Hood won't latch?

[oldskool3]

Hey guys recently my hood cable snapped at the lever and now my hood won't latch. Any idea on how to fix the latch to get it to stay closed? How hard is it to replace the hood release cable? Thanks

[E30_fiend]

If it snapped at the handle then you'll be ok. Just grab a pair of vise grips and nab the cable end and pull it a few times. Sometimes the latch can get stuck because of non lubrication of the latch itself. Just try to jar it a few times, if that doesn't work then lift the hood and look at the latch. If it looks dry then it may need some WD-40 or PB blaster to free it up. What I did when mine was getting stuck all the time was I put some grease in the latch and played with the latch with a screwdriver to simulate opening and closing. I haven't had problems since then.

And replacing the cable if very simple. The only hard part is getting the grommet back in its hole to seal it from water. Take off your knee bolster and remove the handle from the car. Follow with your hand the cable until it meets the firewall. If you can push the grommet through with your fingers then good. I used a flat head screwdriver and pushed it through. Once its through, follow the cable allong the fender and over to the latch. The way the cable is hooked is rather self explanitory. Unhook it and the installation is reverse of the removal. Install the new one and test it out.

Good luck!!!


E30_Fiend

[oldskool3]

Sweet deal! Thanks a lot for the tips I am going to order a new cable tomorrow and see if I can get my hood to latch. thanks again

[E30_fiend]

Sweet deal! Thanks a lot for the tips I am going to order a new cable tomorrow and see if I can get my hood to latch. thanks again

No problem at all

[CntrlcoastE30's]

Hey guys recently my hood cable snapped at the lever and now my hood won't latch. Any idea on how to fix the latch to get it to stay closed? How hard is it to replace the hood release cable? Thanks

If you are going to replace your cable you might as well remove the latch, clean off all of the original grease. Re-lubricate it, re-install it and not worry about it for another 10 years or more.