Hey guys. I went out to tinker on the RA this morning and my hood wont pop... I can pull the lever inside the car and a spring like noise can be heard. But the hood never gets released. Does anyone know if/how i could work the mechanism behind the grill to get it to release? Ive been looking at it but i can't really make out too much with the limited view between the grill slats...

Weird little problem... Lol

 

perhaps the latch is just gunked up and wont release. try pulling the latch while having someone pull up on the hood.

 

if this doesn't work, try checking if the cables are connected to the lever that you are pulling. if it is there, just keep trying to pull up on the hood while you pull it because that means it's just stuck in some sort of way lol. if the "hood lever" is really easy to pull, that means that it has already released your hood but if it's still hard to pull then that means it hasn't released it yet. i don't know how else to explain this

 

Well... I went out to try pressing on the hood and things to see if it would break it free and let it open but it didnt I finally got a little ticked off and pulled quite hard up on the hood. And it popped free. But after looking at the latch thing its still acting up. I'll take a closer look at it later but its almost like its jammed up for some reason. Maybe some WD40 will cure it... :/

EDIT:: well i got home and pulled the hood open again. Apparently something was just seizing up the latch. Sprayed some PB blaster on it, let of soak, and it works like normal now. Lol

 

Good to hear! Mine has been doing this weird thing where it will pop open fine, but when I go to close the hood, it like bounces off of the slot its suppose to slide into. I have to go and pull the release latch a few times and then it will close and latch properly. I sprayed some lithium grease in there we will see.

 

mine was doing the same thing after i hulk'd it open! its like that lower latch didnt want to move properly. lube it up well and that might fix it. It did mine anyway.

 

i would've just blasted it with pb blaster lol that thing usually keeps it pretty lubed up for a while unless you have a longer lasting solution

 

I had a similar problem on my old '94 Integra. I thought I fixed it, and then one afternoon the hood opened up on the highway and shattered my windshield. Make sure you really fixed your hood!

 

^doh!

 

+2...
wd-40 works ok too tho...that's what we ussually use at work...
damn jagars's hood latches stick constantly...so we have to lube them up on almost every car that comes in...(if the cable isn't stretched broken already from being stuck and people yanking on the lever trying to open it because the latch is stuck)


+2...
sometimes with age the latch becomes all stiff and gunked up...make sure you lube it good and it moves freely...make sure you get EVERYTHING lubed real good...move the parts around by hand if you need to(or use a screwdriver or something for leverage and to help keep your hands lube free)
spray the heck out of it with lube...and then some...then make sure it opens and closes normally a few times in a row...(and hope it doesnt fly open later on the road...wich if it's working properly it shouldn't)

also make sure the cable isn't broken, stretched or came off the latch or lever

 

hey hey hey! look who it is

what's up man just thought i would stop by and say hello haha! how's the VW treating you? do you miss your RA?

 

It's called "maintenance" back when I worked on cars for a living that was part of an oil change, check fluids, lube front end parts hinges on hood, doors and trunk as well as hood and trunk release mechanisms. Spray white litho and WD-40 are your friends.

 

yes i miss the RA badly...
but o well..it probably already sold in some auction by now...(i'd rather not think of the alternatives...aka crusher, scrapyard, etc)
i can't afford to get it back, and if i did, i can't afford to fix it(STILL)
however i don't miss the squeaks and rattles and other assorted noises...(and yet i do in a sad sort of way..)

the vw is good...quite boring tho, not very fun to drive, a hair more power tho...it's quite "meh" tho...
ive been saving up $ so im hoping to get some exhaust made for it summer sometime, or maybe a short shifter kit, or a big rear swaybar kit, or a lowering spring set...but thats all besides the point...

hope bakuro's got this hood business squared away and fixed