My front bonnet locking mechanism is not engaging the hood latch properly. When I push down on the hood, it keeps popping up. If it does close, I can open the lid just by pulling it up from the side of the hood around the perimeter. And once I'm driving, it pops up again (presumably from the vibrations). The latch does stay catched, but obviously not safe to drive (or park) with the lid ajar. Is there a way to adjust the locking mechanism or do I just have to replace it?

The screws on the upper (lid) & lower (trunk face) latches have some play for adjustment, but check that your lid is aligning properly too via the gaps all equal when closed. If not, then you'll need to adjust the hood first with the 2 bolts on each hinge L&R, which is easiest with the upper latch off so you can raise & lower as you tweak the adjustment.
this from another post hope it helps
I searched +adjust +hood +latch
first one I saw that may help there are probly others

Yes, the lid is properly aligned and gaps are even all he way around.

Which screws can be adjusted? How? They look like they just anchor the latch to the frame?

Thanks for the search to the other post. Will check it out now.

I searched but didn't see anything on how to actually adjust the front latch to keep the locking mechanism locked.

It only started doing this yesterday. Was always fine before.

Any instructions on how to fix this? Or is it just worn and can't be fixed?

Make sure your hood release handle under the dash is pushed all the way back in. This is a common problem with our teeners. It will not automatically spring back.

^ Yes, thank you. Good tip, but yes I checked that. It's all the way in.

lube cable and latch mechanism.

The part on the car may need to be shimmed with a washer if you can't use the part on the hood to adjust.
Play around with the hood latch 1st, you can probably take care of it that way.
Just a matter of moving it around to find the position it latches and stays

Okay upon further fiddling around, Jawa your hypothesis was spot on. I had checked the cable and it seemed all the way in. But upon doing it again, it was just stuck a bit and went in further. Pushing it ALL the way in solved the locking problem, so that's what ti was.

However, the new problem is how to get the hood release to go back into place all the way in again after being pulled. It is a bit stiff halfway in. Is the cable going bad or can I just lube it? If I can just lube it, where would I lube it at? mepstein where do you suggest?

Thanks again for all your input!

unbolt the cable from the locking mech in the front trunk. Pull the handle in the car until you remove the cable. Lube the cable with a lightweight grease or thickish oil. Bicycle chain lube works great. Lay something down under the pull handle inside your car so you don't drip on your carpet. Reinstall and lube the front truck lock mech. It should feel like new once your done.

Do the same to your engine cover release but don't remove the cable. Just drip lightweight oil down the wire and into the housing and lube the mech.

Fantastic. Thank you! I will pick up some lubricant tomorrow and try that.

Also buy some spray lube so you can hit other latches and locks on your car. Makes things work much smoother and easier so there's less stress and strain on the 40 year old parts.

Yes, I did that recently actually. Good suggestion.

Okay so I pulled out the cable. I had some thick gel-like lube that is used for large, plastic threading on my pool pump. I rubbed it all over the cable, some in large globs to coat the inside of the plastic tube housing and went to thread it back through.

After much fiddling, it finally went through and went all the way through with about a foot left that wouldn't go through. So I took it out and tried again. Although this time, it won't go in more than an inch.

It will barely go into the tubing from inside the cabin. I used a flashlight and was careful to make sure it was not catching on anything on the outside. But something is blocking it from going in (see pic 1).

I tried from the other end inside the front bonnet. I found that the plastic housing was broken where it goes through a hole in the frame between the inside of the trunk to the headlight housing area (see pic 2). I figured this is where it stopped from the first time I threaded it back in and it went almost all the way in. Okay, no problem, I can still thread it through the break now that I see it. But then it stops where the plastic tubing goes into the firewall (see pic 3).

I don't see how to remove the tubing from the inside of the cabin where you first thread it in, to see if something is blocking the cable.

I need the car for Tuesday so now I'm thinking I should have waited. At least I could lock it again by pushing the latch in further. Now I can't thread the damn thing back at all.

Also, is there supposed to be a screw in the handle housing where the cable screws in (see pic 4)?

PIC 1:
Click to view attachment

PIC 2:
Click to view attachment

PIC 3:
Click to view attachment

PIC 4:
Click to view attachment

Yes. There's a small set screw that takes a flat blade screwdriver.

^ Thanks. I'll take it to the hardware store to get a screw to fit.

Any suggestions on how to thread my cable back through? I can't figure out where exactly or what it's catching on. Somewhere within a few inches between around the firewall inside the front trunk compartment (aft of the front fender) and where the handle goes inside the cabin.

Try rotating the cable if it catches on something. It has worked for me sometimes.

I do have the new tubes and even cables if you need them
http://www.shop.914rubber.com/Front-trunk-...m?categoryId=-1

Didn't realize til now that I didn't have the tubes alone listed
http://www.shop.914rubber.com/Front-trunk-...m?categoryId=-1
Cables can be purchased separately too if you want

Yes I tried that. Even straightening the cable. There is something blunt blocking it. I thought if I fished the cable from the other end, it would come out in the cabin end. Still can't get it through. :/

Thanks Mikey914 (forgive me, I forget your real name). I may order one. In the meantime I'd like to be able to close my trunk so I can use my car this week while I'm ordering the part.

An interesting thread that I'm following.

tumamilhem's experiences are like mine... Every time I try to fix some small thing, I end up with some problem and end up having to fix a bunch of other things.

My hood latch currently works fine, but even Schwartzenegger would find it a challenge to pull the hood release. So, I am worried that eventually the cable will snap. Is there an adjustment for this? Should I lube it like tumamilhem did? (if so, I'll wait to see what the resolution of his cable problem is).

Don't mean to hijack the thread, but I figure future readers may appreciate this hood cable info to be useful in one thread.

No please. Hijack away. The more info to help others the better.

if you are having a hard time pulling your release, it's possible your cable may be a bit rusty inside. That creates friction when pulling your cable. It will also lead to your cable snapping, which happened to me on one of my other cars. then you have to take the front bumper off to get inside to release the lid if it does snap. No bueno. If it's very stiff, it's likely going bad and may soon break. if you're comfortable pulling the cable out and able to rethread it back in, I would check your cable and maybe use some fine steel wool to sand it down if it seems a bit rusty. If it is still a strong cable then oil and lube it to help prevent rust. otherwise it's better to be safe than too late. Get a spare cable.

my cable seems fine. It was a bit rusty towards the handle, but it was pulling smoothly before. The rest of the cable looks ok. It seems that something is blocking me from rethreading it. Maybe some debris or a crack in the plastic tube is creating an edge that is making it difficult to rethread I will probably get a new plastic tubing but would like to at least get it rethreaded in attached so I can drive my car in the meantime.

Actually,
The once the guide tube is replaced pulling the cable is pretty easy.
As you get cracks in the guide tube, it flexes at the new "joint", you get enough of these and you have to remove the screw to be able to pull it out far enough for it to release.

This was my experience and why I made them.

i remember this and fiddled with mine in the past until it worked and recall a recent thread to re-build...
http://www.914world.com/bbs2/index.php?showtopic=243445

maybe there is a helpful piece.

Go to Lowe's or Home Depot and get some fridge ice maker plastic hose. I've used it for the cable sheath.......

You could use bicycle cable if you wanted to also, but mine has the stop on it, just like the factory part. This firmly hold the sheath in place. I experimented with the same idea and eventually found factory did it that way for a reason.

The stop? What stop are you referring to? Are you talking about the cable or the tubing?

The tubing.

If you cannot get it back in, go get a long drill, they make them about 2 feet long for electrical wiring, so you may need to get one at a electrical supply store, then ream out the housing.
If not, you can buy a piece of all thread, smaller than the hole and chuck that into a drill using it like a ream to remove any burrs in the tube.

So if I understand correctly, there is a stop in the plastic tubing? Where is it located in the tubing? By the bonnet latch or the release handle in the cabin?

If there is a stop, how was I able to just pull out my cable with no problem?

And regarding drilling out the stop, how would you drill it out of the plastic tubing? Wouldn't that just tear up the plastic tube? That tube is only a few cm wide too. I don't know of any drill that narrow longer than a drill bit. But even still, I would think it would just drill a hole into the side of the tubing when fished.

So, the tubing is still in place?
I thought you were struggling trying to put the tubing in place, not just the cable.

If it's just the cable, and it's getting stuck inside the tubing, I suspect you may have just found your problem.

Get a new one.

In the meantime, with the hood open, get an old guitar string, or strong thin twisted cable. Run that to the hood lock and drill a very small hole into the front drivers side inner fender, so the cable would lay inside the feder well, so you can reach it.
That cable will stay in place forever, it's a safety backup, common trick in old 356 and 914 cars.....there for when you break the other cable.
The idea is you can reach into the fender well in front of the tire, you will find the loop of the cable up near the blinker area, pull it and hood opens. The perfect placement is reachable from under the fender without getting on the ground in your nice clothes....so take your time to figure that out

This will get you setup for the car for Tuesday...
Wait for the right part from Mark at 914. Rubber.

Use a stainless cable if you can find it, so it won't rust.
You want it in good shape for that one time you need it ten years from now.

No, the cable is completely removed. The tubing has not been removed. I had no problem removing the cable. My problem is I cannot fish it back in through the tubing (still in place). The cable itself is in good condition.

Thanks for the secondary cable tip. Will look into doing that.

So the inside of the tubing is fubar, get a new one.