I read that there is a difference between hood latches. Is it necessary to swap out the latches too?

Thx,

 

The difference is the spring I believe, but when doing a major hood change like that you need the aluminum hinges and latch anyway.

 

yea there is a dif. latch for the diff. hoods

 

^^ yep

 

don't forget to get the hinges for the alum hoods as well, so the hood doesn't rot out on you.

 

i heard you can put dielectric grease on the hinges so it wont rot is this true? and is it possible to just buy the aluminim spring and replace it with the spring thats in your steel latch?

thanx

 

You need to electrically insulate hinges if you are putting on an Al hood.

 

A *smear* of RTV b/t the disimilar metal parts should do the trick.

 

Thank you all. I will probably make a thin gasket for between the hood/hinge. If the only latch dif is the spring I suppose I should round one of those up.

 

Im curious as well..what exactly is the difference between the latches between the steel and N/A hood?

 

aside from putting the silicone or grease to prevent rustI did nothing to the hood or latch, It works just fine, just to close it you have to push it instead of just dropping it.

 

I guess I'm just an idiot because I didn't even notice the latch or hinges were any different.

The only problem I ever had was the release mechanism got a little stiff after a couple of years. It was a little dry and just needed some grease.

ed

 

ok so my buddy told me about this problem with switching, is ther anyway to tell that the latch is
for aluminum hoods? and the hinges too.
thanks Matt22

 

Hinges, put a magnet on em'.

Latches... I have no idea.

 

I find it hard to believe the hinges are aluminum.

They're painted, metal doesn't touch metal anyway. The weight savings would be nearly unmeasurable. And they would be a likely place for fatigue cracks.

And I know they don't use aluminum bolts.

As a matter of fact I bet there is a steel backing plate for the bolts to thread into the aluminum hood. (I'm too lazy to look)

ed

 

I used a vert aluminum hood on my base model and didn't change my latch. I moved it around in its bolts a little but it has no problem latching.

 

does anyone have a pic of this hood rot stuff.
but yeah, i foiund the pair of "supposedly aluminum hinges" that were on the car when i got my first aluminum hood but dont really notice any difference. i didn't put a magnet to it or anything though. i think edmcguirk has a good point though,. lates Matt22

 

Ah yeah.. painted... thats the ticket..

The paint is not enough to prevent conductivity on any part bolted or rivited together. If it was the hood would be electrically isolated and not resting at ground just as the other body parts are.

That can be checked very easy with a digital multi-meter.

does the hood have ground on it??? yep it does. So paint is not think enough to prevent conductivity.

Steel parts in alum hoods are pop riveted with mylar spacers to help prevent electrolitic action.

And I can only say on the stock S4 alum hoods I have seen that only the top part of the hinge is alum. The bottom is steel. I don't know if this is the same for the S5 cars as I don't have one in front of me (but wouldn't be surprised if it was- but who knows with the cost cutting mazda did on the S5 FC).

If you don't want to believe this... don't. Its not my car that will have the hood ripped off in an accident after 5 years.

 

Icemark, do you know anything about the differences between the latches on aluminum and steel hoods? I realize the importance of swapping the hinges, which I have already done, but I wasnt aware of a latch difference. Is it just a stiffer spring, or something more important that will warrant it needed swapped as well?

 

OK,
This is what Mazda put in their parts book

FB01-52-310H Hood, Steel, w/o turbo
FB13-52-310J Hood, Alum, w/o turbo
F049-52-310N Hood, Alum, Turbo
FB13-52-410E Hinge(R), Hood
FB13-52-420E Hinge(L), Hood
FB01-56-620E Hood Lock, Steel Hood w/o Burglar Alarm
FB02-56-620F Hood Lock, Steel Hood w/ Burglar Alarm
FB13-56-620C Hood Lock, Alum Hood w/o Burglar Alarm
FB15-56-620F Hood Lock, Alum Hood w/ Burglar Alarm

I see no aluminum hinges, so maybe only in Canada ;-)
Enjoy

 

u need the latch that bolts on the chassis for the hood from an aluminum hood FC too!? crap! gotta take a trip 2 the junkyard again!

 

Hmm, my Mitchell parts collison repair book calls the hinges:
steel hood:
FB13-52-410E Hinge(R)
FB13-52-420E Hinge(L)
alum hood:
FB13-52-411E Hinge(R)
FB13-52-421E Hinge(L)