Jack in FL

Replaced the radiator and fan assembly fine, but because I had to remove the two struts right next to the radiator (which also is the 'plug' for the hood to close into). After shutting the hood, it wouldn't close, so I proceeded to adjust the two spring loaded metal 'inserts' attatched to the hood to make them slightly longer so the hood can latch on.

I adjusted the driver's side strut on the hood and closed it. It was fine, perfect spacing, but the passenger side was still not closing, so I opend the hood again and adjusted the passenger side a little longer too as well. I closed it and all was fine, but now I can't open the hood.

Pulling on the release doesn't work because it's already released (went under the car and looked). I pushed the lever that the wire pulls on and it's already loose. I still can't get teh hood up. I jammed a screwdriver on the latch you have to pull in the middle of the hood, so it's not that.

The driver's side strut comes out fine, but the passenger side's strut is jammed in pretty darn good. Any ideas on how to open the hood?

It's a good thing everything was fine with the radiator, so I can drive the car around now, but a stuck hood is not cool and I can't finish up some small things, plus my timing belt change that's coming up in a week or two.

Any help would be appreciated. Thanks!

beep-beep

It sounds like the first time you will release first strut and it will keep extra wire. The second time you will have enough wire to pull the lock on the second strut.

Shepper

I bet if you have someone pull on the release lever in the car while you pull up on the hood it will come loose. If it doesn't, try to reach up from underneath and manually pull on the levers while the other person lifts on the hood.


Also, the way I lined mine back up was by using the paint. You can tell where the panels used to be by looking at dirt marks and paint differences, mainly at the ends of the top rail that goes across the top of the radiator to each fender.

Jack in FL

Don't adjust the two plungers on the hood too far out (too long). They get stuck in the hole if the plunger was adjusted too long. I was going for shorter, but apparently I was retarded for the minute I was adjusting the plunger and made it about 1cm too long, hence stuck hood. I lifted the hood enough to get some tools in to loosen the bolt that secures the plunger and the hood just popped up after the bolt was loosened.

I found another problem with the cable release, similar to what beep-beep said: the two cable guides that secure the cable against the metal bar across the front of the car broke, so there was waaaay too much slack on the hood release. It only released the driver's side plunger but didn't do jack-squat for the passenger side plunger. The little part at the end of the wire that actually pulls on the plunger release for the passenger side was hooking onto another piece of the car, a vertical metal bar. I had to adjust the wire to a new length. Now the wire spans across the huge gap between the engine and the radiator fan assembly, looks kinda goofy, but it works.

Thanks for all the input! Now onto the A/C and then the t-belt in the coming weeks. Wish me luck!