[jschiller]

Has anyone ever printed the hood release housing for a 928?
Part # is 928 511 173 02 70B.

There needs to be a better quality 3D part than the flimsy OEM version. I have broken 2 in my 5 years of ownership of this car and I'm tired of replacing it. They are only $10 from a parts house but I would pay twice that for one that would last.

[worf]

Hmmm…

In my experience these usually get broken because something’s “not right.”

[SeanR]

Agree with worf. Usually grabbing it in such a way to cause damage. 18 years on mine and never broken one. Although it will break tomorrow just because I said that.

[jschiller]

Hmmm…

In my experience these usually get broken because something’s “not right.”

You are undoubtedly right. My guess is lack of use for a prolonged time. I think the hood latch mechanism or the cable itself is too snug, old grease perhaps. The first one broke shortly after I got the car. The PO hardly drove it in the 2 years he had it, he only bought it to flip so probably rarely opened the hood. The release was always difficult to pull and after a few dozen openings in the first few months, it snapped. I probably wasn't careful to pull straight back on the handle. Never a problem in 5 years so long as I was using it frequently. This time I hadn't used it in several months and snapped again. But to Sean's point, after the first break, I always pulled the lever straight back, no twisting the handle. The plastic frame is just too damned thin to withstand even a moderate tug on the handle. A better grade plastic or a thicker frame would be vastly superior.

[worf]

The plastic frame is just too damned thin to withstand even a moderate tug on the handle. A better grade plastic or a thicker frame would be vastly superior.

Or, maybe, let’s figure out what’s wrong?

There are three pieces to this contraption: the ‘base’ you picture above, the handle, and the cover plate.

Are you missing the cover plate?

[jschiller]

I've got all three components of the release and I know that the cable must be properly inserted into the frame then locked in place by the cover before mounting it in position. The frames both broke right at the cable mounting point, tearing through the upper right mounting hole. There is not much meat around those mounting holes. The only strong point on the plate is the handle pivot, that has not broken on either of my 2 failed frames.


I try not to over tighten that screw to prevent a fracture by overtightening it and not too loose that it allows the frame to flex when pressure is put on the pull handle. I think I will have to drill out the rivets holding the release bracket up front and try to clean the mechanism. Or maybe try to spray some brake cleaner up from the bottom. I've seen conflicting advise on lubing the cable, some say lube it, I think Stan advised against it thinking is is Teflon lined and lube will dry out and make it harder to pull the wire center through. I really don't want to have to replace the cable unless I have to. At 77, I'm not quite as flexible as I used to be.

Anyway, I've got 2 more plates on order and I hope they will carry me through another 10 years.

[sh944]

If you want to ship me one, I’ll take a look at it and see if I can build something that is a bit more robust, altho I suspect Worf and Sean are correct that this might not be solving the correct problem. I’ll only need yours for a couple of days (most likely) and will ship you a couple extras when I ship your original back to try out if you are game.

[jschiller]

Wonderful. Do you need the intact version or will the broken one with all the pieces do? I haven't received the 2 new ones I ordered but I can send you one of those when I get them if you'd prefer. ETA on my order is tomorrow (if I can believe that--it's in Phoenix and I'm in Florida and USPS is handling it). In any event, PM me your address and I'll send whichever one you want.

[sh944]

Broken one will do nicely. I’ll shoot you my address when I get near my pc tomorrow morning.

[worf]

I've seen conflicting advise on lubing the cable, some say lube it, I think Stan advised against it thinking is is Teflon lined and lube will dry out and make it harder to pull the wire center through. I really don't want to have to replace the cable unless I have to. At 77, I'm not quite as flexible as I used to be.

You saw this right?

Sticking Hood Release Cable

[worf]

The other thing to consider is if the hood latch mechanism is adjusted “too tight.”

Easy way to check is to gauge the difference in how much force is required to rotate the release handle with the hood latched vs unlatched. The force difference should be slight. (Like “Porn” it’s difficult to define, but you know it when you see it, or in this case “feel it.”)

[jschiller]

My cable pull seems "firm" but not too tight based on a comparison to my other cars in the driveway. But the Porsche is the only one that mounts the cable in a plastic frame that absorbs the tension of the pull. The others use a metal bracket to grab the cable. So maybe they are not a good basis for comparison. As is, with the hood open and the cable exposed and hanging inside the car, I can't hold on to the cable and pull the center core with my fingers the inch or so of travel it needs to work the hood release mechanism, maybe with a pair of pliers but not with my hands alone. Too tight? It did release very easily when I had to pop the hood with a prybar though.

[sh944]

Part arrived today, I’ll try to get a rough draft done by this weekend and then will tweak it. I can use my wife’s 928 for test fit purposes.

[jschiller]

Wonderful. I don't think there are many critical dimensions to the part except the small standoffs on the back side which position the plate off the body and have to seal the outside lip against the carpet and the channel for the cable but you can size that up with the part in hand.

[sh944]

FYI, my wife kept me busy around the house over the weekend so I haven’t gotten to it yet. I’ll work on it this week.

[sh944]

Up[date on part... the first several attempts to model this didn't meet my expectations. I am building it in sections and then trying to join the sections together and quite frankly, the print quality just wouldn't compare to the $10 replacement part you can buy. I'll keep trying but I will likely have to send this off to one of my engineers and see if he can do a better job drawing this up. I may resort to trying to get it scanned and see if that gets it closer.

Not done yet but don't hold your breath.

[jschiller]

Hey thanks. It seems it is a lot more difficult than I thought. Maybe it's best to just drop it at this point. The print quality isn't really an issue as it's completely out of sight but the time involved in getting it scanned and printed won't be worth it. Maybe if they go NLA it would be worth picking it up again sometime down the road. Meanwhile I appreciate all your efforts! Thanks again.

[worf]

Maybe if they go NLA it would be worth picking it up again sometime …

… and doing it from billet aluminum. Pricey, but solves the breakage issue forever.

[jschiller]

Maybe if they go NLA it would be worth picking it up again sometime …

… and doing it from billet aluminum. Pricey, but solves the breakage issue forever.

That beats my second option...tack welding and a pair of vicegrips

Anyhoo, it's working for the moment with a new OEM frame. Disassembled the latch mechanism and latching post on the hood, cleaned and lubed everything, slightly rerouted the cable to give a straighter pull, tried 2 new sets of softer springs (both failed to function properly) drilled out three sets of securing rivets testing the latch between each modification, finally went back to the original setup and done. Finally.

[sh944]

I’ve been wanting to get a 3D scanner anyway, so illl keep plugging away at it for now. If nothing else, it’s good practice.