BrokenquestTSI Posted March 15, 2008 Report Share Posted March 15, 2008 (edited) ok. i was gettin ready to change my spark plugs and when i popped my hood, the release cable broke. so i need someones experience with this and i know someone knows what to do on here. thanks for the help guys. dont know what id do without sq club. -BrokenquestTSi Edited September 4, 2009 by BrokenquestTSI Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrokenquestTSI Posted March 15, 2008 Author Report Share Posted March 15, 2008 need help asap if anyone can find the time to explain it. me and my uncle are gettin ready to put it on low ramps and check ourselves but i told him to let me check with you guys first to properly fix it ya know. thanks m Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DasGunner Posted March 15, 2008 Report Share Posted March 15, 2008 need help asap if anyone can find the time to explain it. me and my uncle are gettin ready to put it on low ramps and check ourselves but i told him to let me check with you guys first to properly fix it ya know. thanks m Not sure how ? Is it Uncle Steve? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrokenquestTSI Posted March 15, 2008 Author Report Share Posted March 15, 2008 no its my other uncle. lol so no one knows what to do? should i just put it on ramps and look for myself? that sucks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DasGunner Posted March 15, 2008 Report Share Posted March 15, 2008 no its my other uncle. lol so no one knows what to do? should i just put it on ramps and look for myself? that sucks. has to be somewhere to grab it with vise grips without damaging things Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DasGunner Posted March 15, 2008 Report Share Posted March 15, 2008 no its my other uncle. lol so no one knows what to do? should i just put it on ramps and look for myself? that sucks. has to be somewhere to grab it with vise grips without damaging things Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrokenquestTSI Posted March 15, 2008 Author Report Share Posted March 15, 2008 well i have to also specify that i pulled the cable alittle to see it that will work just to get the hood popped and the cable pulled out alittle more. so i hope thats not the thing you grab with vicegrips.......if so im in trouble. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DasGunner Posted March 15, 2008 Report Share Posted March 15, 2008 well i have to also specify that i pulled the cable alittle to see it that will work just to get the hood popped and the cable pulled out alittle more. so i hope thats not the thing you grab with vicegrips.......if so im in trouble. I guess it depends where the cable is broken? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrokenquestTSI Posted March 15, 2008 Author Report Share Posted March 15, 2008 man im pretty screwed then huh? im gettin ready to put it on ramps here in alittle bit. all the input is appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JAinsworth Posted March 15, 2008 Report Share Posted March 15, 2008 Take a loooonnnggg screwdriver and come in from the bottom. The lever is on the backside of the latch assembly, push it towards the driver's side. Jimmy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrokenquestTSI Posted March 15, 2008 Author Report Share Posted March 15, 2008 Ok. me and my stepdad and my uncle have been working on this for 3 hours and got absolutely nowhere. i need maybe alittlebit more elaboration. its ridiculous how hard it is to fix this. all i need is the hood popped. thats it. its really stressin me out. all i wanted to do was change my damn spark plugs! then this! ugh. thanks for the help but i cant find the lever. every one i tried to push with the long screwdriver wouldnt budge. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
89PalermoSHP Posted March 15, 2008 Report Share Posted March 15, 2008 Imagine your hood is open.... there is a black plate with a hole in it that the hood latch(part attached to the hood) latches to. The actual mechanism is bolted to the bottomside of this black plate(mines not black because I sandblasted it). http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w202/89PalermoSHP/plate2.jpg You need to get up underneath the car and move the lever over manually toward the driver side. He is what it looks like underneath. http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w202/89PalermoSHP/plate1.jpg It appears to be fairly difficult to reach straight up because the intercooler is in the way. Youll need something fairly long to reach it. Hope this helps a little Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrokenquestTSI Posted March 15, 2008 Author Report Share Posted March 15, 2008 is there ANY other way? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
89PalermoSHP Posted March 15, 2008 Report Share Posted March 15, 2008 Oh...chances are good you'll need a new cable so before you shut the hood again..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
89PalermoSHP Posted March 15, 2008 Report Share Posted March 15, 2008 is there ANY other way? You could get medieval on the header panel with a pair of pliers and a blowtorch. Unfortunatly, redundancy wasnt a consideration when they designed the hood latch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
89PalermoSHP Posted March 16, 2008 Report Share Posted March 16, 2008 Also... there will be tension on that latch since the hood spring is compressed. It wont simply fall into place. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrokenquestTSI Posted March 16, 2008 Author Report Share Posted March 16, 2008 well thanks alot. it really helps with pics. i posted "is there any other way" before i saw that post you put. ill try again tommorow when i take it all apart again. i also needed to knoe how much resistance it has so you helped me out with thats too. cool. -Broken Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wolf87Conquest Posted March 16, 2008 Report Share Posted March 16, 2008 You could try it this way: The grille is held in by a few screws and once removed, if your hands aren't too large, you can get at the latch. A pair of long nosed pliers might help if there is any of the cable long enough to grasp. A flashlight focused on the area will be helpful to see what you need to do. I've heard that removing the driver's side headlight can get you in. Good luck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TexasQuest Posted March 16, 2008 Report Share Posted March 16, 2008 Same thing happened to me right after I bought the car. I attacked it from the bottom with a long screwdriver like JAinsworth suggested. After alot of prying and a few choice words I popped it lose. I just took some hood latch cable, connected it to the latch on one end and let it dangle down by the intercooler til I feel like replacing the cable with a new on I've got. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrokenquestTSI Posted March 16, 2008 Author Report Share Posted March 16, 2008 well, i tried all that.(remove grille and put in hands and flashlight) no luck. i was talkin about removing the headlight, but it got dark and i was all stressed out, and i still had to drive home from where i was at so i put it all back together and ill have to try tommorrow or something. my cable snapped right where the latch is. needlenose plyers dont work, its too small. replacing the cables sure to be a pain in the @$$. thanks for the help dude. -Broken Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TexasQuest Posted March 16, 2008 Report Share Posted March 16, 2008 replacing the cables sure to be a pain in the @$$. thanks for the help dude. -Broken I know how you feel man. I was so pissed I couldn't see straight but keep working at it, you'll get it. I kept thinking what a dumba** design knowing they knew the wire would get chaffed and eventually break. The main reason I still have a temporary fix to it is because of how big of a pain it is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrokenquestTSI Posted March 16, 2008 Author Report Share Posted March 16, 2008 i wish i could have it rigged like you.....and i was cursing the car the WHOLE time cuz they made the car so that if this cable snaps you have to junk the damn thing or somethin..........me and my friend are workin on it tomorrow and he thinks he can fix it. i hope cuz this is some B.S. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dcrasta Posted March 17, 2008 Report Share Posted March 17, 2008 Get a 3 1/2 long piece of heavy brake line, flatten one end and bend it so its shaped like a '7' Lay on your back, look up you will see the bottom of the latch. using the core support wedge the line in there and work it against the latch until you 'pop' it Sometimes it helps to get someone to gently push down on the hood to relieve the spring pressure that is pushing against the latch. ******* Replacing the cable!****** Pull some of the housing into the car. Using heavy ductape, tape the new cable to the old housing and fish it back through into the engine compartment (otherwise its a royal headache!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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