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Cirrus hood release broke...

flagmanruss
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flagmanruss

flagmanruss

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Auto Parts guy popped the hood to show me where the part (to turn out the CEL) installs. Now the hood release is flopping around at my left ankle & the hood is stuck down. Anybody know how to reach it?

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Mopar1973Man

Mopar1973Man

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Ekkk... :duh:Well for the training I had for the fire dept is take a axe break out the grill and the grab the cable with a gloved hand and pull.But in your case we need to fix it without breaking more stuff. The only way I can see doing it is getting the grill out some way so you can access the latch.

stodg73

stodg73

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You should be able to use a long screwdriver to reach the release, to pop it open. Otherwise, I am not sure as to how to open it. The book that I have for the Cirrus does not even show the hood latch.

flagmanruss

flagmanruss

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On the inside, I can see the cable move so the core must be broken. No chance to vise grip the cable end.No visible screws to remove grill.I can see the hood release assembly through the (fragile) grill... it's not as far back as I had feared. Most of the assembly is concealed. There is on tab (probably end of a lever) in a slot... seems to be toward the driver's side. I was unable to budge it & grill was not strong enough to use for a fulcrum.Plan A: Snake a wire in from the passenger's side, catch a skinny screw driver in that slot... pullPlan B: Hook the shield of the broken cable through the grill. Pull until it breaks. (It's broke anyway) Fish end out. (Hopefully cable not broke at the mechanism.)Plan C: Gently flex grill bars (spread), get a socket in there. Unbolt hook latch assembly. Lift hood.

flagmanruss

flagmanruss

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45/70 right between the headlights!!Does anybody have a latch like this to actually look at with the hood up? Am I prying in the right directon?

stodg73

stodg73

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The latch should only move about 1" total one way or the other, so you may have to have the wife push down slightly on the hood in order to relieve some tension on the spring/latch, in order to pop the latch.

flagmanruss

flagmanruss

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97 Cirrus in my signature. It's too late to look now but will look at the truck in the morning & see what I can learn.

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I looked at the latch in the truck... very different, at least in outward orientation of the parts. I'm thinking the part I thought should move is not. So I'm thinking to try to fish a wire with a hook into the assembly from the driver's side to try to snag the lever the cable used to go to.

--- Update to the previous post...

I got the hood open!!

It's hard to even see into this area... need dim outside light & flashlight. Also need to get down on the ground (easy for me) and then get back up (not so much). I brought out a big hunk of cardboard to work on. Much better.

I decided to try for the hole the hood release cable goes through. It took some doing as I had to go in over the headlight then coax the wire down in front of the grill to the latch. I worked a wire with a hook on the end into the hole, used a vise grip to grab the wire & after a few tries, got the lever & POP!! The hood was unlatched!

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The rectangular hole is the safety catch so that was a waste of time & energy.

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The hole under the cable... easy to see now!

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There does not appear to be anything wrong with the latch... The steel ball on the cable seems to have rusted so that it slipped through the rusty slot in the lever. I'm going to find some way to build this ball up & I'll be back in business. I'll be darned if I'm going to replace a cable, solely because of a tiny ball on the end! At least not without a fight. Oh, yes, while I have this out... maybe a cable with a ring that could be fished through the grill to release if this happens again.

MarbleCrusher

MarbleCrusher

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Id clean the assembly up, maybe some paint or a good coat of wd-40 to prevent future rust problems. Everytime I change my oil i lube up the latch, cable and all my door lock and catch assemblies.-Jordan-

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Mopar1973Man

Mopar1973Man

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I'm with MarbleCrusher... I do the same thing I walk around the truck with a oil can giving all the latches a shot of engine oil... Most of the time I won't even wipe up the drips (rust preventer).:lol: But I do it about once a month because of all the dust and dirt, water, ice, salt, etc...

flagmanruss

flagmanruss

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I've been downstairs in the machine shop (hobby corner... depends what I'm doing any particular moment, LOL!)...

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Big Boys Toys... My South Bend

I grabbed a piece of 1/2"d scrap red bronze, chucked in the SouthBend & made a thick washer with a ball seat for the cable. I used a dremel to cut a slot to the center hole. It ought to just stay there wedged like a valve retainer but I think I'll try to crimp the slot closed. There appears to be enough free play in the cable by my guestimation. If this works, I'll put a picture up.

My buddy, the retired mechanic, says "That'll never work, ya gotta buy a new cable!" Then again, I'm not paying myself machinists wages. I also think I got lucky the cable is not broken.

For the record, the hood release worked easily... not even jammed. I think this is the parts eatten away, not a effort problem. i suppose some oil might delay the rust some...

--- Update to the previous post...

I went out early to try out my repair part.

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This is the thick bronze washer I made... to repair the cable end of the hood release. The loop for the wire lanyard (Emergency Release) that I threaded onto the trip lever is to the right. I can easily hook the ring on the other end of the lanyard if the cable fails again.

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The repair washer installed. Emergency release lanyard shows also.

The hood closes & latches normally... and releases... I'll go out later & oil this up when the mosquitos are not so thick.

flagmanruss

flagmanruss

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Yes, I got lucky. Worst case, I figured that after I got the hood open, I'd be driving it to the garage on the safety catch. Maybe these pictures will help the next guy too. I scored my wife's old digi-camera... now I can take my own pictures! I added another picture to my last post.

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