I'm curious to know if there's a way to correctly adjust the engine hood latch on an AP2 so it grabs the hood a bit more solidly. I've been suffering from an annoying squeak which would show up on rough pavement only after driving for a while. I suspect it's triggered by metal expansion as the engine compartment gets hotter.

At any rate, after searching S2KI I found a reference to the hood latch squeak, and subsequently found my hood latch was dry as a bone. And the square metal loop on the hood was worn away a small amount from friction. It's now got a generous dollop of lithium-based grease, so I'll soon know if that fixes the problem. I've got my fingers crossed, because random squeaks and rattles are really hard to find.

However, I'd like to tighten the latch's grip on that loop of possible, to keep it from moving and wearing the metal even more. Any suggestions?

It's rather embarrassing to be driving along with a very loud squeak that can be easily heard outside the car!

 

I never heard of such a problem before. I guess you could loosen the screws, adjust and re-tighten them to see if that helps.

 

Well, this indeed turned out to be the problem.

After lubricating the latch and adjusting the locking mechanism downward to tighten the grip, the squeaking seems to have disappeared. I tested for two days, driving some very bumpy Vancouver streets (those are easy to find), and I have not heard a single squeak. Problem solved.