Jan 31, 2021
5
1
VetteCoins
147
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1986 Z51 L98
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BC
Hood refuses to Pop up on my 1986 coupe. I’ve checked, cleaned and lubed all the cabling and release points but it still does not pop open. I’ve even measured the height of the hood bumper (33mm as per manufacturer) and run out of ideas. The cable is working probably and opens the release but the hood should pop up a bit when released and it does not. Any ideas? Thanks
 
I take it you can still open the hood. Just guessing ...but... I believe the early models had hydraulic hood assists (much like your rear hatch only much shorter, mounted in the nose of the car, are they in place and working?
Is one or both of the main pins mounted on the fire wall or, conversely, the receivers in the hood, a bit out of alignment?
Is the hood out of alignment? A check of the gaps at the nose, fenders and doors might reveal something?
As I said ...just guessing...good luck.
 
I take it you can still open the hood. Just guessing ...but... I believe the early models had hydraulic hood assists (much like your rear hatch only much shorter, mounted in the nose of the car, are they in place and working?
Is one or both of the main pins mounted on the fire wall or, conversely, the receivers in the hood, a bit out of alignment?
Is the hood out of alignment? A check of the gaps at the nose, fenders and doors might reveal something?
As I said ...just guessing...good luck.
Yes, I can still open my hood but I have to hold the release level open and pull up on the hood to get it up. The Hood Assists are pretty much useless, I think they only come into play to help you raise or lower the hood and not pop it up off the release catches. The hood catches are aligned properly as I greased the receivers and lowered the hood to make contact then raised the hood and the grease was evenly marking the pins.
 
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Well so much for my initial guesses, LOL.
I had a look at mine and I can only come up with one more guess. Is the release cable too loose?
The cable pulls on a lever in the receivers, which in turn rotates a slider to release the pin(s). If the cable is loose it may not be pulling the lever far enough to let the pin(s) fully release. There is a cable adjuster on each side at the receivers.

Other than that, from what I see it has to work.
 
I have no experience with a C4 so this is just a WAG; does your hood have adjustable rubber stoppers? If so they maybe screwed down to the lowest position perhaps not even contacting the hood when its closed? If your car has these rubber stoppers try screwing them a bit higher, placing a bit of upwards pressure on the hood. When the release lever is pulled the hood should pop up ....?
 
Well so much for my initial guesses, LOL.
I had a look at mine and I can only come up with one more guess. Is the release cable too loose?
The cable pulls on a lever in the receivers, which in turn rotates a slider to release the pin(s). If the cable is loose it may not be pulling the lever far enough to let the pin(s) fully release. There is a cable adjuster on each side at the receivers.

Other than that, from what I see it has to work.
Thanks for the reply, the manufacturer recommends 33mm from the base to the rubber bumper. I’ve measured mine and it’s at 31mm so I’m with in spec. I might investigate if there is adjustment of the hood catch bracket .
 
I have no experience with a C4 so this is just a WAG; does your hood have adjustable rubber stoppers? If so they maybe screwed down to the lowest position perhaps not even contacting the hood when its closed? If your car has these rubber stoppers try screwing them a bit higher, placing a bit of upwards pressure on the hood. When the release lever is pulled the hood should pop up ....?
Thanks for the reply, my hood bumpers are already abit lower then spec, and may start rubbing on the wipers and other components under the hood.
 
Hood refuses to Pop up on my 1986 coupe. I’ve checked, cleaned and lubed all the cabling and release points but it still does not pop open. I’ve even measured the height of the hood bumper (33mm as per manufacturer) and run out of ideas. The cable is working probably and opens the release but the hood should pop up a bit when released and it does not. Any ideas? Thanks
Had the same problem 2 years ago on my ‘84. I found once the hood was open a few little turns of the lock pin in the lock spring with a flathead screwdriver was all it took to allow the hood to release freely.
 
Hood lock pin adjustment can help, but also check release travel at end of cable with someone working the lever, may require adjustment to cable length. Also...check to see that the release lever is actually screwed down firmly, and not loosely hanging. I discovered this one just a couple of weeks ago. The screw between the cable end mounts is the culprit, difficult to get to and tighten.
 
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Hood "pop" is a function of the springs on the hood latching pins.

They tend to "sag" after decades of being compressed (ie: hood closed).

Assuming everything is adjusted properly and not worn/stretched (IE;l hood cables), you can get more "pop" by shortening the latch pins slightly. You will see a common slot screwdriver point in the middle of the pin. Give it a 1/4 or half turn in and see if it helps. Good thing is you can't mess it up. If you shorten the pin too much, the latch just won't catch the pin. Be careful not to make it too tight in the latch though. Too tight can make 30 year old cables stretch even more than they already are or (the ultimate nightmare on a C4) snap....
 
Was thinking about it and few things I should mention about the hood release springs before someone goes out and has a good curse session with my name in it:

The catch pin/springs have a relationship to thier depth adjustment and the hood "bumpers". Should you shorten the pins too much, they may not catch, or worese, they may catch but the hood may be cinched down so tight against the hood bumpers that they will not release at all.

The screw slot in the hood catch pin is for adjusting the depth, but they are stupid hard to move. GM either used a threadlocker of some sort on them, or the screw threads are very tight. The pins are VERY hard to turn and when I tweeked mine, there was no way in "heck" they were going to adjust with a flat blade screwdriver alone. I ended up having to remove the plate the catch pins are on and heating it to break the pin loose in it's threads. Even then, it was VERY hard to turn.

Before going down that road, I recommend making sure the cables are adjusted properly and are fully disengaging the catch.

Even then, it must be kept in mind that the pin springs are only intended to move the hood just a slight amount, just barely enough to pull the catch pins out of the catch.

The last thing to make sure of is that your hood hinges at the front are not tight, corroded or too dry (IE: caked up old grease or no lubricant at all). If they are, they are just one more thing fighting the pin springs when you pull the release lever.

Even if everything is "perfect", they will still occasionally refuse to "pop". HAppens to mine from time to time and I need to put hand under the rear of the hood when I pull the release.
 
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