Can't get the hood OPEN!

[MakDiesel]

Just bought a '72 series II (today actually) but the only real problem with the car body wise is the hood release cable broke off a few weeks back and thus.....can't open the hood due to the spring...I was wondering how to well, open the hood if the cable is inoperative.....the sooner the better b/c I need to check the oil level and carbs need adjusting BAD (hestiates under load and will stall after getting warm) Thanks in advance.

[Marty Rogan]

Put it on jack stands or ramps, being sure that it is very well support. Get under it with a long screw driver. You should be able to reach up above the trans and pry the latch open from there.

Good luck!

Marty

[AxtellZ]

I did this a year or two back, involved plenty of cussing, i remember. I jacked the front of the car up, then used a variety of wooden dowels, board strips, etc,to pry and poke at the latch and eventually got the sombitch to pop open. Good luck!

[72zcar]

Did you buy it without ever opening the hood? I think I will go out anf check the condition of my cable:tapemouth don't want this to happen to me.:dead:

[EScanlon]

You'll need to remove the hood.

Some people claim that you can reach up to the latch from underneath the engine, find the little lever and pull on it to release the hood. Unfortunately, I don't see how you could do it without the arms of an orangutan and a couple extra wrist joints in it.

I did it (twice even) by removing the bolts at the front holding the hood to the hinges.

First mark the bolts holding the hood onto the hinges on the hood bracket. You can reach the hood bolts from behind the grille and below. This is so you can relocate the hood where it is supposed to be mounted to without having to fiddle with a bunch of adjustments afterwards.

Then place a 2x4 piece of wood to prop up the hood as far as it can go without damaging either the hood, cowl or latch.

Next reach in there from the sides of the hood, with a 10mm wrench (socket is too tall) and remove the bolts holding the PIN onto the hood itself. Don't waste time trying to get the hood latch mechanism itself, it has a safety catch that locks the pin to it.

Once you've got the pin off, the hood is totally released. Be careful when removing it OFF the car as they are bulky. Get a friend.

Fix your cable, and do yourself a favor. I got this from a Roadster owner. Add a SECOND cable that goes in through the firewall, so that should this ever occur again, you have a back up.

Remount your hood using the bolt marks made and replace the pin at the top.

Hope this helps.

Enrique Scanlon

[Bambikiller240]

Once you have the hood open and fix the broken hood release cable, I suggest buying a small package of picture hanging wire (50 lb rated) and connect one end of it to the hood latch mechanism. Stretch out a length of wire that will hang down about half way to the ground on the driverside of the engine. Cut the wire to length and make a loop on that end. Next time the hood release cable breaks, you'll have a handy way to unlatch the hood from below without any hassle. Just reach up and grab the loop and yank.

[MakDiesel]

Thanks guys....as soon as it will stop storming over here in NC for days on end I'll get around to trying the most simple method then work my way up to removal of the hood if that's what it takes. I'll also install the backup cuz you can never have too many....BTW, I did actually buy the car w/o looking under the hood Thing is, its a series II '72 (my dream year), had mild rust, clean and seamless interior, new wheels/tires, etc all for $1500....id been looking for one in my area for 5 months now...this was IT....so what can i say i leaped for it....and if all else fails, I still got my '81 to swap...least I had at least one backup I'll let u know how it goes...peace

[Z Kid]

Before you go to all that effort, if it is the latch mechanism itself which has come loose, try having an assistant push down on the bonnet above the catch, while you pull the lever a few times, it may work it may not, but it sure is easier than pulling off the bonnet.

Chris

[Alfadog]

Yep - try what Chris said!!!!! Pull the cable HARD, you can't be gentle

I've had this happen to me ..... oooh three times now!

First I tried jacking it up, and I never got it that way. I think Enrique suggested to remove the bonnet to me also, but I really didn't want to do all that fiddling! So... I mentioned it to the mechanic when I took it in to get an engine tune up unfortunately they decided a screwdriver was teh best way to open it. Hmph.

Next time it happened in the morning when I was going for a bit of a cruise up a mountain. Good old Datsun won't fail me, so it should be alright! Murphy's Law........................ I broke down up the mountain (clogged up fuel line) and couldn't even look at the engine to even try to find out what the problem was!! Got it towed home and the tow truck driver showed me what Chris suggested - popped open easily.

Third time :cheeky: it was just last Tuesday. And as fate would have it, I was having a report made up on Thursday for someone who wanted one because he's interested in the car. They might have trouble checking the condition of the engine if they can't SEE the engine................. so I tried yanking the cable as hard as I could while having dad pushing hte bonnet... didn't work! So I took it to my new mechanic on Wednesday (the same day as the 240K was going in to get its water pump replaced (was leaky) and he did it and fixed it too so I dont think it will happen again.

You say your bonnet cable is snapped - are you sure? Mine was not snapped but the outer tube came unattached from a little clip just next to the latch, so when you pull the cable it pulled everything, instead of just the inner cable.

I forgot to ask how my 2nd mechanic openned the bonnet, I'll give him a ring next week and maybe he has a new way that might work for you?

Good luck!

[That Ozzy Guy]

Originally posted by Z Kid

Before you go to all that effort, if it is the latch mechanism itself which has come loose, try having an assistant push down on the bonnet above the catch, while you pull the lever a few times, it may work it may not, but it sure is easier than pulling off the bonnet.

Chris

On the first day when I got my Z I thought the cable was broken but I'd seen the previous owner open it so after a while (I'm slow) I did what Chris said and it worked. Worth a try.

[MakDiesel]

Nah this isn't an 'ify' bonnet connection.....the handle and about 2.5 feet of cable are laying in my passenger floorboard where It was left, so it is very, very inoperable in it's current state....I tried to get under it and flip it manually but the awkward header pipe kept me from going much further than the throttle....I'm going to try using an extension tomorrow maybe if I have time....I'm off 3rd this weekend so I might as well try all I can while I still have the time.

BTW I know what you all are talking about with the hard pulling latch, my current '81 the '72 will eventually replace has to have quite a man-jerk to get it to pop, and an equally violent force to get it to shut. Guess it's a Z thing......like rear end clunk and clocks having an expiration date of XX years Anyway, I'll be putting 100+ lb. test on the next bonnet release, plus a back up.

[Bambikiller240]

I have heard some people say that they have had better success unlatching the hood from below, by trying to do it on the passenger side of the engine. I haven't tried it either way my self but you may want to try that. You won't have the header and carb stuff in the way on that side of the engine.