My hood is stuck

[eagle1uctn]

Hi all,
I recently got a VX after drooling over them for a long time but I can't get to the engine without help. The hood release cable is fine, it's the release spring. It doesn't pop the hood up (someone has to pull the cable while I raise the hood). Anyone have any suggestions on how to make this a one person task?

Thanks for all of the other great tips that you have posted.

Eagle1uctn

[Marlin]

Try adjusting the the hood bump stop, little rubber piece(s) that determine the close height of the hood. If it is too far down, sometimes hood won't pop up. I had to raise mine, and I seem to remember a few others complaining about the same thing.

[Dumke]

WD-40 the hell outta it when you get hood up. The spring area. I have this happen all teh time course its always when I am alone.. Seatbelts work great. or asTom has told me he always carries a bungie cord for that reason..


But anyways it just needs some lube is all

[MSHardeman]

eagle, there are two rubber stops on either side of the radiator that the hood rests against and they can screw in or out to raise and lower them. If you give the rubber bumpers a few twists to raise them up a bit this should put enough pressure on the hood so that it will pop up when you pull the hood release. Also, lube the release mechanism a little to make sure that all is well.

Welcome to the fam.:thumbup:

[vt_maverick]

Try adjusting the the hood bump stop, little rubber piece(s) that determine the close height of the hood. If it is too far down, sometimes hood won't pop up. I had to raise mine, and I seem to remember a few others complaining about the same thing.

+1 - I had this problem initially as well, and tom4bren showed me how to adjust it. Super easy, just like adjusting the feet on table legs to level the table.

[jmayer40]

You can remove cable from latch then put a couple of washers on end of cable shield then put on.. it might be that your cable itself is starting to stretch.. that is what i did until picked a new one...

[Luna X]

when all else fails... while releasing the handle, reach over and give the hood a good smack right on the corner!

works for me....... and always worked for the Fonz!!!....Ayyyyyy!

[RickOKC]

My hood pops up, but just barely. My bump stops need to be replaced. A while back I was going to adjust them and expected all I needed to do was give a little twist to raise the height. They were both very loose & wobbling around. I took one out and the base was disintegrating. Bummer.

I've never had to replace something like this before so I'm wondering what a good source would be.

[jmayer40]

Autozone has been good for little things, for me

[yellowgizmo99]

I picked up some from a mitsubishi talon in a pick and pay

[VXorado]

I'm 6'6" so I just open the window, pull the latch with one hand, and grab the hood near the headlight with the other... works everytime :p

The other 90% of the time I rely on a spring installed under the hood to pop it up- got the idea from a new Jeep Wrangler

[RickOKC]

I'm 6'6" so I just open the window, pull the latch with one hand, and grab the hood near the headlight with the other... works everytime :p

Rub it in, "Monkey Arms"... rub it in.

Ignore me. I'm 5'-9", bitter, shrinking, and sensitive. :laughing: :laughing: :laughing:

[SlowPro48]

Eagle1,

You can fix this very easily by going to your local motorcycle dealership and acquiring an exhaust spring for a two-stroke dirt bike. Simply install this spring in parallel with the weak OEM bonnet-popping spring. Adjusting the rubber bumpers will work as well but they really aren't meant for that - for one thing they don't store nearly as much energy as a spring - and with constant pressure they will fatigue and flatten out - they are actually for support and height adjustment of the bonnet - so that it's flush with the fenders. The spring is supposed to do the heavy lifting but obviously it's not up to the task since it seems many of us are having problems. If you're a purist, you can order a new OEM spring from Merlin but I suspect it will fail in a few years like your original. Exhaust springs are fairly robust so if you go that route I think your fix will last a while. Just pick a spring according to size - takes all of 10 seconds to install it and you'll never have to worry about it again.

http://www.vehicross.info/gallery/data/515/thumbs/bonnet_spring.JPG (http://www.vehicross.info/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=19029)

[H3_VX]

when all else fails... while releasing the handle, reach over and give the hood a good smack right on the corner!

works for me....... and always worked for the Fonz!!!....Ayyyyyy!
Just had this problem this morning. Releasing the handle while pounding the hood worked for me. This forum comes in handy once again. :grinb:

[RabidPony]

Rub it in, "Monkey Arms"... rub it in.

Ignore me. I'm 5'-9", bitter, shrinking, and sensitive. :laughing: :laughing: :laughing:

But does he have gorilly feet to go with those monkey arms? :bgwb:

[circmand]

But does he have gorilly feet to go with those monkey arms? :bgwb:

but maybe chimpanzeebrains

[PHO2GR4]

Try adjusting the the hood bump stops, little rubber piece(s) that determine the close height of the hood. If it is too far down, sometimes hood won't pop up. I had to raise mine, and I seem to remember a few others complaining about the same thing.

+1 on this. It's the quickest, easiest and most effective solution. Raising the two rubber bump stops puts just a bit more upward pressure when the cable is released. A few twists fixed my hood in a jiffy.

[RickOKC]

but maybe chimpanzeebrainsBetter hope not - or he may start throwing "monkey chunkies" at you! :eekgray:

[VXorado]

+1 on this. It's the quickest, easiest and most effective solution. Raising the two rubber bump stops puts just a bit more upward pressure when the cable is released. A few twists fixed my hood in a jiffy.

This works but made my hood stick up like the VX was in an accident & had shoddy bodywork done. I decided to lower the bumpstops back down and put up with the sticking hood.

[samneil2000]

Mine was sticking and I had to put vice-grips on the cable under the dash to hold it out, like an extra set of hands, while I pulled up on the hood. I coated the latch mechanism liberally with white lithium grease and it seems to pop up like it should now.

[circmand]

Better hope not - or he may start throwing "monkey chunkies" at you! :eekgray:

I wondered what was in the Chunkie Monkee drinks some on here rave about.