96 corolla hood release cable

[nummiman]

Hello everyone. I am new to TN. I have a '96 corolla and it's hood will not "catch" in the closed position. I have no trouble opening the hood; just completely closing it. The hood latch was previously replaced, but the hood will still not completely close. The release lever inside the driver's compartment does not return to it's flush position and I can look behind the lever and see that the cable is bowed out and not slipping back into the black sheath. I have purchased a new hood release cable and I want to know if anyone else has ever replaced one of these. If so, do you have step by step instructions and possibly photos. So far, by just looking at how the cable is routed, it seems this could be a real pain in the ### to replace. I searched the web about this(nothing) and my chilton manual doesn't cover this topic. Any help out there? I can give more details if needed.

[iToaster]

Pop off the plastic grill (3 screws on top and two clips on each side on the bottom) to expose the latch. Remove the 3 bolts holding it on, pull it off and remove the plastic cover on the back. You should see a spring attached to the release housing and the other end should be on a lever. There should also be another spring attached to two levers. The release cable had a metal ball on the end and should come through a hook on one of the levers so that when you pull the release it pulls the lever in the latch to pop the hood. If your cable is just sitting there unconnected, hook it back up, if you can pull it out, you'll need to replace it. I've never replaced the cable, but I have fixed the latch before.

[bigstinker]

Originally Posted by iToaster

Pop off the plastic grill (3 screws on top and two clips on each side on the bottom) to expose the latch. Remove the 3 bolts holding it on, pull it off and remove the plastic cover on the back. You should see a spring attached to the release housing and the other end should be on a lever. There should also be another spring attached to two levers. The release cable had a metal ball on the end and should come through a hook on one of the levers so that when you pull the release it pulls the lever in the latch to pop the hood. If your cable is just sitting there unconnected, hook it back up, if you can pull it out, you'll need to replace it. I've never replaced the cable, but I have fixed the latch before.

Thanks this post helped me.
After removing the three screws I was able to see what was wrong. The cable attached to the lower spring was not moving too well. After getting a direct shot of WD4 on the end of the cable and working the hood release under the dash the cable was able to release a bit better. Now my hood locks easily again. The spring could have a little more tension but it's working so...

[speedy25]

You have to free up all the parts and then grease them. Its a common problem on a lot of cars hood latches. When you said it didnt return I knew it had rusted. The spring is fine, the lever just needs freeing up and lubrication.

-SP