Need Help Bad
 

I went to open my hood today ant when I pulled the handle it popped. Now it has no tension at all when I pull it but I can here the cable moving. My guess is either it broke or came of the hood latch. Now for the big question, is there anyway to get the hood unlatched without having to cut the hood? It is a new cowl hood and I just got my truck painted. If anyone has any ideas please let me know.

If it were me and no way around the fan shroud, on a newly painted vehicle...I would remove the grill and either carefully burn out or drill out from underneath, the locking mechanism bolts or cut around the mechanism itself, but ruining the radiator support. The mechanism then will remain attached to the hood, while allowing the hood to be opened. I might even consider, dumping antifreeze, removing hoses, busting up the shroud from underneath. Then removing the fan and radiator, attempting to go through the engine side. Probably just a judgement call on doing the least amount of damage as possible.

BTW, isn't this like the 2nd person in a week who got their hood locked without access?

first i would check to make sure that it didnt unattach at the handle so you would just have to pull what is left

If the cable has broken or came of at the latch, I might try pulling the grill then drilling a small hole (3/8) to the driver side of the latch. Then maybe if lucky you could bend a wire coat hanger, stick it up in there, and trip the latch. I'm probably not that lucky, but I would try it.

i have had the exact same thing happen to me. i was instructed to take a piece of fairly thick steel (i used 2" wide 1/4") and slide it between the core support and the hood right where the latch is. pry upwards carefully, this will allow you a bit of clearance to get a 1/4" drive socket and extension in there, remove the latch and the hood will open. replace your cable and rebend the hood back to its proper form (may require light hammering). if you're worried about paint, wrap both the steel and the hammer in a rag or towel. i had 0 paint damage on mine when i did it.

Although it may not be the same, I had a 87 I-cube van once that had a messed up hood latch. I would pull the handle inside and nothing would happen outside. I would use a long screwdriver to open the hood a lot of times. Worked great. Just stick it through the grille and pop the latch. It takes a little figuring out the first couple times but once you see where you need to put it to move the hook over, it's real easy to do.

I had an 86 s10 blazer,, cable broke right at the latch. On mine I could push a philips screw driver in between to push on the small hoop the cable used to run through. hell, I always have a screwdriver, so I never fixed it.. not even mechanics could figure out how to get in..of course yours could be differnt. go find an identicle truck to yours , with it's hood open you might be able to figure out how to get in to yours.

Thanks for all the tips guys. I made a hook from a piece of 1/4 inch round to get to the back side of the latch and popped it open that way.

Good ole American ingenuity at work again. :)