Hood Cable Replacement and you! 56K no-no

[86 Wonder Wedge]

Well, the dreaded happened the other day. I went to go check the fluids and this is what I ended up with!

 

 

 

So I ordered the new cable online (Park Suabru, ordered it Sun night and arrived Tuesday morn. $14.23. :rock: )

 

Hood Release Cable, part number 57331GA122

 

 

 

But there was a major problem. How the *%&^ do I open the hood w/o destroying the grille, hood or other stuff.

 

(If your hood is open, then skip ahead to the cable replacement part)

 

 

 

Well, for those of us with large hands, an A/C condenser or want to just make it easy, the ever useful slim-jim to the rescue! It was as if this tool was made for this job..

 

Available at ANY auto parts stores, can be had for around 7 bucks and has helped me and MANY stranded people. (Disclaimer: Never use this tool for malicious use. With a great tool comes great responsibility)

 

 

Coming from up under the bumper using the notched spade-head side (not the fishtail side), on the driver's side, in front of the A/C condenser, angle the slim-jim at a ~45 degree angle and starting just below the assembly, slide up behind the latch mechanism. Now while flexing the tool toward the grille and dragging it outward toward the headlight, you should feel it catch. This is the latch release. Continue to pull the tool horizontally (toward the headlight, not down toward the marker light/ground) until the hood releases. Viola!

 

Here are some images once I felt the slim-jim catch the release lever.

 

(grille removed for clarity)

 

Under car, looking up.

 

 

Now that the hood is open, we can get to work!

 

So I started by releasing the 4 plastic anchor clips that hold the cable to the inner fender and core support.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Remove the 3 bolts that hold the latch to the core support (you will need to do this if part of the cable is still attached AND to hook the new anchor into the mechanism when installing the new cable)

 

backside with the cable anchor attached

 

Remove the 2 screws holding the cable shield to the latch and the core support.

(Set aside the latch)

 

Near the cable end, remove the tear-drop bracket attached to the old cable (you will need to re-use this). Be gentle, it will butterfly apart and then set aside.

 

With patience, work the cable through the pass-through in the core support, around the battery and under the strut tower support plate.

 

Now feed the old cable through the rubber grommet on the driver's side firewall until approx 6-8" are left in the engine bay.

 

 

Move to the inside.

 

Using a phillips screwdriver, Undo the 2 screws holding the hood release cable bracket to the bulkhead.

 

 

Once free, take the head of the new cable and tape to the old cable. Wrap several times so the head will not catch on any wires or insulation.

 

Back into the engine bay.

 

Gently peel back the rubber rectangle grommet and pull the old cable up through the grommet until the new cable attached to the old cable is visible.

 

 

Undo the new cable from the old.

 

Push the old cable back through the grommet completely.

 

Push the new cable through the open hole in the grommet.

 

Push the grommet back into place on the firewall. Make sure to massage the edges well to get a good seal. Water DOES like to nest up there...

 

Back inside.

 

Attach the new cable/bracket assembly back to the bulkhead. The screw holes were very easy to find.

 

Back outside.

 

Feed the new cable following the route the old one took (Under the strut tower support plate, along the inner fender, UNDER the body grounding cable, UNDER the coolant resevoir feed tube and back through the hole in the core support)

 

Be sure to put the protective grommet back around the cable BEFORE you attach the cable anchor to the latch assembly.

 

With the anchor in the cradle of the latch, attach the latch to the core support.

 

Replace screws to the cable shield.

 

Finally, anchor cable to sheetmetal with the plastic retainers. DO THIS STEP LAST. Once the cable has the plastic anchors on, it becomes NEARLY impossible to slide the cable in the retainers.

 

Test pull a few times checking for binding, lack of return or general badness (yeah, it's a word.   ) BEFORE closing the hood.

 

If all is good, close the hood to check for binding or excessive force.

 

Grab a beer and enjoy the luxury of having a cable operated hood latch once again!

[rdweninger]

What vehicle are you working on?

I have two 1985 EA82 Wagons that have broken hood release cables.   I just have a super secret anti-theft device tucked under my bumper to release the hood.   But for $14, maybe I should fix it properly.   Does the cable come with the T-handle (where you pull it)?   I'm missing both mine.  Thanks for the post.   Couldn't see the pics, though.

[scoobiedubie]

All you do is remove the three screws that hold the grill on, using a phillips screwdriver. Then in the grill area, remove the 3 bolts/screws that hold the lower part of the latch to the cross frame above the radiator. Most cables break right at the latch. The hood then lifts right up with the lower half of the latch attached.

 

When attempting to thread the new cable into the hole that comes out underneath the hood, you duct tape a four foot long lead wire to the broken end of the old cable before removing it. After unbolting the latch handle by your left knee, you draw the old cable out and pull the four foot lead with it, but do not fully remove the lead wire. When you reinstall the new cable, you duct tape it to the bottom end of the dangling four foot lead, and then pull up on the four foot lead to pull the new cable back up through the hole beneath the hood. Piece of cake.

[NickNakorn]

You can open the bonnet by operating the latch with your fingers. Reach under the bumper and put your arm up between the radiator and the grill and feel for the latch to which the bonnet wire is normally attached. I used this method for weeks until I got around to a temporary fix.

I ordered a new wire on a T handle but ordered the wrong type - don't get a 'piano wire' version get the 'inner Bowden' version. They both cost £4.50 ish

Edited April 11, 2013 by NickNakorn

[l75eya]

I've had two 3 feet long pieces of Romex electrical wire (black and white) tucked into the lower valence of the Loyale for 2 years now since the hood cable broke. To open the hood simply hook the wires from inside the valence with my pinky, slight tug to the right and the hood pops, and tuck the wires back in.

Ordering a hood cable and installing it and what-not, that's all the ghetto way to do it.

Just do it right the first time and throw some wire in there. =P

Hehe, just kidding. To each their own of course! I don't mind having my hood ghetto rigged but that's not the case for all. Nice write-up!

[MR_Loyale]

I lost patience when mine broke and let's just say the grill is "modded" now.

[AWD J3wman]

Is this stickied or in the FAQs?

[AWD J3wman]

also anything we can do about the broken photo links?

[MC1r]

Wow, this would be so helpful if only the photos were here!? Any chance somebody can fix the broken photo links? I'm desperate to get my hood open, and can't find visual aids anywhere online (like, precisely where under the bumper? What exactly am I looking for?) I really need visuals because it's parked in a dark spot, and no flashlights are strong enough to see what I'm doing. SO frustrating!

My 2004 Subaru Outback is a doorstop until I can get the darn hood open.

[MR_Loyale]

Wow, this would be so helpful if only the photos were here!? Any chance somebody can fix the broken photo links? I'm desperate to get my hood open, and can't find visual aids anywhere online (like, precisely where under the bumper? What exactly am I looking for?) I really need visuals because it's parked in a dark spot, and no flashlights are strong enough to see what I'm doing. SO frustrating!

 

My 2004 Subaru Outback is a doorstop until I can get the darn hood open.

 

These instructions are for an EA82 and likely the pictures won't be much help on a 2004 as the last EA82 was made in 1994.

[joe5]

Any tips on threading the new cable through if the broken one has already been yanked out?