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What to do if your hood release cable breaks


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  • 2 months later...

Oh yeah been there done that. Except i screwed mine up trying to adjust metal rods so it would open easier and then would not open at all.

Had to get the guy at the 4x4 shop down the street to fix it for me.Thank god he did not charge me for it. Thanks for the topic.

The hood pins sounds like a good idea though. So I think ill do that at some point in time.

in the mean time I'm gonna lube my hood latches and hood release with some good old vaseline i have a big jar of it so... :cheers:

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  • 1 year later...

Been using Dri-Slide on my motorcycle cables for years and tried it on the hood cable. It has a needle applicator that you can insert into the cable sheath and squirt it in until it flows out the other end. Can pull the hood release cable with two fingers now. Good stuff.

 

41-hXRE-WxL._SL500_AA300_.jpg

 

Would you recommend this product for lubricating the mechanical speedometer cable? Mine's a bit wiggly, and I was hopping to kill two birds with one stone with this lube.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Found this thread looking for something else and didn't see the other way to do it in here though I may have missed it. If you lay under the front with your legs facing out the front and look up directly between the motor and radiator and in between the electric and mechanical fans you can actually see the rod that connects both latches. Pull yourself up by the crossmember with one hand and grab the rod with the other and pull straight down and the hood will release. Takes a little effort to pop it out the plastic clips but it works and it's easier than taking a headlight out.

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  • 1 month later...

My release wouldn't budge at the handle. My buddy was able to get the p/s to release. I pulled the grill off & saw the skinny rod/linkage that opens latches. I tried pulling down on the d/s one w/one finger & it broke! Used the channel locks to grab the d/s linkage & open latch. The linkage had come out of the plastic holders & gotten slightly bent, possibly when I was cleaning the inside of the hood last week. Repaired d/s rod w/ 5 min epoxy & Gorilla tape. So far so good...

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  • 4 weeks later...
  • 3 months later...
  • 3 months later...

The hood release latches/ spring mechanism on the inside of engine compartment of my 87 'Manche apparently are missing. I have to reach through grill to pull the center catch back to open hood. Is there a part I can order to replace this and how much are they usually?

 

Thinking about installing hood pins as well they look awesome to me.

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  • 3 months later...
  • 1 year later...

I didn't see anyone mention this so I figured I'd let everyone know that there is an easier way than disassembling the front end if your release handle breaks off close to the lever. You can cut the rubber sleeving back on the cable and expose the cable. Hold the still sleeved part of the cable with one hand and pull the cable with pliers with the other and it will pop the hood. This will only work if it breaks within a few inches of the release lever. Did this on my friends XJ and he left it like that cause he was too cheap to buy the cable.

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  • 3 months later...

 

White lithium grease (or similar) every second oil change. I can open my hood with one finger :D

Applying it on the rods under the hood?

 

 

Yes - all of the moving parts under there.

 

Also keep in mind that I don't drive my trucks much, so two oil changes ends up being about every 8 months or so if it seems like an awful lot of hood hinge greasing.

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  • 10 months later...

Well, this thread to the rescue. 

Its -30°F today so of course this is the day I choose the resurrect the XJ sitting in my parents' driveway that hasn't been touched since March. 

tzLniEJ.jpg

Day started off great, my parents daily's battery is on its way out and the immobilizer the insurance company had installed doesn't like the cold... So that was interesting. Fortunateky the remote starter bypasses that garbage so it would start after some time on the charger but it took a half hour before the junk was warm enough to behave. Then finally I can get it around to boost the XJ but I'm guessing the XJ's hood latch is frozen, cause as hard as I can pull on the handle, she won't budge. Inside for a cup of coffee, then it'll be back out there for some alternative strategies. 

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7 minutes ago, gogmorgo said:

Its -30°F today so of course this is the day I choose the resurrect the XJ sitting in my parents' driveway...

I'm not gonna lie, it's 60* warmer here and I'm miserably cold... I dunno how you cold weather folks do it, but kudos to you.... Is it the Tim Hortons Coffee? Good luck with the XJ!

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