My hood doesnt pop open, what do I do?

afroman006 · Mar 7, 2005

My burb has over 200k miles on it and the hood has probably been opened way more times than it was designed to. Now, when I pull the cable, nothing happens. It pops the latch but the hood doesnt pop up. The cable is not the issue, I just replaced it. The brand new one I just put in was the same damn length as the old one so I did some creative work with some bailing wire and its as tight as its gonna get. I'm thinking I either need to replace the little coil spring at the front of the hood, or the two big hinges that support it. Which is it. Right now I have to beat on the driver's side corner of the hood to get it to open and its dented, and my hand is starting to hurt. For labor's sake I hope its just the little spring at the front but I will do whatever needs to be done to fix it.

Esteban86K5 · Mar 7, 2005

Have you tried lubing it all. The hindges, springs, everything that moves on it. I did that to mine and it work.

clarkjw24 · Mar 7, 2005

I thought they all came with the "saftey lock" aka beat on the hood. :xmas:

afroman006 · Mar 7, 2005

Noooo. Good idea. I'll try it and report back.

beater_k20 · Mar 7, 2005

open it up, grab snatch ahold of the spring, and stretch it back out. then go get yourself a new spring sometime in the near future.

k5freak44 · Mar 7, 2005

cheby tap

Jonny-K5 · Mar 7, 2005

i just squirt a lil wd40 on mine. works like a charm til it gets dirty again. i have to pop mine right in the middle. i think its kinda cool, like the fonz.

besides lube, a new spring would probly solve it tho.

2Dogs · Mar 7, 2005

It's all in the wrist.....

Mine has this security feature also.

rjfguitar · Mar 7, 2005

Hah, I'm having the opposite problem as you....mine wants to pop open all the time. :haha:

jekquistk5 · Mar 7, 2005

Do what I did replace your power steering pump, then leave a bottle of power steering fluid in the center by the latch. Now wait till it gets dark to shut your hood and forget about that bottle. Then you realize what you did and feel like a dumb ass. Next day you pop the hood, and it actually comes open

Pookster · Mar 7, 2005

What? You mean thats not the factory anti theft device? :xmas:

Do the quick beat on the left and right side of an emblem. usually a good 10 seconds of beating it works for me.

afroman006 · Mar 7, 2005

The beating *would* be cool if it weren't for the violence required to get it to open, and the dent in the hood.

mini_mull · Mar 7, 2005

Have had the same problem with every Chevy truck I've owned, and I just beat on the hood, until last week. I noticed the rubber hood bumpers on the front left and right hand corners under the hood screw up and down (I don't think the older ones do, and I don't know what year they changed, but I have a 87 Burb). I gave them each a little twist so they stick out a little farther, and voila, the hood has popped right up every time since. Please post up if this works for you, or if I just got lucky.

85mudblazin · Mar 7, 2005

pull latch, walk to front of hood, hit hood twice, pops up

84_Chevy_K10 · Mar 8, 2005

k5freak44 said:
cheby tap

yep, the "Chevy LOVE tap" is what your rig needs.

gar · Mar 8, 2005

I've found that the tap does the trick. To figure out EXACTLY where to tap, feel where the hood release in the grile is. Now, figure out where on the hood is directly above the hook, and deliver a quick rap with your fist.

With a little practice, you'll feel like the Fonz.

cbbr · Mar 8, 2005

Try WD-40 and stop beating it hard enough to dent it. A light tap will always be required.

BIG*RED · Mar 8, 2005

i had to do the "chevy tap" on mine all the time, then for the heck of it, one day i losened all the bolts on the hood hinges, re-alingned the hood, made sure that all gaps were equal. tighten the bolts back down, and now my hood works fine, pull the lever and it pops right up..granted it took me some time to get it aligned just right..but thats another option to look into

firefighter184 · Mar 8, 2005

Jonny-K5 said:
i just squirt a lil wd40 on mine. works like a charm til it gets dirty again. i have to pop mine right in the middle. i think its kinda cool, like the fonz. besides lube, a new spring would probly solve it tho.

Me too. I give it the ol' Arthur Fonzarelli just to the left of the centerline, above the grill. Works every time.

dyeager535 · Mar 8, 2005

mini_mull said:
Have had the same problem with every Chevy truck I've owned, and I just beat on the hood, until last week. I noticed the rubber hood bumpers on the front left and right hand corners under the hood screw up and down (I don't think the older ones do, and I don't know what year they changed, but I have a 87 Burb). I gave them each a little twist so they stick out a little farther, and voila, the hood has popped right up every time since. Please post up if this works for you, or if I just got lucky.

They started this as early as 1981.

This is probably going to fix your problem, it did mine.

The hood latch assembly is also adjustable up and down, but if your hood lines up with the rest of the body, then mess with the bumpers first. Typically have to close it a bit harder, but it will pop up when you pull the cable. Don't get them out too far, I can imagine having hood problems if they are putting too much pressure on it.

Mark the hood latch location before loosening the bolts up, and make SMALL adjustments if you start playing with it. If your hood opens ok once you get it unlatched, then its not a hinge issue.

Actually, I think I'm wrong. The bumpers should set the body line as the final adjustment, the hood latch should be adjusted to allow it to release.

My hood doesnt pop open, what do I do?

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