hood stuck...

[deltathunder]

Quick question about some trouble I have encountered with my 1984 delta 88. She needed a jump so I went to pop the hood (hasn't been opened in quite a while and last time i did it was tough) and I was ready to liquid wrench all moving hood parts until I realized that it would not open when I pulled the cable. I don't know what else to do I had someone pull the cable while I pushed down and everything I even tried pushing from underneath the thing. I am at a loss. Help if you can!
Good news is I went to the flashlight drags in zileanople pa and saw a pretty nice looking vista cruiser that only raced a few times but it was fast! Also a very very nice black 442 was present which made it to the "big dog" catagory but lost in the first race of it to the camaro which eventually won the catagory. It was a cold track and the 442 could barely hook up, you know how it is I could make excuses all day.
-John

[Oldsguy]

The cable hood release may have rusted up and broken, if you can get underneath and see the cable you might be able to grab the cable part and pull it with some vise grips. Good luck.

[deltathunder]

hey thanks oldsguy. I can hear something when I pull it though almost as if it is releasing. do you think maybe it could have gained slack somehow and isn't realeasing all the way and I could still grab the cable like you said. Worth a try I suppose.

[Oldsguy]

Yeah, it's about all I can say. It is definitely what I would do first anyway. Let us know..

[deltathunder]

Much appreciated I will update tommorow or monday I hope right now I have a long motorcycle ride in the cold to tackle (was supposed to start a half hour ago) but once the sun comes back I will give it a go.

[deltathunder]

for anyone who cares to know I just got back from my bike trip and I pulled the cable for kicks. She popped right open.

[joe_padavano]

Originally Posted by deltathunder

for anyone who cares to know I just got back from my bike trip and I pulled the cable for kicks. She popped right open.

One problem with cable hood release mechanisms is that the cable can stretch slightly over time. In addition, the mating surfaces of the latch mechanism get roughed up due to vibration. The result is that the cable doesn't quite pull far enough to fully release the latch. I've had this problem on my pickup. When it happens, the hood pops open a little, but does not completely clear the latch. Often tapping on the leading edge of the hood will disengage the latch. The fix is frequent lubrication of the latch mechanism with a quality white lithium grease. I've been using the spray can version with much success.