By this time, I’d noticed that the hood latches felt a little too easy to lock and unlock. I’d already adjusted them to get the fit right, so off to Google again to see what I could find. I found another common problem. There’s lots of used replacements on Ebay, but they’re not cheap There’s also the risk they have the same wear problem. New ones are over £100 each.
There are a number of forum posts and Youtube videos showing how to improve the operation of a worn latch by adding a screw. Here’s one of the better ones
I did, however find a more elegant solution, which I used. This is another fix that, for me has lasted over 3 years.
I’ve found that images often get deleted from wherever is hosting forums, so if you’re interested, download them while you can.
If you have a 3D printer, there’s a design for a replacement latch on Thingiverse.
It might be worth a try but, personally I’d be concerned about reliability. You really don’t want the latches to fail while driving. The material will be critical (definitely not PLA) and may wear quickly or soften in the summer sun (even PETG). Then there’s the possibility of the layers separating if they’ve not melted into each other properly. There’s someone on Ebay selling 3D printed latches from this design but they don’t mention the material used.
Since I made the modification, I have found that Autolink is selling something similar, but which appears to be moulded rather than printed:
If anyone from Autolink reads this, are they metal or plastic? If plastic which one? It would be useful if this information was added to the website. If anyone has had them fitted for a while, how are they wearing?
Bob
(South Essex)