Hood is stuck closed

A6 All/ S6 All
#1

Whats up guys. Have created a new account since the site change and this is my first post since then. As title states I currently have the hood stuck closed. The idiot I am left the damn cable unattached from previous work. I’m hesitant to drive it as I also have a coolant light on now too but there are no leaks anywhere so that’s another problem to deal with once I get back under the hood. I’m trying not to have it towed somewhere but getting this hood unlatched is proving to be much more difficult than I thought. The best approach I believe I’ve seen is this gentlemen and this S4

The problem is i don’t think my latch is quite like the one in that vid as I’ve got a 1/4" piece of bent similarly but once I get it up into the mechanism it won’t budge.

What I was hoping was maybe someone posting a picture of their latch mechanism from the underside, if that’s even possible, as I know it’s pretty darn cramped up against the front of the block. I just feel like if I can see what that looks like more clearly then maybe I can see what I am doing wrong. I currently have a boroscope but it’s not the clearest of pictures. Any other advice any of you can give me would be greatly appreciated.

#2

I feel your pain. A couple years back this happened to me because the cable popped out of the latch. Fortunately, it was with my mechanic and he was able to put it up on a lift. It took about half an hour of fiddling, but he was able to pop it open from below. Now I have a twist tie around the latch to keep the cable in place.

Good luck, but I know it’s possible.

#3

I do appreciate the reply as well as the encouragement. Unfortunately I’ve got way more than a half hour into it already but the lack of a lift as well as it being cold out are definitely against me at this point. I strongly believe I can make this happen I’m just struggling at this point to better understand the latch mechanism from the bottom. If you happen to talk to that same mechanic anytime soon I’d love to hear any advice he had on what he did to pop that sucker open.

#4

Hey just a heads up I was able to get back out there today and after about 20 minutes was able to get the hood open. Pretty much ended following what was done in this video, posted below, by creating a rod that had a sharp 90 bend with only about an inch or so being bent. I was able to fit that small bend into the lower “window” under where the actual cable would fit into. From there I pulled towards the passenger side and it popped.

How to open 2006 Audi A4 hood when cable is broken

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#5

Good to hear you were able to get the hood up. Expensive time and effort lesson. Good you were able to get it done.

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