Hood Release Reminder

[DieselSpider]

As we take care of the brake booster, master cylinder, main battery cable, etc on the left side of the firewall its probably a good idea to check the hood release operation along with the main and emergency release cable.

I just had to replace a clutch cable that failed prematurely because the barrel on the pedal end of the Pioneer C-251 Clutch Cable is a little larger than the original causing it to bind in the pedal and during that activity I must have nudged the hood release cable causing the corroded jacket on it to fail and fully bind up. No problem because the emergency release was intact right....

It took over an hour of massaging and such to get the emergency hood release to work and the reason was during previous maintenance efforts by prior owners on the booster, brake lines, main battery cable, throttle cable, etc resulted in the emergency release cable becoming tangled up around most of them making it so there was no longer a straight pull to the hood latch. I came very close to removing the bumper and grill to access the hood hinges so I could remove them and crawl over the engine to get to the hood latch.

I made up a new main release cable out of some mechanics wire using some hard plastic tubing for the casing. I re-routed the emergency hood release for a straight pull and may route it through some tubing to help preventing it from getting tangled up again.

[DieselSpider]

I also added a bracket to anchor the release cable jacket on the latch to give it more positive action. Before the jacket was floating so that it moved with the cable and serving no real purpose.

[18Fiatsandcounting]

Good info Diesel, thanks for that. I've never had to use the emergency hood release, and about the only maintenance that I do is to periodically shoot some lithium spray grease on the pivot for the release handle and into the latch mechanism.

Do you think removing the hood hinges and tilting the hood up would work? The only other option that I can think of (other than cutting a hole in the hood) is to raise the car and from underneath, somehow get a long L-shaped metal rod up past the exhaust manifold and over the top of the engine, to push the latch mechanism release lever. Probably would require x-ray vision, or perhaps a boroscope inspection camera to allow you to see where to guide the metal rod.

Not a job I would look forward to...

-Bryan

[DieselSpider]

Removing the grill and then the hinges to lift the front of the hood to crawl over the engine is one method used to get to the hood latch and release it. Some have also drilled a hole in the fender liner and inserted an inspection camera with a hook on it to grab the release lever on the latch.

With the Diesel and re-routing of electrical, etc its a bit tight in that area with the head/valve cover almost touching the firewall and a heater hose crossing over the top of the valve cover right in front of the latch.

With the windchill it was effectively 33 degrees Fahrenheit this morning when I awoke so it was a bit rough finishing this up working outside. I removed the part I made yesterday to paint it and hung it to dry inside along with made a new steel ferrule to crimp the loop on the emergency release.

Still have to get back to what I was doing before all this which was the final free play adjustment for the clutch cable. I may need to make a new hook to connect the cable to the clutch fork because I do not feel they made the hook long enough to allow for the difference between the original Fiat transmission and the MSG5 transmission on the Diesel.

This is what the MSG5 cable end that engages with the clutch fork looks like compared to the Fiat clutch cable so the previous owner who did the conversion cobbled up something out of bar stock and some steel tube that sorta works but really limits the range of adjustment making the clutch engage very high even when new and at the end of its adjustment.

[RRoller123]

I bet we could pretty easily put in a small but heavy plastic stud on the firewall, drape the emergency release cable over it and redirect it downwards, maybe through a couple of eye hooks to keep it in place, and then just get under the car and pull straight down on the cable to release the latch? Or even a small lever arm to redirect the motion. It only has to move a very small amount to release the latch.

[DieselSpider]

I am seriously considering adding a second emergency release as others have mentioned.

[SteinOnkel]

My hood release cable managed to wriggle itself free of the bolt today. Thank goodness for the emergency cable!

In order to fix it, I had to remove the latch. Which was the undoing of my ever so gentle hood alignment from last year. Now it won't close at all grrrr. But we will remove it for painting soon anyways, so not the end of the world.

[greenspider]

Wow. I didn’t realize that there was an emergency hood release. I now see it in the operation manual and the factory repair manual. Fortunately, I’ve never needed to consider it. After 35 years of marriage, she still keeps it interesting.

[DieselSpider]

My hood release cable managed to wriggle itself free of the bolt today. Thank goodness for the emergency cable!

In order to fix it, I had to remove the latch. Which was the undoing of my ever so gentle hood alignment from last year. Now it won't close at all grrrr. But we will remove it for painting soon anyways, so not the end of the world.

Yes the alignment and adjustment of the release cable and latch can be very fussy. If you don't get it spot on it may not close at all or even after you think you've got it correct might pop open when you hit a minor bump in the road. Thankfully the hinges are in the front and the hood won't wrap itself over the top of the windshield if the latch fails while moving.

[spider2081]

I think the factory emergency release cable is marginable at best. Trying to pull a working one will often hurt because of the force required. I found using a screw driver in the loop to form a "T" handle makes pulling the emergency release a lot easier.
I like the idea of a sleeved cable. Great thought.

[kilrwail]

A good way to avoid these issues is to drill a small hole in the fender wall near the brake reservoir and run a twisted wire cable straight through it from the hood release mechanism. Use crimp fasteners on both ends with a loop on the outer end under the fender. This avoids the problem of trying to pull the factory emergency release cable through a 90 degree bend under the dash.

[SteinOnkel]

My emergency cable has a nice loop in the interior and works great.

Perhaps the DPO did something right.

Speaking of hood latches: Last year my partner and I tackled the timing belt job from hell on her 2002 Audi Alljunk Quattro. The factory manual states 23 (!) hours of labor. We did it in thirty. It involves removing the entire radiator support, front bumper and hood latch. For some odd reason, the hood latch worked fine when we put it back together, but when we went to get the car smogged we could not for the life of us get the hood to release. Emergency backup cable? Bahahaha yeah right. I think the spider is the only car that has this. Long story short, we had to go the stealership and have them do it, because they have a special slimjim like tool for exactly that. Cost us $150.

[18Fiatsandcounting]

The factory manual states 23 (!) hours of labor. We did it in thirty.

Good grief! At stealership labor rates somewhere around $100 per hour (maybe more), that would imply that replacing the timing belt is a $2,000 or more job. At that point, I would be looking to trade in the car rather than replace the timing belt...

You would think auto manufacturers would have better designed the replacement procedures for parts that routinely wear out (such as timing belts), but the cynical side of me thinks this is exactly what the auto manufacturer wants, namely, more money coming into the dealerships.

OK, [/Rant Off], and now back to your regular scheduled program of hood releases.

-Bryan

[DieselSpider]

A friend of mine bought a used Alpha Romeo and went through that sticker shock in the first 2 months of ownership. $4,000 of dealership maintenance in those first few months and it would need to be repeated on a regular basis since it was just scheduled maintenance. The day he bought it he brought it over to declare how much he loved the car, how it made him happy, life complete, etc, etc. After 2 months he tried to sell it and found nobody would pay even close to half what he did and he was crying about how the car was ruining his life and how he needed to be saved from it.

How quickly his First Love/Romance turned Sour!

[SteinOnkel]

The factory manual states 23 (!) hours of labor. We did it in thirty.

Good grief! At stealership labor rates somewhere around $100 per hour (maybe more), that would imply that replacing the timing belt is a $2,000 or more job. At that point, I would be looking to trade in the car rather than replace the timing belt...

You would think auto manufacturers would have better designed the replacement procedures for parts that routinely wear out (such as timing belts), but the cynical side of me thinks this is exactly what the auto manufacturer wants, namely, more money coming into the dealerships.

OK, [/Rant Off], and now back to your regular scheduled program of hood releases.

-Bryan

That's why we were able to buy the car off of a friend's dad for $1000. It had a lot of miles (like 200k) but he loved it dearly. Single owner, always dealer maintained. For better or for worse, that is. They cut so many damn corners. I'm so sick of people in this country spouting things like "I'm a professional mechanic!" with pride. Oh, so you're also too lazy to go replace fasteners properly? Or get this - on the Audi the steering rack boots had to be replaced. You would think they would have put the proper clips to hold them in place, being at the dealership and all. Nope - zip ties, baby! The car was full of stuff like that. And so is my partner's current ride - certified pre-owned 2018 Fiesta ST. We upgraded the stock radiator on it and surprise surprise the engine bay is already full of cut corners. At 25k miles. I don't trust anybody to touch my cars anymore. Not the dealership, the independent dickhead down the street and certainly not the "xyz guru*".

Oh and the going rate at Audi of Sacramento is more like $175 an hour.

*Speaking of, someone from my VW club recommended an engine builder that was local. So I went over there yesterday to talk shop on my hone job and block work. I didn't even get out of the car. Place looked like a damn junkyard. What kind of machinist has non-paved driveway at their shop!? One tiny piece of gravel makes its way from this dude's shoes into my crankshaft journal and the engine is scrap metal.