What to do when your s30 hood release cable breaks!

[1 tuff z]

For those of you with an inline 6 under the hood this may seem fairly simple.  Put the Z on jackstands, reach from underneath with a long screwdriver and release the hood latch.

 

I was at Watkins Glen this past weekend and after my 2nd session on Saturday attempted to open my hood [to let the LS1 'breath' a little and give the fluids a quick check] but the only thing that happened was the hood knob continuing to pull until the entire inner cable was removed and yours truly frustrated.

 

So, I quickly jack up the car to use the old trick of underneath release only to discover [duh] that the v8 is significantly wider than the 6 and there is no way to get to it.

 

Next plan, I figure I can unbolt the hood from the hinges [carefully so they don't violently pop up and dent the hood due to the torsion bar pressure], slightly lift the hood leading edge and slide my arm under from the side and release with a long screwdriver.  No joy.  The raised hood binds the release and I can't get it open [even though it 'clicked' open].

 

Next idea, reach in with a long wrench and unbolt the hood latch mechanism.   Get the bolts removed but still binding and latched.  Can't unbolt the latch from the hood-my arm wont' reach that far!

 

New approach, unbolt the hinge & torsion bar assembly from the body and carefully remove them from the Z [so it doesn't completely bugger my 1990 paint job].  Get that done, now the hood sits flush, latch isn't binding and we lift the hood off!

 

Remove the large bolt from the hood side latch [so when it closes again it won't latch, again], reinstall the hood hinge assembly and hood, duct tape the trailing edge of the hood and attack the track once again.  Need to purchase a new hood release now and install.

 

So, now what can I do so this doesn't happen again?  My idea is to install a secondary cable, route along a small pulley [think bicycle shifter cable along the frame style] and terminate down by the t/c rod/bucket.

 

Feedback?

Edited May 9, 2013 by 1 tuff z

[Mike kZ]

I know what you mean! What a pain in the butt with a V8. I used a coat hanger, and was able to release it. I also thought of adding a short 2nd cable, that I could pull from under the car. Haven't done it yet.

[Domzs]

Thanks for a reminder . I meant to add on a secondary cable on mine but keep forgetting . Have heard this story before , it's a pain the a** with a V8 . I was thinking of doing a bicycle cable but no pulley and route it to the front grill area . And have some kind of pull loop which requires a long hook to pull it .

[LanceVance]

Aerocatch hood pins (or any generic hood pins) would be the easy way to ensure it never happens again. If you don't want visible hood pins I'm sure you could put a gas door style push latch on the inspection lids, and fabricate some hood latches that would be accessible through them. You'd obviously have to trim the lip that the hood goes over, but that's easily done!

[OldAndyAndTheSea]

I've added a provision to my hinge allowing for a separate cable to be run into the cockpit, in case the first cable breaks. I'll see if I can snap some pics of it when I go out to the garage today.

 

I have yet to run the cable though. Luckily, my hood release is in good shape.

 

I think running a cable out through the driver's fender would be a good bet.

 

Let us know what you figure out David

[socorob]

My other car is a Sunbeam and its a common problem on the later ones. Most people just run another cable into the car under the dash as a backup.

[1 tuff z]

Mine has broken twice since I've owned it [10/1984] and both times was next to the ball end. So, looking more closely I wanted to determine why in an attempt to fix the problem vs. replacing the whole assembly and have it happen again. Found the hinged pull where the cable attaches was binding [part of the problem] and where the factory crimped that pull had a sharp edge which seems to contribute as well. Fixed both of those.

 

So far I've removed the crimped end mount bracket, used my handy-dandy dremel mini-cutoff wheel to trim nicely the end of the cable. Measured the outer sheath then cut shorter so the inner cable has plenty of length to use, installed the mount bracket and re-crimped. Am now sourcing a cable end capture [not a crimp style but something adjustable, like on a bicycle brake cable] and will simply slide the cable through, tighten the set screw and done.

 

Checked and new hood cable assemblies are in the $150 range and didn't feel like shelling that out or waiting for the part or the time to remove old and install new.

 

Still considering options for alternate/back up release...

[socorob]

Try West Marine. The one here has a whole cable section with all kinds of ends and connectors and a huge crimp tool mounted to a table you can use to make up what you need.