is enough travel for the hood to go to the straight up position. I've got a worn out pivot point and have considered it but my McGyver-like fix is holding strong. :D

I got to my channels in the nick of time thank god . . . surface rust, but no scale and hose! I understand tgat the 80's 123's were ecoated which no doubt helped to keep the rust under control -

" Welded back in place" ....
I suggest that you check into rivets instead of welding. Airplanes are put together with rivets... if you start trying to weld and those pinhole rust spots are just the tip of the iceberg then you have nothing to work with...

you will need a really strong set of pneumatic things or a really long ram on them so the points can be put out far enough so its easily opened.

this idea is bound for failure


stick with the original system

KISS

I don't have rust at mounting point, bushing tore out due to unlubricated hinge assembly seizing and then putting pressure on mounting point

I have the same problem and need a fix for it. As far as I can see I have little or no rust just the pin tor out the bushing and now the hood will go up at an angle with a lot of noise.
Robert

When I did this repair I put a brass bushing inside of the pivot before welding it back in. This was several years ago. Still works fine, but I give it a shot of WD-40 every now and again.

When you weld it you will change the strength characteristics which it had and take away any rust protection it had going into the future...
Old metal workers will favor the rivets over putting heat to the area.

And, WD40 is not a lubricant... try something like PBBlaster, white lithium grease,etc ... WD40 is a water displacement fluid.

It was originally spot welded in, and this isn't exactly heat treated high carbon tool steel we are talking about. As far as the rust issue goes, yes you will have to make sure you get paint on everything. I took the fender off to do mine, so I know I got it painted well with POR-15.