Hood release issues on 1996 Century

Status
Not open for further replies.

007

Joined
Jun 19, 2014
Messages
724
Location
Clermont, Fl
Looking for a solution for a sticky hood release mechanism on my 1996 Buick Century. Replaced the handle and cable once before but its getting to the point where its gonna break. Have to push down on hood while pulling lever to release. Lock does not seem like the spring is working to let it go back into position as I have to push the cable with the handle to lock down hood. Any ideas?
 
My hood release got " sticky " and I fixed it by applying a paint brush full of Fluid Film to the mechanism. Fluid Film works great for latches and hinges. The stuff penetrates into tight clearances. Great for rust proofing as well.
 
Clean the mechanism well with WD40 or brush on simple green as most solvents don't play well with paints and plastics and rinse it thoroughly.
Remove the cable end and lube the cable and the mechanism with Fluid Film or white lithium grease. You will need one of these, this one of ebay but you can get them almost anywhere where they service motorcycles.

https://www.ebay.com/i/152719161690?chn=ps
 
Originally Posted By: Oldtom
My hood release got " sticky " and I fixed it by applying a paint brush full of Fluid Film to the mechanism. Fluid Film works great for latches and hinges. The stuff penetrates into tight clearances. Great for rust proofing as well.


I have used PB Blaster . A little thicker than WD40 . Seems to stay put / last a little longer .

I wonder about 5W-30 synthetic ?
 
Cleaned everything up. Cable and mechanism still grabbing even with hood open after soaking with WD40.
 
With the hood open does the mechanism work properly? If it does it sounds like the latch mechanism may have shifted down.
In this case mark the current location with a sharpie and loosen the bolts, move it up about 1/8 of an inch and try it.
You may need to screw the bumpers on both sides down a bit.
 
With the hood open the latch still is not moving freely when pulling the hood release. Not sure if its the cable binding or the latch itself.
 
Time to mark the location of the latch, unhook the cable and remove it. Check the operation, if its not smooth soak it overnight in Simple Green (seriously), rinse it well, dry it and check the operation.
If the cable is stiff use the tool I linked to with Liquid Wrench and see it that frees it up, if not replace it. Put newspaper on the floor under the latch to catch the rusty junk that comes out of the other end of the cable.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top