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King_GH
Extreme Veteran
Date registered: Oct 2011
Location: London
Vehicle(s): 95 G300 RHD
Posts: 324
| Hood release is hard work .....
It took me a good 3 minutes to open the hood with help from the other half .... you know you're in trouble when you enlist your wife to help with the car that allegedly takes all your time.
What can I do to ease this a little? I have greased it and splashed it with lots of WD40 and I'm on my second release lever.... the other one broke as I was repeatedly yanking it. Another word comes to mind 
Any tips will be helpful. |
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Otiswesty
Administrator
Date registered: Jun 2007
Location: Portland, Oregon
Vehicle(s): 463.241, 461.213
Posts: 3004
| Re: Hood release is hard work .....
Stand next to the drivers door and reach in to pull the hood release lever with your right hand. At the same time, bang the hood with your left fist. Works every time. Wife keeps drinking her coffee inside thinking what a nice car you have. |
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DUTCH
Administrator Doppelgänger
Date registered: Apr 2006
Location: US, GA, Atlanta
Vehicle(s): 2015 Audi Q7 3.0 TDI,2018 Sprinter
Posts: 9963
| RE: Hood release is hard work .....
In addition to keeping the latch mechanism well greased, you can also shorten the length of the pull cable a bit. It can become somewhat stretched with age, which results in it not releasing the catch pin adequately.
You can see the screw that holds the cable by looking through the half moon opening where the safety hook catches. Clamping the end of the cable with a needle nose vice grip through that opening and releasing and tightening the Philips head screw through the grill should allow for adjustment of the cable.
Vorsicht! If you lose hold of the cable when the screw is loose, you'll have to remove the grill and the cross member to retrieve and reattach it. |
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ychung
Veteran
Date registered: Aug 2015
Location: SO CAL
Vehicle(s): 2004 G500, 2014 ML350, 2008 S550
Posts: 196
| RE: Hood release is hard work .....
I was having a same problem, it worked on and off even with lubing and greasing.
I've pulled the cable to make it shorter and it worked perfect for a couple of times before cable broke off although I believe it's the correct way of fixing this issue.
When I pulled the cable, the end of cable sort of broke to make wires loose and screw, which I must over tightened a little, was probably holding down a couple of wires only.
So, after a few pulls the cable broke and I had to cut the end of cable and even plastic cover to make fit thru latch mechanism.
Since I've lost about an inch of cable, the end of cable is pretty much flush with screw and I know it's going to break or become loose sooner or later.
I've located a new part which isn't much, but I don't know to replace it and how long it will take.
Has anyone replaced hood release cable? |
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koly
Elite Veteran
Date registered: Jul 2006
Location: Scottsdale, AZ USA
Vehicle(s): 2000 G500
Posts: 823
| RE: Hood release is hard work .....
Not sure what they're called, but you can try adjusting the 'bump stops' - the two bolts w/rubber feet on the bottom, located on either side of the front of the hood. I found that when I extended the passenger side stop, my hood popped open much easier. I think the rubber wears down over time so they aren't as tall and don't provide a counter-push against the latch... |
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hipine
Date registered: Jul 2006
Location: US, CO, Bailey
Vehicle(s): 460 1980 280GE w. 617A
| RE: Hood release is hard work .....
DUTCH - 9/14/2016 1:36 PM
In addition to keeping the latch mechanism well greased, ...
I'd also add CLEANED and lubed. In the dusty environment I face (dirt roads every day) I have to hose it out well with brake cleaner and re-lube with dry graphite-based (like lock de-icer) lubrication about once every 6 months to keep it working well. After a while I start to need "the thump" and that's when I know I need to clean and re-lube it. Don't forget to also clean and lube the portion that's on the hood. It's not just the latch, the disk below the spring that slides on the catch-pin also needs to be able to slide freely without adding resistance to the opening.
Good luck!
-Dave G. |
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AlanMcR
Expert
Date registered: Apr 2006
Location: US, CA, Los Altos
Vehicle(s): G300DT E300DT 230SL
Posts: 3500
| RE: Hood release is hard work .....
Some high end bicycle brake cable might be a better alternative. Some come with a Teflon lined housing.
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emlmcb
Veteran
Date registered: Dec 2006
Location: Buenos Aires, Argentina
Vehicle(s): 1986 LWB 300GD / 1998 E320 / 1996 LWB G300TD
Posts: 119
| RE: Hood release is hard work .....
I would like to add another tip that worked for me:
If you look from the top of the hole in which the hood retaining pin goes in, you will notice that when locked it is retained in place by sort of a "half moon" metal part that slides towards the side when you pull the cable thus releasing the pin.
In my case the pin in the hood and the hole in the cross member were not properly centered, which made the pin be too close to the "half moon" retainer forcing it to move out too much to reléase the hood.
Probably the body shop did not pay attention to this when I had the hood repainted.
The holes for the bolts that keep both parts in place (pin on the hood and clip on the cross member) let you adjust the position to a certain extent. I did this and never had a problem again.
WARNING: Don´t get over enthusiastic with this, because if you move the pin too far away from the retaining part, it may pop open with the wind as you drive.
A little trial and error will le you get the ideal position.
Hope this helps |
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DUTCH
Administrator Doppelgänger
Date registered: Apr 2006
Location: US, GA, Atlanta
Vehicle(s): 2015 Audi Q7 3.0 TDI,2018 Sprinter
Posts: 9963
| RE: Hood release is hard work .....
emlmcb - 9/23/2016 12:39 PM
WARNING: Don´t get over enthusiastic with this, because if you move the pin too far away from the retaining part, it may pop open with the wind as you drive.
A little trial and error will le you get the ideal position.
Hope this helps
Which is the reason for the safety hook in the mechanism. |
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imjustdave
Regular
Date registered: Feb 2012
Location: Bonney Lake Washington USA
Vehicle(s): 2004 G500, 2014 Audi Q7 TDI, 2006 Ram 3500.
Posts: 77
| RE: Hood release is hard work .....
I have the same issue, being a hard pull almost to the point where I think i'm going to start to maybe break something, New to be G500 so wondering if I should replace the cable or not, it looks ok on the hood end, very little rust and no epic rust at the entrance of the cable as I was expecting to see. I have the front crossmember off while I'm replacing the AC condensor... wonder how hard the other end is to remove.
-David |
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NHDave
Extreme Veteran
Date registered: Dec 2013
Location: Seacoast NH.
Vehicle(s): 2004 AMG
Posts: 464
| Re: Hood release is hard work .....
Perhaps start with degreasing the lock mechanism with electronic spray cleaner first..then greasing the catch socket.
If no rust at the hood end of the cable, I would have to guess there's no rust at the cabin end, unless water is getting into the cabin via the windshield gasket.
NHD |
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BlueG
Elite Veteran
Date registered: Aug 2009
Location: DC
Vehicle(s): 2003 G500
Posts: 714
| Re: Hood release is hard work .....
A new hood shock will pop it up for you. A fresh shock has mine releasing with ease again. |
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AlanMcR
Expert
Date registered: Apr 2006
Location: US, CA, Los Altos
Vehicle(s): G300DT E300DT 230SL
Posts: 3500
| Re: Hood release is hard work .....
BlueG - 6/13/2017 1:18 PM A new hood shock will pop it up for you. A fresh shock has mine releasing with ease again. I can't see that being anything more than a coincidence. The shock applies essentially no upwards force when the hood is in the down position.
Edited by AlanMcR 6/13/2017 7:12 PM
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djdinaz
Extreme Veteran
Date registered: Jun 2007
Location: Arizona
Vehicle(s): 03 G55
Posts: 439
| Re: Hood release is hard work .....
A new hood shock will pop it up for you. A fresh shock has mine releasing with ease again.
I had the opposite experience.. A blown shock, and my hood would pop when the latch was pulled, put on a fresh one, and it's back to reaching in through the window while I thump the hood. |
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DUTCH
Administrator Doppelgänger
Date registered: Apr 2006
Location: US, GA, Atlanta
Vehicle(s): 2015 Audi Q7 3.0 TDI,2018 Sprinter
Posts: 9963
| Re: Hood release is hard work .....
djdinaz - 6/13/2017 8:04 PM
A new hood shock will pop it up for you. A fresh shock has mine releasing with ease again.
I had the opposite experience.. A blown shock, and my hood would pop when the latch was pulled, put on a fresh one, and it's back to reaching in through the window while I thump the hood.
Another coinky doink. |
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bluegg
Veteran
Date registered: Nov 2016
Location: Oro-Medonte, Ontario, Canada
Vehicle(s): 1985 300GDT, 2003 Beetle 1.8t S, 1982 F350 SC Dual
Posts: 141
| Re: Hood release is hard work .....
Hinges for hood get sticky. Lube with graphite.
Release latch cable at hood end and run compressor oil down inside working lever back and forth. Keeps it smooth.
When replacing cable give it a 1/2 roll left or right so it's operating in a slightly different configuration until next time.
Just be sure the 1/2 roll doesn't result in a kink anywhere.
If it does roll it the other way. |
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