Hood release cable old and stretching, can't open my hood

One problem after another...

Can anyone shed some light? It's not broken, just stretching badly right at the interior release lever (under the wheel). I took the trim off and trying to pull on it with pliers, but no go. Anyone's got any clue how to open the hood in that situation?

could you ask someone to apply pressure on the hood (on top of the latch) to release some tension while pulling the cable with a locking pliers? good luck mate...it is cold in Toronto.

Originally Posted by mechanic_101

could you ask someone to apply pressure on the hood (on top of the latch) to release some tension while pulling the cable with a locking pliers? good luck mate...it is cold in Toronto.

Yup, I was thinking that as well. Thanks - that'll be my next attempt.

By the way - is there a cable replacement DIY anywhere out there for our ride? Can't believe it never happend to anyone else. ?? Also, I could swear I remembered some cars can have their hoods poped from the outside through the grille with a long scredriver, was it E46??

Damn, I had just finished a nightmare job with oil separator and went to the carwash to spray and clean the engine from oil, when this **** happened! Hasn't been 24 hours since that last repair and back at it...

I know in my mr2 the plastic thing would break and not put enough tension to open the engine cover, i removed the pull handle and did it myself by holding the plastic and pulling the cable manually worked good enough but i did have to get a new cable

Originally Posted by yogi799

Yup, I was thinking that as well. Thanks - that'll be my next attempt.

By the way - is there a cable replacement DIY anywhere out there for our ride? Can't believe it never happend to anyone else. ?? Also, I could swear I remembered some cars can have their hoods poped from the outside through the grille with a long scredriver, was it E46??

Damn, I had just finished a nightmare job with oil separator and went to the carwash to spray and clean the engine from oil, when this **** happened! Hasn't been 24 hours since that last repair and back at it...

Mine happened recently, need help also?

Originally Posted by 2002ci

Mine happened recently, need help also?

I've been pulling that da%^& cable with pliers from under the wheel and no luck. Already damaged that end of the cable and it ain't working... I am stuck with removing the grille, that is my last resort. I haven't been able to get to my engine bay for a month now. Fresh after CCV replacement, too. Can't check oil or anything. This SUCKS!

Oh, and there's basically no help on this topic anywhere, so all we have is ourselves here and now, I guess...

The lever in the footwell should disassemble and you can grab the wire with some pliers to pull a little more. Also it helps to have someone push down on the hood.

I don't even want to start on what part of it can cause these problems. It's frustrating just thinking about it.

I fixed this damn thing... Replaced all linkages and two hood locks. Forgot to shoot pictures. Toughest part was to open the hood from outside. Almost impossible, but there is a trick... Removing the grille didn't work for me, as I'd basically have to break it (new one ain't too expensive though). Removing the grille does not automatically mean you will open the hood, it's a tough sucker. Anyway, if anyone out there needs help, I can offer some. Really sorry I did not take the pics. All parts cost me $200! (3 cables and 2 locks). Now it's like new though, the whole nine yards! Good for next 10 years... LOL Hope other parts like the engine and the tranny can keep up! LOL

Originally Posted by mkodama

The lever in the footwell should disassemble and you can grab the wire with some pliers to pull a little more. Also it helps to have someone push down on the hood.

I don't even want to start on what part of it can cause these problems. It's frustrating just thinking about it.

Oh, and pulling the cable under the wheel was no use... I found out the hard way. Basically my hood cable separated itself from the left hood lock (age), which is then connected to the right one, which means... I WAS COMPLETELY FU$%^...

OK, Here is a small time DIY, or more just an explanation what can happen after 10 years so you can know what to do about it when it happens.

Here are my old parts, two cables - part #7 and #8, locks - part #15, are upside down (pic is missing a cable going to the inside of the car, called Engine Cable Mechanism, part #6, other two cables are called 'bowden cables'). http://www.realoem.com/bmw/showparts...=41&fg=35&hl=1




Zoom on the passenger lock, as you can see - pretty ugly, especially where the cable hooks into the lock - the corrosion has bonded the two things so I couldn't even remove the cable from the lock for cleaning, hence I decided to get a new lock (also for another reason, next pic...)



Zoom on the "main" driver side lock. This one serves a dual purpose. It releases the driver's side of the hood as well as pulls on the Center Bowden Cable (part #8) in order to release the passenger side of the hood.

As you can see, what happened in my case that almost screwed me up huge time, because of extra work that this lock has to perform and due to age, the main plastic hook (each lock has two) broke off - severing the main connection of the linkeage with the locks. The cable has this cylindrical connection that catches into the plastic hook. That's why my pulling with inhumane force from inside of the car resulted only in doing permanent damage to the interior cable (#6), which was fine to begin with, as no corrosion gets to it. There was no way this pulling could do anything, as there was no connection. So extra damage, worth $50 CAD. That's also the reason I bought a new passenger lock - to make sure the plastic hook was brand new, as its failure (breaking) would only allow me to open the driver's lock.



Here is my temporary solution that I came up with once I finally opened the hood and removed the locks to see what had happened. I used a strong wire to connect to the main driver's lock so I could close the hood and get to work for the next couple of days. This allowed me to shut the hood and be able to pull on the wire - which was sticking out right in front of the driver's headlamp - in order to release both locks if needed. This worked pretty well, I was able to open and close the hood several times before the stealer could get all my parts in. All in all, 'only' $200....



Now, don't ask me how to open the hood when that happens. The only hint I will give you, you can rather easily open the passenger's lock through the grille bars. You need long thin pair of pliers and a long screwdriver. You catch the wire through the grille and use the screwdriver to push them (holding the release cable right by the lock) towards the centre of the car along the cable. This will easily release that lock. How to unlock the driver's side??? Beats me... I think I must have said enough prayers... There is really almost no way you can do that from the outside. I was is such despair that I started pulling aggressively on the passenger side of the hood.. I thought I might break it, but I didn't care. I was hoping I would somehow force that driver's lock to let go... which it did LOL!

Originally Posted by yogi799

Yup, I was thinking that as well. Thanks - that'll be my next attempt.

By the way - is there a cable replacement DIY anywhere out there for our ride? Can't believe it never happend to anyone else. ?? Also, I could swear I remembered some cars can have their hoods poped from the outside through the grille with a long scredriver, was it E46??

Damn, I had just finished a nightmare job with oil separator and went to the carwash to spray and clean the engine from oil, when this **** happened! Hasn't been 24 hours since that last repair and back at it...

www.bavauto.com sells them for about $27,

Originally Posted by yogi799

Yup, I was thinking that as well. Thanks - that'll be my next attempt.

By the way - is there a cable replacement DIY anywhere out there for our ride? Can't believe it never happend to anyone else. ?? Also, I could swear I remembered some cars can have their hoods poped from the outside through the grille with a long scredriver, was it E46??

Damn, I had just finished a nightmare job with oil separator and went to the carwash to spray and clean the engine from oil, when this **** happened! Hasn't been 24 hours since that last repair and back at it...

www.bavauto.com sells them for about $27,they also sell the other cable and lower catches.

When replacing the bowden cables, you can grease them up a little to help prevent rust and lubricate the cables for ease of use. Had to replace mine, so far so good though.