One side of hood opens, searched, need to get this open ASAP

Ok so I pull the hood release and only the right side of the hood opens

now from searching I know I can either try and get my arm up in between the radiator and yeah no my arm doesn't fit

or take out the headlight bucket etc, rather not do that those springs are a pain

So if half of it is open and I can pull it up a bit and grab the metal rod thats going across the front will that pop the other side?

wanted to check on that before I started playing with it?

any ideas on that, need to open the hood, TIA

that happens to me every once in a while. i dont know if yours is something more, but for me all i do is push the open side back down then pull the hood release hard and fast.

it works for me.

Yeah that doesn't do anything, and whats wierd is the last time I had it open I lubed everything up so this WOULDN'T HAPPEN

thanks though

Anyone?

This is why we say search. Using hood and latch, it was on the second page.

http://www.naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?t=86772&highlight=hood+latch

When mine does this i, i bang on the hood (with my fist) while someone pulls the lever...

works every time :dunce:

EBXJBOB said:

Ok so I pull the hood release and only the right side of the hood opens

now from searching I know I can either try and get my arm up in between the radiator and yeah no my arm doesn't fit

or take out the headlight bucket etc, rather not do that those springs are a pain

So if half of it is open and I can pull it up a bit and grab the metal rod thats going across the front will that pop the other side?

wanted to check on that before I started playing with it?

any ideas on that, need to open the hood, TIA

Click to expand...

carefully deal with this per the link. Don't get stuck with a stuck hood.
Lube the heck out of it once open, especially if you live in the snow/rust belt (road salt!) and open it every week and look into a serious lube
WHICH REMINDS ME --
I just spent the last few nights on my 97, COMPLETELY REMOVING THE ENTIRE HOOD RELEASE "SYSTEM" and installing Hood Pins.
I was on my third hood release "kit" from Mopar, and it wasn't worth a 150-mile trip - at less than 40-mph (w/ the hood bungied down) to argue w/ the parts guy over the (12 month 12k miles, like mileage should matter?) so-called "warranty" on this rube-ass goldberged, under-engineered unreliable and NOTORIOUSLY poor hood release. $51 (good luck finding installation help/instructions!) and about three hours under the hood (see my previous posts on complete replacement "hood release 101" or something.)
I googled "jeep cherokee hood release" and got over 188,000 hits!
hmmmm, issues? NAH!
DEAL W/THIS MOPAR! People are getting stuck in the middle of nowhere, unable to either close the hood - w/the broken handle in their fists - and can't add oil, coolant, wash fluid, etc. or worse yet, don't dare close the hood.
It is a ridiculous system, that unlike all other vehicles has almost all its content on the HOOD, above one of the notoriously hottest-running engines around. constantly being peppered by road salt, rain, heat, etc.
It's a PITA, but a well installed hood pin system is the answer.
safe, reliable, cheap, light and my kid thinks it looks liek a race car.
BTW - I did the math, and found I got about 28 hoop openings and closings out of my second Mopar replacement system. Just under $2 a pop!
there's a deal.
Oh I'm sure I'll get a few nasty " gotta keep it lubed" know it all responses from people with heated garages, and meticuously detailed maint plans. But Get real. I lubed mine generously (PB Blast) and often, and it still just takes one little bind or too much heat to screw the deal up. It shouldn't have to be pampered at every oil change or more often.
Sorry for venting. I'm drafting my letter to DCchryco on just this beef.
:smsoap:

Hood Pins? How do you go about keeping snot nossed kids from opening it and stealing your aem filter or battery? I might be doing this soon, mine are becomming more and more of a pain to get open just takes more force to pull the lever each time.

old_man said:

This is why we say search. Using hood and latch, it was on the second page.

http://www.naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?t=86772&highlight=hood+latch

Click to expand...

I love the search feature, I used it, and I stated in my post that I found from searching that I could A. Stick my hand up from underneath, or B. remove the headlight buckets and do it that way, I actually read that exact post, BUT

My cable isn't broken and the left half of the hood pops, so my question was since I can grab the rod that goes across the front of the hood, can I use that someway to pop the other(right) side open

I just wanted to check before I start pushing/pulling on that and possibly create a bigger problem

the critical thing w/it is to rememebr one side pulls, and the other side pushes. the releases(?) are I beleive, identical, just reversed from left to right. can't recall - and it's all in a box now - which side is which. good luck.
There is a pretty good hood pin write-up in here soemwhere, that I used. It takes a good selection of wrenches, torx, knuckles and such to take it all apart, but I think it's worth it in peace of mind, also.
still working on the security end. not mcuh to steal in my rig!

I guess if you used hood pins and wanted to keep the thieves out you could alwayz go old-school and install a b**ch lock. AKA, 2 pieces of chain and a big lock. Chris

gmars said:

Oh I'm sure I'll get a few nasty " gotta keep it lubed" know it all responses from people with heated garages, and meticuously detailed maint plans. But Get real. I lubed mine generously (PB Blast) and often, and it still just takes one little bind or too much heat to screw the deal up. It shouldn't have to be pampered at every oil change or more often.

Click to expand...

You are aware that PB Blaster is a penetrant, not a lubricant, right? Chances are good that it's removing the lubricant that's supposed to be there.

Sorry for venting. I'm drafting my letter to DCchryco on just this beef.

Click to expand...

Yeah, be sure to let us know how that works out for you.

casm said:

You are aware that PB Blaster is a penetrant, not a lubricant, right? Chances are good that it's removing the lubricant that's supposed to be there.

Click to expand...

I hit my latches with white lithium grease in the spray can 2 years ago and haven't had any issues at all. Clean them well with a spray solvent (pick your cleaner, brake, carb, etc.) and grease them.

I've only seen one buggered up XJ latch, and the guy resorted to crow bars
Of course I end up with the problem I made a rod that hooks onto the stock crossbar and popped it open.

For the guy who sprayed PB Blaster... wrong choice my friend. What you need for these things is a heavy non-drying lubricant like white lithium or any other assorted greases. PB Blaster, WD-40, Liquid Wrench, anything of the sort doesn't do the trick and likely does more harm than good as noted above.

ChicksDigWagons said:

I've only seen one buggered up XJ latch, and the guy resorted to crow bars
Of course I end up with the problem I made a rod that hooks onto the stock crossbar and popped it open.

For the guy who sprayed PB Blaster... wrong choice my friend. What you need for these things is a heavy non-drying lubricant like white lithium or any other assorted greases. PB Blaster, WD-40, Liquid Wrench, anything of the sort doesn't do the trick and likely does more harm than good as noted above.

Click to expand...

Would you mind explaining how you did that? I would appriciate it

X3 on the PB Blaster, very poor lubricant, great rust buster.My hood will occasionally stick on one side, usually on the drivers side..I just give it a thump with the fist and it pops right open.

I've found that if you give your drivers door a good slam it will get the hood to open.

I was actually involved in a little fender bender today, that was a good slam, still won't open

Just find another XJ and examine the mechanism. Its not rocket science really. Once you realize where you can pull from to actuate the appropriate latch its easy to come up with some sort of tool to grab and pull or push in the right area. Or your lock could be tremendously seized up and you'll have to cut the hood off