I have a major problem. The cable to my passenger hood latch has come undone and my hood is down. Does anyone have any idea how to release this latch or have a possible solution to this problem. I could always have the hood cut off, but would like to avoid the expense if possible.

As scurvy said try vise grips and such.

And his link is good and gave me the idea that if all else fails the grill is easiest to replace/repair. If you have to cut/bust/mame grill before hood.

Before cutting the hood Try having a second person apply presure on the passenger side as you pull the handle. The latch is adjustable if the hood can be opened. If this fails I recall you can remove the grill from the outside. and then get to the latch

If the cable broke off near the handle, you can probably grab it with a pair of vise grips and pull it that way. If it's just the latch in the center of the hood, you can bend a tight hook in a coathanger and pull on it that way. Bay 13 has better instructions on how to do this by removing the grill - http://www.volvospeed.com/Hoodlatch.php

If it's the corner latches, you may be able to gain access to them this way.

scurvy

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1995 base 850 w/m56 manual transmission, 158k miles