Bent hood hinges

[pasadena_commut]

The hood on my car has always been rotated a few millimeters. It was bought used and a previous owner wasn't too good putting things back together so I figured this was just one more thing he'd taken off and not put back on straight. However I tried to adjust the hood and there just wasn't enough play after loosening the 12mm (painted) and 13mm (not painted) bolts which hold the hood to the hinges. Then I took a closer look at the hinges themselves and realized that they are both bent. Pardon my artwork, but both hinges look like the attached image, as viewed from the front of the car with the hood open. The total bend is only about 4 millimeters at the most extreme point. To see it clearly I had to put a straight edge up against the side of the hinge. I'll try to take a photo later today. The forward tips of the hinges are almost exactly where they should have been had the hinges been straight, but they're pointing towards the driver's side, and that's the direction the hood points too.

So how does one straighten out a bent hood hinge?

I'm thinking remove the hood and then rig up some sort of bending jig to fix the hinges in situ. The manual at 9-10-2 says the finders have to come off to remove the hinges, and while it would be easier to straighten them off the car, it looks like more work taking off the fenders than rigging the bending jig.

Any hints from somebody who has previously straightened a hood hinge?

Thanks

 

[CrazyCaker]

I've never heard of a bent hood hinge. Has this car been in an accident? Because that would be the only logical reason as to why that would happen.

Please post pics of these bent hinges.

 

[pasadena_commut]

Has this car been in an accident? Because that would be the only logical reason as to why that would happen.

Yes, two that I know of. Rear ended once (when I owned it) and hit on the driver's side front fender under the previous owner's tenure. I knew they fixed that fender (not replaced, had it pounded out and repainted). There's a very slight ding/scratch on the structural part of the hood right above the left front wheel. I only found that today because I was looking carefully for hood damage. Perhaps when the fender was dinged it pushed up against the hood, which being latched at the time, resulted in the hinges bending?

Here are the pics. My wife held the ruler while I juggled the hood and the camera. As you can see the bend is pretty subtle, just a few millimeters. Still you can see that both hinges are bent in the same direction: curved like a C with the open part facing the driver's side. Not too surprisingly the bend seems to be just below the lower bolt on both sides.