skiiirt Posted June 19, 2010 Report Share Posted June 19, 2010 Long time no see I really like what you guys have done here For those who are new or those who don't remember: I have a 1992 Cutlass Supreme International. 3.4L Auto. I am in dire need of some help. I have finally found a donor for my car. I decided to unearth the beast from her graveyard behind my shed. I attempted to try and bring the mean machine to life (assuming the battery hasn't completely died), however I ran into a problem. I pulled the hood release and it has no tension. It must have broke on her final days. I need to get into this engine bay. Access is VERY limited. I have very limited room under the front bumper, and nearly no access from the sides. Can anyone help me pop the hood on this beeeoootch ? I can see from the bottom center-passenger side a spring which feels like it's at the appropriate location to be a latch but there is literally 2" of room to maneuver in there and I cant get a pair of pliers in there to grab and twist. Cutting into the hood is not an option. The car is getting towed tomorrow and I'd rather get into it myself as apposed to the new donor towing to a mechanic. Any help is much appreciated. I tried searching but I can't seem to find anything Thanks in advance Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WhatTheFehl Posted June 19, 2010 Report Share Posted June 19, 2010 Crowbar, but the results won't be pretty. Hopefully someone has a better idea. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
91LuminaEuro Posted June 19, 2010 Report Share Posted June 19, 2010 If you're looking up from the underside of the car. You should be able to see the hood latch and where the latch cable comes up from the interior and goes into the latch. You can either reach up and grab where the cable goes through with a pair of pliers and pull it until it pops. Or, as in the case with my lumina, since the hood release is already bad, take and trace the hood release cable back as far as you can from the outside, cut the cable. Remove a few inches of the sheathing. Grab the cable with vice grips and pull the cable to operate the hood release. I then took and used a cable bolt thing (you stick two ends of a cable thorugh it and bolt it) and used that to make a loop in the end, and then electrical taped it, and that just hangs behind the front bumper of my car, and thats how i pop my hood. Hope this helps!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WhatTheFehl Posted June 19, 2010 Report Share Posted June 19, 2010 Or, as in the case with my lumina, since the hood release is already bad, take and trace the hood release cable back as far as you can from the outside, cut the cable. Remove a few inches of the sheathing. Grab the cable with vice grips and pull the cable to operate the hood release. I then took and used a cable bolt thing (you stick two ends of a cable thorugh it and bolt it) and used that to make a loop in the end, and then electrical taped it, and that just hangs behind the front bumper of my car, and thats how i pop my hood. We did that on the '95 Voyager we had at the auto parts store... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skiiirt Posted June 19, 2010 Author Report Share Posted June 19, 2010 Crowbar, but the results won't be pretty. Hopefully someone has a better idea. The front of the hood is already mangled from the shop that put in the rebuilt lq1. Wouldn't bee toooo bad..I guess.... If you're looking up from the underside of the car. You should be able to see the hood latch and where the latch cable comes up from the interior and goes into the latch. You can either reach up and grab where the cable goes through with a pair of pliers and pull it until it pops. Cutlass front end must be slightly different. All I can see is the spring, I cannot see the end of it. I pulled the bumper cover from the back covering and inside there offers no help either. I can't actually see this line. I cant even get my head beyond the front part of the wheel (due to the crappy ground clearance) If I had even enough room to jack the car up I could check out the sides, but there is literally 16" from the side of the car to a fence. Looks like I might use the tow truck tomorrow as a car jack to see if I can see these wires you are talking about. Thanks for the good speedy info! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Galaxie500XL Posted June 19, 2010 Report Share Posted June 19, 2010 The Cutlass is different, you've got that large plenum box in front of the radiator, preventing easy access. As I recall (I'm in North Dakota this evening, 1800 miles from my car), the plenum sits just behind the hood latch, if your facing the rear of the car. I"m wondering if you might be able to snake a drill with a hole saw from the bottom, through the plenum box, and cut an access hole in the top to gain access to the latch... It wouldn't be pretty, but I think with some careful work, you could get to the latch that way without mangling the hood. You could always patch/replace the mangled plenum after the hood is open. Could any other Cutlass owners look, and confirm that my memory is correct? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GOT2B GM Posted June 19, 2010 Report Share Posted June 19, 2010 did you try taking apart the handle in the interior, removing the cable end from the handle, and try pulling directly on the cable with vice grips? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skiiirt Posted June 19, 2010 Author Report Share Posted June 19, 2010 did you try taking apart the handle in the interior, removing the cable end from the handle, and try pulling directly on the cable with vice grips? Yes - It had no effect. It made it worse, the latch will no longer stay down. The Cutlass is different, you've got that large plenum box in front of the radiator, preventing easy access. As I recall (I'm in North Dakota this evening, 1800 miles from my car), the plenum sits just behind the hood latch, if your facing the rear of the car. I"m wondering if you might be able to snake a drill with a hole saw from the bottom, through the plenum box, and cut an access hole in the top to gain access to the latch... It wouldn't be pretty, but I think with some careful work, you could get to the latch that way without mangling the hood. You could always patch/replace the mangled plenum after the hood is open. Could any other Cutlass owners look, and confirm that my memory is correct? I think you are right, I definitely had something limiting my access towards that latch. I even tried to unscrew the top latch from the hood using a series of extensions. I think I will use a straight air die grinder with a pointy carbide bit. That should make a nice sized hole Thanks for the info. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crazy K Posted June 19, 2010 Report Share Posted June 19, 2010 sometimes when the cable has been pulled to far the latch has actually passed the point of unlatching and jambed at the opposite end of travel. Before cutting hte hood, take and spray the latch area with pb blaster. next, wiggle the hood up and down to see if the latch gives. you can also use a 13mm wrench to undo the latch mechanism from below the car so that it is stuck to the hood but loose enough to lift the hood... OR>>>> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AL Posted June 19, 2010 Report Share Posted June 19, 2010 Ken... Why does seeing that pic coming from you not suprise me at all Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crazy K Posted June 19, 2010 Report Share Posted June 19, 2010 Ken... Why does seeing that pic coming from you not suprise me at all @$$!!! that is a car i found. I know how to open a hood even if it is jambed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Addicted to eaton Posted June 19, 2010 Report Share Posted June 19, 2010 Yes ken, its not hard when none of your cars have front bumpers! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockfangd Posted June 20, 2010 Report Share Posted June 20, 2010 I have seen this problem before. I use a long thin flathead screwdriver from behind the front bumper to pull the latch from the driver side, (opposite the spring) , and I have also unbolted the latch assembly from the core before with little issues Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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