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I've owned a bunch of 240's and have always had trouble with the latch and cable. I have to pull the cable, get out of the car to open the hood, then get back in and PUSH the cable so I can close the hood and it will latch. Well, on this cable I could barely get it to pull open and now I can't push it in to latch. I took out the latch and soaked it up with WD40 and put it back to no avail. Just exactly where is the holdup on this, where do I lubricate, and does the cable ever just need replacing? Thanks! Gary.
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The problem may be that the whole cable is moving when you pull rather that just the inner wire. This may be because the cable sheath is loose under the cable clamps/holdowns in the engine compartment.
If so, loosen the cable holdowns in the engine compartment and pull the cable tight (into the compartment) and tighten holdowns. You may need to wrap eletrical tape (or whatever) around the sheath section under the clamps for them to be effective.
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1980 245 Canadian B21A with SU carb and M46 trans
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Mine was really hard to pull. I disconnected the cable then removed, cleaned and oiled the latch mechanism. Then I pulled the cable and housing out of its normal place, freeing it back to the strut tower. After I tied the end up as high as I could to the ceiling of the garage, I dripped jack oil (for hydaulic jacks) down the cable about twenty times over the next 24 hours. It has worked fine since then which was about four months ago. Good luck.
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Thanks everyone for all the information and advice, Doug C. 81 242 Brick Off Blocks, stock, B21F (non-Turbo), M46; 86 244, B230, 140k , auto.
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Sounds good but a couple questions. When you say "cleaned" the latch mechanism, like with what, like brake cleaner, or...? Also, why jack oil, why not regular motor oil? Thanks.
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I cleaned it with carburetor cleaner. I used jack oil just because I had it handy and it seemed like a lighter oil than motor oil. It seemed like it might run down the cable into the housing better than heavier oil.
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Thanks everyone for all the information and advice, Doug C. 81 242 Brick Off Blocks, stock, B21F (non-Turbo), M46; 86 244, B230, 140k , auto.
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This might be too much of a "hack" solution for you, but when I had the same problems with the cable in my girlfriend's @%#! Buick, I got out the snips. Now the cable sticks out through the grille.
As far as spray-lube goes, I like PBlaster, but there might be better for this application.
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I had a very stiff hood release cable once. I finally saw that it was routed from the firewall to the latch in such a way that there was a sharp bend in it. I re-routed the cable and it worked much better. Of course it could also help to get some lube into the cable itself. That lube used for bicycle brake and shifter cables would work. WD40 is ok for loosening mechanisms but won't lube very well once it dries up.
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Just looked in the archives. One suggestion is to disconnect the cable, take the last 3 ft., put the end up, then drip oil down it. Maybe I'll see what lube a bike shop has. If it works, I have 3 240's to do it to. I just got a '90 740, do these have hood cable problems too? By the way, I get down to 2 Volvos, then somehow I always go back up to 4 or so. Is there a support group for this?!?
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LOL, LOL. I only have 3 of these cars, but I look in the paper every day and once a week on Ebay. It is a curse! Just like people who rescue pets. We rescue cars. It's fun, my insurance agent loves me (5 policies) and my wife thinks I have gone over the edge.
The hood cables are a problem on my 95 850 too, it's generic to old cars. I have to unplug the one on my 780 and clip some wire off, it has stretched too far over the years. Have fun with your rescue projects.
Klaus
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95 854T, 88 780, 88 245
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Yes - the cable does need replacing. Lube on the latch won't help if the cable itself is failing. I replaced mine (luckily I took the grille out just before the cable failed so I could open the hood) and it's well worth it (works easily every time now). Eventually the wire stops sliding inside the sheath and the sheath itself moves and gets bound up. Replacement was fairly easy on my 1980, the part was ~$30. Just follow the wire back from the latch and you'll see the sheath running along the left fender down to the firewall.
Zack
1980 245DL M46 272k
1988 745T+ M46 193k
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Thanks. Luckily I just took (and left) the grill out also!
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