Hood won't open

[Zoro]

I opened the hood once yesterday no problem then took the Eagle for a drive and now I can't get the hood to open. The original hood release lever is still in place and intact so I'm afraid to yank too hard and break the latch. I've never had any issues ever opening the hood until now. Pretty sure that the hood is shut correctly and not jammed.

Any ideas?

[Sunny]

Get someone to hold the release open, and push down hard and fast on the middle of the hood, at the front where the latch is.

We constantly have cars come in to work with stuck hoods, and that trick almost always works. It'll usually pop back up.

[GRONK]

Sounds like EVERY Chevy I've ever owned.  Have someone pull the hood-release while you use your palm to bang on the front center of the hood.  Once openened, readjust and lubricate.

[Zoro]

For some unknown reason it opened this morning. Even with the hood up the release mechanism feels sticky. How do I go about lubricating the cable and mechanism other than just blindly spraying WD40?

[BenM]

Ran and road spray, especially with salt, washes the grease out of it. Keep it well lubricated, spray some white lithium on it every time you check the oil.

WD-40 can be used to help clean out all the old grease, then just some good chassis grease on the mechanism and work some into the cable. You want it coated, and WD-40 will wash off after a few miles.

[GRONK]

I just bought a tub of lithium grease and dielectric grease.  I'm finding I use a lot of it with these Eagles.....

[shaggimo]

I like anti-sieze for areas like this, it doesn't go away.......ever  .  If you want proof, paint a smiley face on your inner wheel house with the stuff, see how long it stays, you'll probably forget why it's there long before it goes away  . I use it on all my latches if it a vehicle that I use all season. The down side to it, it doesn't go away, lol, if you're not careful it gets everywhere and on everything.

[BlueEagle]

Not sure if this is the place to post, but I didnt really think this was worthy of a new thread;

I am fortunate that I have not yet broken the interior hood latch pull that everyone says WILL break. I can tell by the force required to work mine that I will eventually join the majority. Any tips that arent obvious that I can use as a preventative measure against breaking mine?  I just rebuilt the motor so I am in and out of the engine compartment quite a bit.

[carnuck]

Lube it, lube it, lube it! And make sure it's adjusted correctly!

[BlueEagle]

Yup. Done, done and done.....I think I will try to very carefully remove the cable and lube inside the sheath real well, as well.

[Zoro]

Lube it, lube it, lube it! And make sure it's adjusted correctly!

Good advice right there. When properly lubed the hood should open with very little pressure on the hood pull.

[TLC87Eagle]

I keep everything in the mechanism properly lubed, the only problem I have is the hood doesn't pop up when you pull the release. I have to pull the release, and it stays slid out to where I can get out, pull the hood up, and unlatch it.
Just wondering it this is normal, or if there is a broken spring that should pop the hood up like most other cars. 

[shaggimo]

I have the same issue with the SX/4 (I thought it was normal), but then I got the sedan, it pops up like any other car. I have yet to investigate.

[txjeeptx]

Hmmm, I have the same issue. The car I did a quick mechanical resto on last summer also didn't "pop" up the hood when the release handle was pulled. I figured it was just an Eagle thing, but I 'll see if there's a spring in the latch that's supposed to force upward when the latch is released, and maybe the latch is gummed up with old grease, preventing the spring from being able to push the hood upward(if the spring I'm thinking of exists). I thought I'd cleaned and lubed the latch before, but I don't remember anymore(I suffer from CRS).

[TLC87Eagle]

Good to know I'm not the only one that has that issue. I've sprayed the latch with just about every kind of lube and looked at it several times for broken springs. The only thing I can see, is that there is a small section of the hood that is rubbing the fender lip ever so slightly, causing some friction in the hood gap. This could be causing too much friction for the spring to overcome. Still not sure if there is a separate spring, or if the hood springs assist in popping the hood. I know on two of my other vehicles though, there is a small cone spring specifically just to pop the hood when the release is pulled.