forum participation?


soroush

Ford Gt Owner
Mark II Lifetime
Aug 8, 2007
5,256
Went to a little car show last weekend saw a guy pull up in a 05 Gt started to chat with him.. really nice guy as you would expect. I asked him if he was on the forum since he had the car for over a year to which he replied no.. we further chatted and the conversation went the way of how he enjoys the car and he said he loved it but that he suspects there is something wrong with one of the sensors on the hatch because every once in a while he notices the ajar light come on with the accompanying sound. I quickly showed him how to properly secure his hood which was not latched properly for over a year.. we had a little chuckle about it and he was very thankful for saving him a trip to the dealership. I suggested he get on the forum.
 

Shark01

GT Owner
Jul 22, 2012
575
Houston Texas
Was it the thing where the latch clicks into the retracted position if you push it too far? Clicking that is how I open it by myself....is there any harm in doing that as long as I move it forward again so it will latch properly?
 

extrap

GT Owner
Mark II Lifetime
Jul 16, 2020
1,751
Gainesville FL
Mine did that once, and eventually I solved it but really not sure what I did besides open and close it a few times. Would be nice to know The Trick.
 

Special K

GT Owner
Mark IV Lifetime
Aug 23, 2016
1,775
Franklinton, LA
I had one bump stop slightly taller than the other causing one side to trigger the sensor/light. After a couple of twists, the clamshell latches properly.
 

Jake

Member
Apr 8, 2021
19
Murrieta, CA
I had to adjust mine right after I bought it. The dealer I bought it from stated "it is a common problem and they all have the light on". I found that if the adjustment on the latching mechanism that holds down the hood is too far down it won't make the second latching movement which is what has to happen to clear the light on the dash. You want the latching mechanism to hold the lid down tight but also make a 2 part latching movement which will clear the light. Fine tuning of this 3 bolt adjustment resolved it for me.
 

soroush

Ford Gt Owner
Mark II Lifetime
Aug 8, 2007
5,256
yes basically you need to "kind" of slam the hood, just putting it down lightly and trying to push on it usually does not engage the latch all the way so you are basically running around with the hood not latched properly which was the case with his car.. I just showed him how to close it properly and his issue is resolved..
 
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twobjshelbys

GT Owner
Jul 26, 2010
6,053
Las Vegas, NV
yes basically you need to "kind" of slam the hood, just putting it down lightly and trying to push on it usually does not engage the latch all the way so you are basically running around with the hood not latched properly which was the case with his car.. I just showed him how to close it properly and his issue is resolved..

I found that for both frunk and clamshell that just letting gravity do it worked fine. It changed over time as the strength of the struts weakened. Near the end of the struts before replacing them I just let both drop from about 4 inches or so. You don't need to slam just let it fall. Just laying it into the hooks and pushing it down doesn't guarantee a complete connection especially for the clamshell.
 

Shark01

GT Owner
Jul 22, 2012
575
Houston Texas
Camilo demonstrated how to shut the clamshell on the Jay Leno video....so that is how I do it.
 

2112

Blue/white 06'
Mark II Lifetime
I found that for both frunk and clamshell that just letting gravity do it worked fine. It changed over time as the strength of the struts weakened. Near the end of the struts before replacing them I just let both drop from about 4 inches or so. You don't need to slam just let it fall. Just laying it into the hooks and pushing it down doesn't guarantee a complete connection especially for the clamshell.

With Fresh struts from Cooltech, I found I had to go back to semi-forceful shutting.
.
 
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soroush

Ford Gt Owner
Mark II Lifetime
Aug 8, 2007
5,256
I found that for both frunk and clamshell that just letting gravity do it worked fine. It changed over time as the strength of the struts weakened. Near the end of the struts before replacing them I just let both drop from about 4 inches or so. You don't need to slam just let it fall. Just laying it into the hooks and pushing it down doesn't guarantee a complete connection especially for the clamshell.
i have had two 05 GTs and neither would latch all the way by using the gravity method... not the hood or the clamshell. i suppose there could be slight differences on how they are adjusted from the factory and some cars may perform better than others, however that was not the case in my experience.
 

Nafod

GT Owner
Mark IV Lifetime
My experience is adjustment. My clamshell always require more of a slam, and typically the driver side would still not latch. Front would require less of a slam.. Every time I washed the car, water would seep through the drivers side weather-stripping on the door cutout. Water would be on the drivers seat after the wash.. This was how it arrived from Ford. Many years later, having Rich Brooks( The GT Guy) work on the car. Adjusting panels and doors, etc was on the list. New struts front and rear for clamshell and hood. I now close the front from about 2-3 inches, just drop it.. the clamshell from a few inches, but, we added the GT Guy clamshell release system, which adds a little resistance, I still feel Ive used to much force the close it. YMMV.

As for finding the Forum, took me almost 4 years of ownership to find it. Actually, my wife did. I just didn't do much with the internet back then.
 
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TO AWSUM

Ford GT Owner
Mark II Lifetime
Jul 4, 2007
1,506
Niceville FL
If something doesn't work as designed, I've always found slamming it or using a large hammer usually fixes it. I would never adjust anything to be within spec and function as designed.
 

GT@50

GT Owner
Mark II Lifetime
Dec 14, 2019
852
Issaquah
If something doesn't work as designed, I've always found slamming it or using a large hammer usually fixes it. I would never adjust anything to be within spec and function as designed.

Example-how they shut the door in Ford v Ferrari
 
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Jake

Member
Apr 8, 2021
19
Murrieta, CA
Where’s the best place to buy new front and rear struts?
 

nota4re

GT Owner
Mark IV Lifetime
Le Mans 2010 Supporter
Feb 15, 2006
4,176
We have front and rear gas struts in stock - all recent manufacture dates. We spend a lot of time getting these made because the availability through Ford has been on and off and on several occasions we received struts that has LESS pressure than the ones we were replacing.

Our superior quality replacement gas struts can be found HERE.
 

jaxgt

GT Owner
Mark IV Lifetime
Jul 12, 2006
2,794
^ Kendall's struts are awesome
 

PeteK

GT Owner
Mark II Lifetime
Apr 18, 2014
2,267
Kalama, Free part of WA State
They really stay up all night! 🤣