Regarding broken front hood-won't open
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Rennlist Member
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 15,050
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From: san francisco
Regarding broken front hood-won't open
Hi there and good day!! I like to hear any suggestions on this matter. My friend(it's not me) has a '99 996(silver/black) and he happened to kinda slam the front hood down and now when he tried to lift the level(driver side) to pop the lid open, nothing happens. Is there a way to open the hood without having to get it checked out by the mechanic? Thanks in advance. Regards. Mike
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Joined: Dec 2001
Posts: 227
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From: London, UK
Hi,
I had exactly the same problem.
Basically there is a plastic 'catch' inside the lock mechanism that aids open & closure. This plastic 'catch' interacts with the spring-loaded mechanism inside the lock that springs open the hood. When the hood is repeatedly slammed over a period of time, it wears the insertion point in the plastic causing the spring-loaded mechanism to ‘slip’ out of its original place. This then affects the operation of the spring-loaded mechanism and so the hood will eventually fail to spring open and the release is activated from inside the car.
You can purchase a new lock but the same problem may occur IF the hood was repeatedly slammed. I spoke to my local dealer and they were unable to tell me whether the mechanism has been redesigned internally to solve this particular 'fault'. I do know ’02 cars use electric operation – perhaps that was the fix from PAG.
How I managed to solve my problem was as follows.
To open hood –
a) I used a plastic spoon to force open the hood as the lock was in an open state but the failed spring-loaded mechanism was not forcing the hood up.
a) I removed the lock, opened it and greased the internal to cause the spring-loaded to slip back into its position.
b) I put the lock back in place. Be aware that one end is fixed and the other end of the lock goes up & down – used to align the lock & hood. If the lock adjustment were too low, you would find the hood needs a very firm press to close. If the lock adjustment is too high, you would find the hood needs no firm press to close but it would appear as opened when viewed from head-on.
I hope the above is useful. I found my dealer wanted to replace the lock & the activating mechanism by the drivers’ door and other numerous parts when I first presented them with the fault. I was alarmed at the proposed job cost, and being more interested in knowing how the fault happened and what I can do to avert it in future, decided to undertake further investigations. To be fair to the dealer, it is worth noting that this is a rare fault.
I had exactly the same problem.
Basically there is a plastic 'catch' inside the lock mechanism that aids open & closure. This plastic 'catch' interacts with the spring-loaded mechanism inside the lock that springs open the hood. When the hood is repeatedly slammed over a period of time, it wears the insertion point in the plastic causing the spring-loaded mechanism to ‘slip’ out of its original place. This then affects the operation of the spring-loaded mechanism and so the hood will eventually fail to spring open and the release is activated from inside the car.
You can purchase a new lock but the same problem may occur IF the hood was repeatedly slammed. I spoke to my local dealer and they were unable to tell me whether the mechanism has been redesigned internally to solve this particular 'fault'. I do know ’02 cars use electric operation – perhaps that was the fix from PAG.
How I managed to solve my problem was as follows.
To open hood –
a) I used a plastic spoon to force open the hood as the lock was in an open state but the failed spring-loaded mechanism was not forcing the hood up.
a) I removed the lock, opened it and greased the internal to cause the spring-loaded to slip back into its position.
b) I put the lock back in place. Be aware that one end is fixed and the other end of the lock goes up & down – used to align the lock & hood. If the lock adjustment were too low, you would find the hood needs a very firm press to close. If the lock adjustment is too high, you would find the hood needs no firm press to close but it would appear as opened when viewed from head-on.
I hope the above is useful. I found my dealer wanted to replace the lock & the activating mechanism by the drivers’ door and other numerous parts when I first presented them with the fault. I was alarmed at the proposed job cost, and being more interested in knowing how the fault happened and what I can do to avert it in future, decided to undertake further investigations. To be fair to the dealer, it is worth noting that this is a rare fault.
