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Bonnet release lever

I

ian harvey

PCGB Member
Member
My bonnet release lever failed this evening, thankfully after I'd been out for spin and the bonnet did actually release as required as the lever failed.

It's always been very free moving and positive so I was a little surprised. It was getting dark and I couldn't see or feel what had happened but a small piece of plastic had sheared off. I couldn't locate the end of the cable.

Can anyone please tell me what is likely to have failed and should I expect to have to swap the cable as well as the lever?

All answers appreciated.

Ian


 
Normally the plastic lever has broken, OPC is you best bet, item 37
img.asp@mdl=013&unit=C9900D3E

 
Same thing happened to mine, in that the end of the cable pulled through at the anchor point. Got a second hand one and installed it. I make sure when having it MOT’d that I pull the handle gently to release the bonnet, as the guy that worked there gave it a good yank and bust it! If you think about, and I did, if anything happened to the cable etc. that stopped you getting in the frunk, you would be knackered. So I installed an emergency cable that goes the opposite way to the existing cable and it is situated behind the wheel liner, so in case of an emergency, you could remove the near side wheel and actually release the bonnet catch. Some cars have them, yours might, I don’t know, have a look!


 
Brian, that's exactly what I thought, splice in a spare just in case.
Had a closer look yesterday, took the cover off and it seems you have to poke a long allen key through the threaded hole that reveals itself once the cover is removed. If I'm not mistaken this is where I need a 4.5mm allen key which I've now obtained so let's see, wish me luck. I'm hoping to achieve some kind of repair to the existing lever.
 
Yes you need to dismantle the whole mechanism to get at the cable end. I tried initially to mend the broken part, but I araldited a piece of thin metal to the wrong side of the lever in error! It depends what you find when it’s all dismantled. In the end I got a good used one instead because the lever itself was like Bakelite and had crumbled. Good luck!
 
Brian,
I was also considering bonding a washer to the plastic. You did well to get a replacement. I've just obtained a 4.5mm allen key which i seem to need to fully remove the old one, passing it through the hole created once the bolt is removed from the outer cover.
As for the spare cable, I'm going to attach a second cable at the bonnet end and try and feed it neatly in to the cabin, hopefully.
Thanks for the advice, Brian.
Ian
 
I didn’t think it was a 4.5mm Allen key, as I don’t think I have one that size anyway. As for the emergency cable, it was recommended to take it on to the left hand side of the car so that the correct pull on it would open it. There is a hole already there to fit it through to the wheel arch. A piece of bike brake cable is sufficient with a loop on the end that you pull.
 
Ha, I've had it apart a few times now. It's an awkward little bugger. I have managed to overcome the shattered plastic aspect but the whole cable, inner and outer, is now slack and the trigger will not work, as such.

All a bit secondary, now, as the car let me down on Friday for the first time in 19 years whilst on-track at Blyton. Stopped dead then re-started, ran a bit, conked-out, re-started then failed to start etc etc. Car was very hot but cooling down did not help. Swapped relay and Ben (Rennspeed) spent a long while checking everything with no definitive conclusion. Probably fuel related, possibly exacerbated by relative lack of use of late.

Any ideas gratefully received....
 
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