Hey guys
So i changed my oil in my V10. then drove 2 hours away (which im sure didnt effect it but) , now i cant get my hood latch to release and ideas on how to get this sucker open? Need to check oil again and cant. Any ideas and pcs would be much apprecatied!!!
Thanks
Adam
714 Knives ???
When. You say busted can you go into more detail. Did the cable snap did the handle break or is the cord just dead and loose.
Knowing what we are working with will help tell us the best way to fix this and get in.
Sorry guys
well when i pull the handle it moves , and i think i can hear the mechinzim moving but wont release. it was being kinda sticky before this happened. I used to have the wife pull latch from inside while i deppressed the hood for it to release now that wont work either. not sure if cable is still 1 pieece or not. hope this helps some…
If you had to do the push on the hood and pull the cable trick in the past that says something is out of alignment.
Getting to the hood latch pin isn’t an easy task as there is very limited space between the motor and the core support.
We can get back to that option if you need it but moving the latch with the hood shut is complex and very labor intensive of you have the right tools.
Try sitting on the hood while your wife pulls the release the only difference is this time she can’t let go of the cable until the hood comes open. You may need to pull up quite forcefully on the hood after she pulled the cable.
It would be helpful if you could pull on the cable to assure it’s still connected. One of the ways to pop the hood if the cable in the car is messed up is to get the cable through the grill wind port. But if it’s damaged that won’t work.
I had the exact same problem - latch pull was sticky for awhile, then one day it wouldn’t work. The cable popped out at the hood latch. It turns out that there is a guide located near the driver side headlamp that came loose and allowed the cable to pop out where it connects to the latch. I told my mechanic to cut the grill off and I’d get a new RS version on eBay, but he recoiled in horror. He had me bring the car back a couple days later - after he fashioned a long stick with a hook on the end.
Ysing the stick, he was able to pop the cable end back into the hood latch from UNDERNEATH the car. I think he may have had to remove a couple of minor things to get access, but in all it took him only 20 minutes. Genius.
After he got the hood open, we used a couple of cable ties to secure the guide and it’s been fine ever since.
B6 s4 guys used to have this happen. On that car you could go underneath car and pop the release latch with a long straight rod or something.
Yeah I had it happen on my b6 s4. I actually unbolted the latch mechanism through the grill to get it open
Ugh. My hood latch cable apparently broke. Dealing w/ this crap now…will report back later.
Sucks man. Feel your pain though. I spent weeks farting around with this last winter before I was able to pop it loose from underneath. Ultimately I used this approach:
Thanks that’s helpful, but still a bit flummoxed as to where the latch is looking from underneath. Other than knowing it’s in the center, it’s really hard to see anything.
Does anyone have a pic they can post showing the latch from the top in relation to the front of engine? that way I might be able to get my bearings better. There’s a little rubber hose I see with a little black/white plastic canister looking thing (~25mm-30mm in diameter). I think that’s in the vicinity?
think I found it…was obstructed by the knock sensor wire bundle at the front of the intake manifold. Still farting around with it. Fingers crossed.
No joy. This is freaking ridiculous.
Yeah not a fun job. Stick with it. You’ll be able to come up with an entirely new list of swear words in the process.
Getting an inspection camera or mirror can be really helpful. I was able to do this on a car for someone and I should have done a DIY. But to be honest, once we popped the hood. I was just happy to be done.
I second the inspection camera particularly one with a light on the end - this was paramount.
Thanks to your advice, I picked one up at HF on sale today for $60. I’ll give it another try tomorrow.
Praise God, it’s finally open!!!
I’ll post some pics and a write up this weekend. For now I don’t even want to look at it or think about it!
But I think I found a technique that works.
Nice dude - good feeling I’m sure. Will be curious to any details you add regarding your method for getting that bad boy opened.
So here’s the tool I made based upon that video post above. It’s 3ft of 1/4" rod bent like a “Z” the in the video. But, there wasn’t enough leverage and it kept bending. I added the J-hook at the opposite end, and that’s what I used to eventually open the latch.
Coordinating the movement of the camera and the rod was hopeless even with a helper, so I taped the camera to the rod so it pointed at the J-hook. That way I could see where it was at all times in relation to the latch.
I approached the latch from underneath on the passenger side like this:
That way I was sure to get the hook positioned in the correct spot. I then slid the opposite end of the rod over to the driver side to position the J-hook like so:
From this angle the rod had enough rigidity to push the lever and release the latch. You lose the view of what you’re doing as the camera is rotated out of position with the rod, but you keep pressure on the end into the latch as your sliding the rod from passenger side to driver side.
I hope this helps some poor unfortunate soul in the future. I only lost my sh!t in front of my 19 yo son about 3-4 times, which was pretty good, I thought. 
Also latch sensor wires had severely cracked insulation and frayed wires. No doubt my fiddling around didn’t help, so I’ll be replacing that. Also broke a bolt replacing latch (original got a bit bent; got an eBay replacement for $18 shipped). Replacing release cable as well. Although it did not break, the plastic that seats in the latch is so weak from heat cycling I can see how it can easily pop out.
