S40 V40: Opening bonnet after release cable break

[Shirley Buckingham]

Hi. My bonnet release has broken and I need to open the bonnet. Any ideas?

[Clan]

Originally Posted by Shirley Buckingham

Hi. My bonnet release has broken and I need to open the bonnet. Any ideas?

yes undo the 3 small bolts that hold the catch on , Use a very small 1/4" drive socket set to undo the 10mm AF headed bolts through the grille slats , you may have to ease the slats open to get it through but no need to break the grille as people seem to do ! You can then raise the bonnet enough to get your hand in and use something to release the catch .

[Matt86]

If that doesn't work depending on where the snap is, jack the car and remove the front o/s wheel, undo the bolts for the wheel arch and the cable should hopefully be in the top of the well, give it a good pull and hopefully will pop it.

[Clan]

The reason the cable breaks is neglect , the catch rusts and siezes and people have to pull the cable so hard that it breaks .

[Trugga]

Originally Posted by Clan

yes undo the 3 small bolts that hold the catch on , Use a very small 1/4" drive socket set to undo the 10mm AF headed bolts through the grille slats , you may have to ease the slats open to get it through but no need to break the grille as people seem to do ! You can then raise the bonnet enough to get your hand in and use something to release the catch .

Thanks for this information - it might just do the job.

Could someone post a pic of the front of the catch with the bonnet up, just so I know what to look for.

Lawrence

[liberate]

here's a pic. i fixed mine by feeding a bicycle gear cable straight through the in place outer sleeve (barrel end, fits in the red release lever perfect) cost about £3. still working years later.

[gatos]

Originally Posted by Shirley Buckingham

Hi. My bonnet release has broken and I need to open the bonnet. Any ideas?

What year is your car? In the phase 1 models (pre 2000) you might be able to access the rear of the locking mechanism (where the cable was attached) from under the car. This involved the removal of the plastic engine undertray. In phase 2 models, this is not possible because the bumper plastics do not allow access to the lock.

Personally, the best way I found to open the bonnet is by removing the engine undertray, undoing the 4 bolts securing the bumper, the screws and plastic clip at the front of the front wheel arches. This will allow you to pull the bumper out a couple of inches and access the back of the locking mechanism to release it. Tried and tested and it works a treat

[Loubaruch]

Pics and procedure for changing the bonnet release cable here:

www.bertram-hill.com

[baldmosher]

Originally Posted by Loubaruch

Pics and procedure for changing the bonnet release cable here:

www.bertram-hill.com

Still lurking

If you've only snapped the cable, and the sheath is intact, replacing the cable is 100x easier. Just need a stainless steel tandem gear cable, a piece of chop block, and a metal file, and thread it through the sheath.