Best method for adjusting hood release wire / hood latches?

CookeD

CookeD

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Hey People,

Replaced my hood release wire, and just like the wire that finally gave up the ghost, the lever under the dash pulls much harder upon closing / opening the hood than it seems it should have to.

Wondering if this is normal, or if there is a best method for finding the correct location for the wire to affix to the latches so that the lever / wire / latches aren't unnecessarily burdened with tension, but that the hood is held down firmly...?

I did back off the pull from the wire, but the hood wasn't down on the weatherstripping under tension, and thought I may get some shake and rattle from that.

Thanks in advance for help on this!

John
 
I have this as well. Seems I couldnt get the bonnet to close satisfactorily without the wire uinder serious stress. It works well but i dread the day it snaps .............again.
 
Hood Cable Binding

Try loosening the 2 pinch bolts then push down on each clamp hook, drivers side first, before tightening the pinch bolts. This will pull the hood down further and eliminates the binding.

Doug
 
This area is definitely one of weak designs of the coupe. I must have broken 2 or 3 of these cables in my 20 years of coupe ownership. Odd thing is my 88 M6 uses the same tensioned latch and cable design and the original cable has never given me any trouble and does not show any evidence of it breaking anytime soon. The latches on the E9 and the E24 are exactly the same and have the same part number. The only difference in the system that I can discern is a different part number for the 2 cables.

My theory is that the later E24 uses a stronger steel wire for the cable, hence the longevity of it. So the question is, can the E24 cable be used on the CS coupes? To the naked eye, they look very similiar and should be rougly the same length.

Kind of wish Bmw had went with the traditional spring loaded hood latching systems. The sure lock of the spring loaded latches is that once close, it is no longer under tension, thereby placing less strain on the cable. It also does not need the constant fiddling and readjustments of the Bmw hood locking system.
 
Hood latching

I've had an opposite experience with the hood latching mechanism on the BLUMAX.

Now rapidly approaching it's 40th Birthday (September 5th) and almost 412,000 miles--it has broken once and has been adjusted 3 or 4 times. Perhaps Bert's has been overly stressed in the adjustment process.

I've also observed that if any of the three correct seals underhood are missing or compromised--trying to compensate for resulting "hood/bonnet flutter" by over tightening the adjustments. This could be a factor leading to premature or frequent failure(s).
 
Hey Murray / Doug,

Thought about the weatherstripping being of issue, though it's all present and seems to be in good shape. However, it's possible that it's worn out and compressing too far when latched.

I should clarify and say that I think I have the latches adjusted correctly. The real question is in regards to how much effort should be involved with throwing the release lever in either direction...

If it's normal that the wire should have a fair (i.e. somewhat concerning) amount of tension, I'm good. If something's going to break (wire, latch, release lever / pivot) with a fair amount of tension, I'll figure out how to back the wire off with adjustments.

Thanks in advance,

John
 
Hood wire replacement

I am about to perform the same wire replacement this morning and thought it would be prudent to research the topic here before performing what seems to be a fairly straightforward task. Anyone have any suggestions or horror stories?
 
Hood wire

I found that the release handle needs to be pushed far forward before tightening the first fixing. It gives you that extra inch or so for better closing. (I did ask for assitance while I tightened it or use some vice grips)

The catches can be a little slack, so I activated (closed ) them a bit before tightening.

It's always good to check the release, grease it a bit, maybe put a washer on it if it's wobbly. I did a bit of cleaning while the cable was out of the bilge area, excellent time to detail and regrease the catches, clean up any overspray, etc. Depends on how far you want to take it.
 
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