My daughter called from Maine this morning with a hood that will not release when the cable is pulled on her 1982 240 wagon. I suspect the cable may be broken or slipping and not releasing the latch. Does anyone out there have a fix for this problem. Like how to get the latch to open when the cable fails? I have checked the archives and can only seem to find a clever way to lubricate the cable...this may be great but late advice. Thanks for any response.

Remi

After losing three batteries in tree weeks in New York City, I figured out that all the Volvos in the neighborhood had also been hit.

The thief knew his way around this style of latch. He would slid a hook in between the slats of the grille--grab the cable and jerk it until the hood latch pops. Apparently moving the inside or the outside of the cable seems to activate the latch. Try It!

The latch mecanism gets corroded after a while. I reached up between the grille and the radiator and gave it a few shots of weasel extract. The plastic pan fell off long ago, so access is easy. I lubricate the latch once in a while. With the hood open it is easy to remove the grille and get at it. If your daughter is near the dealers in the Portland or Brunswick areas, they may take pity on her and freebie it.

I bought an 87 wagon that had that problem, i used a long screwdriver and stuck it beyween the bars of the grille and pushed the cable far enough to release the hood latch. Once open i lubed the heck out of everything in that area, kept pulling the release handle in the car and it all loosened up and then worked very well..... Tom Wasney 240aholic

If you remove the grille, you will be able to play with the mecanism.

BUT: how to remove the grille with the hood closed??

I don't know if the little plastic pins are removable with a closed hood.

She could have someone push down on the hood where the latch is located and then have your daughter pull the cable. That might work. That is if cable isn't broken yet.

I hope that the earlier responses help you and your daughter to get the hood open. The screwdriver trick worked for me on an '83 240 which was getting stuck often. I finally realized that someone had routed the hood release cable in such a way that it would bind and make the cable very hard to pull. I re-routed the cable to make the bends smoother and it never gave me any more trouble. Of course a good lube job on that cable and latch couldn't hurt. I've had good results with a spray can of white grease on the latch which sprays a a liquid and then the solvent evaporates leaving the grease. It penetrates pretty well.