[Addlight]

For quite a while I have had a very stiff hood release cable. It is worse when cold. I can always open the hood by releasing it slowly, but when cold, it takes a while to retract and allow the hood to be fully closed again.

I suspect the cable is too gummed up to fix, and am more than happy to install a new cable. So, am looking for any tips to make this job easier. I have traced the cable and inspected the attaching points and am a little intimidated. More so at the hood latch end; I have replaced the release handle in the driver footwell before so know how it comes apart.

Thanks in advance,
Matt

[worf]

The receiver mechanism riveted to the chassis may be “gummed up.”

With the front bumper cover installed, I’m not sure if it’s even possible to “mess with” the receiver or cable.

I think you could drill out the rivets and then mess with both with the cover installed.

I’ve done it several times but only with the cover removed.

You may be able to diagnose the issue in situ by tugging on the cable next to the receiver.

Replacement metric (5mm IIRC) rivets are available from a variety of sources.

[Zirconocene]

If you really think (or determine) it's the cable, there are these kinds of tools: https://www.revzilla.com/motorcycle/mot ... _id=173912

Amazon shows a couple of different designs, FWIW.

If it's the receiver, and you don't ever plan on painting your car, silicone spray is pretty great at getting things loosened up and lubricated. (Any overspray will inevitably mess with paint quality later, I'm told.)

Good luck

[Addlight]

The receiver mechanism riveted to the chassis may be “gummed up.”

Thanks.

I'm pretty sure it's not the receiver. I can reach under the bumper cover and easily pop the hood with no resistance. I do this when it's very cold just to avoid stressing the release handle or its backing plate. The resistance is in the cable itself.

Matt

[Addlight]

If you really think (or determine) it's the cable, there are these kinds of tools: https://www.revzilla.com/motorcycle/mot ... _id=173912

Thanks. I have looked at these, but have trouble picturing it being effective. I'd still have to get one end of the cable loose to have enough room for that device, and be able to get the cable at an angle where it would gravity feed lube for the entire distance. And that assumes that whatever is making the cable bind would break down with lube, instead of just having lube back up behind the trouble spot.

Or maybe I don't understand how this device works?

Matt

[worf]

I'm pretty sure it's not the receiver. I can reach under the bumper cover and easily pop the hood with no resistance. I do this when it's very cold just to avoid stressing the release handle or its backing plate. The resistance is in the cable itself.

Ok. Good!

Can you see the tiny slotted hex-head bolt that clamps the cable into the receiver? If you can, then the next step is to get a tool to it. There’s a ~1” hole in the chassis metal behind (firewall-side) that allows limited access to the bolt. The goal is to loosen the bolt just enough to slip the cable out. Do NOT remove the bolt; it will not be easy (maybe impossible) to thread back in without drilling the rivets out.

BUT before doing any of that, examine the entry hole in the receiver for the Bowden cable. Will you be able to thread a new cable in that hole via whatever with-bumper-cover-on access you have?

On the topic of the cable itself: have you observed its condition from receiver, to inner fender, to rear inner fender, to release handle? And did you make any observations that support the cable deterioration diagnosis?

[worf]

If you really think (or determine) it's the cable, there are these kinds of tools: https://www.revzilla.com/motorcycle/mot ... _id=173912

Amazon shows a couple of different designs, FWIW.

Have you used such a tool on a 928 Bowden cable?

[Zirconocene]

@worf: Not on the bowden cable for the hood release, but I did for the throttle cable. It wasn't perfect but did well enough to get some lubrication in there, to make pressing the pedal significantly less of an effort. The availability of a V3 tool indicates that there were improvements made.

I've only looked at this particular cable a couple of times on my GT, since everything is sort of apart, so my memory may not be serving me well, but I don't remember too much that would interfere with the use of this kind of a tool. Maybe it's worth chucking things up this evening, once I get home.

Cheers

[Addlight]

Thanks. Regarding cable deterioration observations. My guess that it is gummed up is based on my noticing it is harder to open and close when cold than when warm. That suggests to me grease or something that is congealing.

Here is my planned approach, and anyone please chime in on better ways:

Before I disconnect anything, I will remove the DS wheel and inner fender liner and follow the cable route. I'll have someone pull the release handle while I observe the cable to see what is actually happening. Maybe there is a kink or something.

If there is nothing obvious and easy, I will disconnect the cable by loosening the bolt that holds it in the receiver, and then disassemble the release handle in the footwell. I will then pull the cable out through the footwell.

Then reverse this process with a new cable. I imagine the two challenges will be threading the cable back through the firewall and to the front. The second challenge will be fitting the cable end in the receiver and adjusting it to the right length. It seems that as long as the new cable isn't frayed at the end it should slide into the receiver. My car is an 86.5, so there is plenty of access through the grill slats to get both hands up there and fiddle with it.

I will take pictures, and if it goes well, post them for posterity. If it goes badly, I will find someone to blame.

Matt

Can you see the tiny slotted hex-head bolt that clamps the cable into the receiver? If you can, then the next step is to get a tool to it. There’s a ~1” hole in the chassis metal behind (firewall-side) that allows limited access to the bolt. The goal is to loosen the bolt just enough to slip the cable out. Do NOT remove the bolt; it will not be easy (maybe impossible) to thread back in without drilling the rivets out.

BUT before doing any of that, examine the entry hold in the receiver for the Bowden cable. Will you be able to thread a new cable in that hole via whatever with-bump-cover-on access you have?

On the topic of the cable itself: have you observed its condition from receiver, to inner fender, to rear inner fender, to release handle? And did you make any observations that support the cable deterioration diagnosis?

[Mrmerlin]

Matt its straight forward process to RnR the hood cable but first,
for the inspction replacement I suggest to remove the parcel tray on the DS,
then remove the LF wheel and inner fender liner and forward block off plate.
Once these are done use a good light under the dash to see how the cable routes through the side bulkhead rubber grommet and out under the top area of the inner fenderwell.
I would suggest that if you want to try this,
first remove the cable and housing from the hood latch , pull it out and hold the end up,
then squirt some PB blaster into the end then work it,
it will eventually run down the cable to the handle inside the car.
Otherwise get a new cable and RnR it,
the top part of the handle quadrant will have to be unclipped to release the cable,
it might be prudent to buy a new upper and lower plastic quadrants as taking them apart could crack one of the edges.
NOTE you can sneak the allen tool into the handle to release the whole assembly from the bulkhead . the bolts will float inside the plastic

[worf]

@worf: Not on the bowden cable for the hood release, but I did for the throttle cable. It wasn't perfect but did well enough to get some lubrication in there, to make pressing the pedal significantly less of an effort.

Ok. Cool. Good to know that your suggestion is based upon practical application.

[Addlight]

Gentlemen,
The operation was a success. Many thanks to all for the advice. My pictures are pretty crummy, but I will try to post some later. Here is what I did (This is all on an 86.5 US).

1. Removed the front driver side wheel, then the fender liner and front block plate. On my front block plate, the insulating foam is pretty deteriorated. Any suggestions on what to use to replace this in some future project?

2. Vacuumed out 40 years worth of debris built up behind the front block plate, including remnants from the mice that lived in this car before I got it.

3. Once the liner and front block plate are out, it is easy to follow the release cable path. There are clips that hold the cable in place, and a zip tie that bunches it with other cables/wires at the back of the wheel well. The clips can be bent to free the cable. I cut the zip tie.

4. Under the car on the receiver assembly, I loosened the 6mm hex head bolt that holds the cable in place. I made sure to only loosen enough to get the cable free, but keep the bolt in place. There are also two other clips under the hood. One that holds the receiver end of the cable housing requires an allen wrench to loosen. It is just to the side of where the cable goes from under the hood through a cutout and into the receiver. The other is a plastic hold down that looks like a cube to the headlight side of the ignition amp modules. It just snaps out when pinched.

5. In the car, I removed underdash tray and dead pedal on the driver side. Once the dead pedal is removed you can pull back the carpet and see the grommet that the cable feeds through to enter the fender. I removed the two allen heads that hold the release handle assembly. Once the assembly is free it is easy to take apart. I then pulled the cable out through the footwell.

6. Once out, I let it set in the sun to warm up the grease in it. I then clamped it so it hung vertical and slowly fed WD-40 into the housing from the top. I worked the cable back and forth, and it slowly loosened and allowed for more and easier travel of the cable in the housing. Alternated working it back and forth and just sitting to let the WD-40 and gravity do their thing for about an hour. By then, it was moving pretty freely. This is where the tool Zirconocene mentioned would probably come in handy.

7. Reassembly was basically the reverse, with a couple of tips:
a. I fed the cable back through the footwell grommet and did not clip or ziptie it until I got it fed all the way through and adjusted.
b. It is tricky but not that bad to reinsert the cable end into the small hole for it in the receiver. Once I slotted it in, I did not tighten the 6mm hex bolt to hold the cable in place until I had it adjusted where I wanted it.
c. Once the cable was in place, I fitted the handle assembly in the footwell and pushed the release handle forward as far as it would go. Then I went back and tightened the 6mm hex bolt in the receiver because the cable end was now at the right position to open release when the handle is pulled.
d. The receiver end of the cable housing needs to be clamped under the hold down under the hood but before the receiver. This locks the housing in place so when you pull the handle you are moving the cable and not the entire housing.
e. Don't forget to replace the zip tie that was cut off. That keeps the excess cable length from rubbing and bouncing around inside the fender.

Now I am going to go over to the Home Depot parking lot, stand around , and ask strangers if they want to see how easy it is to open my hood.

Thanks again, guys,
Matt

[worf]

Perfect -^

Good to know it’s possible on pre-‘87.

On ‘87+ it would be much more “ship-in-the-bottle-y” if even possible.

[Zirconocene]

For the insulating foam I have a post up on TOS from when I refurbed mine. I think the consensus on the replies was that it's easier to just order new OEM pieces but, if you want some of what I used I still have quite a bit left over that I'm happy to share. Just to be clear, this is the foam that lives in the channel on those big plastic plates, correct?

Cheers

[worf]

For the insulating foam I have a post up on TOS from when I refurbed mine.

Can you post that here too?

I need to order 100+ feet of something for this application.

The problem with the OE foam isn’t cost or availability, it’s longevity and that fact that it turns to “ink” when it hits the shop floor after it deteriorates.

[Addlight]

For the insulating foam I have a post up on TOS from when I refurbed mine. I think the consensus on the replies was that it's easier to just order new OEM pieces but, if you want some of what I used I still have quite a bit left over that I'm happy to share. Just to be clear, this is the foam that lives in the channel on those big plastic plates, correct?

Yes, that is the part I am referring to. Basically, the insulation in the channel of the U at the upper inside part of the blocking plate. I'll be happy to take some off your hands. Just let me know how to pay and what it costs.

Matt

[Zirconocene]

Sorry for the late reply, I've been getting whooped by a different car and am just now catching up on my Porsche stuff.

Here's the previous post I had on the foam: https://rennlist.com/forums/928-forum/1 ... heavy.html

Here's a picture of what I'm offering, it's a little DIY, but yours if you want it/some.

Cheers