The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area The Tool Chest Adjustable Hood Prop

Being tired of bumping my head on the hood I started carrying a piece of 1x2 with me to prop the hood open (someone in the past put 20 pounds of undercoat under the hood). I recently discovered the adjustable hood prop. There are several types on the market but I settled on the Performance Tool version. It's light weight and easy to use. It has a twist-to-lock system to hold it in place at the desired length. It's about 40" long extended. Reading the feedback on the sites selling it, some folks overtighten it and have trouble getting it to loosen up to collapse it. I've had no problem with that. Don't Godzilla hand it when tightening and it'll be fine. I tighten it to about the same force as turning a door knob at home. FYI you can get it through your FLAPS.

Great find, Tiny!! There is also this non-twist style. These are also great for holding the brake pedal while you check your brake lights, and sometimes great for holding the gas pedal when you need to hold a higher RPM. In California, fleet diesels are held to a 5 minute idle rule. Sometimes, as a mechanic, you don't want that thing shutting off on you after 5 minutes. So you use the prop to hold the pedal off idle until you are done with your work.

I've had one (as shown in pic provided by MNSmith) in my garage for a few years. As mentioned above, also good for testing a car's brake lights, by placing the prop between the brake pedal and the front seat. Adjust length to activate the brake light.