Zip-ties work. I've been using them for four years, and had to replace one once that broke. So, keep an eye on them. And, you want the 11" length, not the shorter ones. Make sure that you buy some that are okay to use outdoors (some are for indoor use only). And, no, you don't have to cut them in order to open the hood. Well, if you do then you've put them on incorrectly. And don't put them too tight because when you latch the hood the latch must stretch a little to actually over-center and snap into place.



You can see on this picture how loose to put the zip-tie ...

 

I took the spring out and no flutter.

 

I need to do one of these fixes. Expierenced the flutter for the first time last weekend. Scared the crap out of me. I am leaning towards swapping out for the more rigid strap.

 

daystar is the best.

 

Just take the spring out. There is no need for it and it costs nothing.

 

I sure enjoy reading this thread.

 

I installed my Daystars when it was about 40 degrees out. Here's the trick...

A bucket of hot water.

I didn't remove the lower mounts, as it's a nightmare getting to those nuts. Instead, I used a razor saw (a hacksaw blade works well too) to cut through the plastic covering of the pins.

Slip the saw between the rubber dog bone and the mount. Saw through the plastic. Rotate the pin about 120 degrees and cut again. Rotate another 120 degrees and make the final cut.

Grab the ends of the pin with vice grips of channel lock pliers and twist. The plastic will snap and you can withdraw the pin and remove the entire dog bone assembly. This will leave the mount on the Jeep. Use the same method to remove the upper pin.

Assemble the upper latch lever into the dog bone, tightening the two-piece retaining pin/screw. Repeat for both sides.

Take the two assemblies and soak them in a bucket of hot water. Wait about 15 minutes to fully heat soak the urethane dog bones.

Next, take one out of the water, align it in the lower mount. Push in the two halves of the retaining pin/screw and tighten. Latch it before it cools. Repeat on the other side. Re-tighten all hardware when installation is complete.

Try to avoid opening the latches for a few days so that they stretch and take a set. Otherwise, you'll have a hell of a time getting them to stretch to re-latch.

I'm sorry that I didn't photograph the process. However, I simply didn't have time to diddle around or the rubbers would cool off.