problem with hood opening lever (my hood is stuck open)
Hmph. I just opened the hood to check the oil level; a routine "I just drove 1300 miles, may as well make sure things are in order" thing. Oil level is fine.
Unfortunately, my hood refuses to close.
A quick note - there's two levers to get at to open the hood fully. I don't know their names. There's the one under the dashboard that you pull, and the yellow one directly underneath the hood that you push.
When I pulled the under-dash lever, I distinctly remember the "pop!" noise of the hood opening up a bit so that I could get at the second lever. I reached into the resulting gap, opened the hood all the way, all appears well...
Then, when I closed it I noticed a problem. The closing procedure was pretty much the reverse of opening it - lower the hood, push in yellow lever so that hook lines up, lower the hood some more, make hook catch, remove hand, give gentle push to close entirely. (I have no idea if this is THE procedure as dictated by the manual; I don't think the manual mentions it, and if it does, it does so in a non-intuitive location... I just feel this is more healthy than the "six inch drop" technique.)
The problem is... the passenger side of the hood remains open about a quarter inch (the driver's side is flush), and the lever inside the driver's compartment seems to be doing nothing. I pull on it, no pop. Furthermore, the hood is stuck in the "halfway open" position. I can raise it again to get to the second lever (this is my diagnostic after closing... make sure I can't raise it without under-dashboard help; correct behaviour says I should not be able to do this).
So I am guessing the problem is with the under-dash lever, and/or connecting cable. The yellow lever and corresponding hook seem to be working just fine; the hood does not open past "half open" without that lever, so I am guessing this safety mechanism is just fine.
I honestly cannot remember what sort of noise the hood is supposed to make when it catches the fully-closed position (never paid close attention... oops). The last time I had opened the hood was this morning in Vegas - there was the repeated smell of someone burning oil, and I wanted to make sure it was not me, so I opened up, everything smelled okay, so I attribute it to some other car on the Strip. And then, the hood closed fully just fine... 700 miles later, I'm home. Then, the under-dash lever worked when I opened it this afternoon, it was just upon closing that symptoms appeared.
I took a look from underneath with a flashlight, looking straight up at gap between front bumper and radiator, and I couldn't really tell anything - the cable from under-dashboard to front-of-hood seems to be there, but I can't tell any more than that.
So, a few questions...
Can I fix this myself, or is this something that requires me to drive down to Ye Olde Forde Service?
And if I do need to take it in, am I correct in assuming that there is no chance the hood will fly open while I drive it, at most about 50mph, for about 4 miles. Or, should I get it towed for safety's sake? (Hood flying open while car moving is a Bad Thing.)
Thanks for all your help, everyone... I'm hoping this is pretty minor, and maybe even something I can fix. If there's any observations I should make, to help the diagnostics along, let me know and I'll run out to the car!
__________________
2002 3.8L V6 automatic. 98K miles (got it in April 2004 at 27K... the rest are all mine!)
stock... unless a small Red Sox sticker on the corner of the back window counts as a mod!
"My coolant is yellow, a fact I discovered after peeing down the tube at a funny angle."
Never heard of this. I usually drop mine from about 12 inches away. Makes a bang and shuts. Mine won't close if I try to drop it closer or push it shut.
Man, I need some sleep. I just re-read my original post, and gawd that was longwinded. I drove about 675 miles today on 3.5 hours of sleep. Vegas to south Bay Area, by way of LA.
So apparently the "12 inch drop" is the canonical way of doing this? My old car's manual had a good paragraph and two diagrams on the subject, and they listed several methods, so I carried over that knowledge. I suppose I should be surprised that the happy fluffy technique even worked in the first place. Apparently I, in my sleep-deprived state, was not pushing evenly or whatnot. I've done it before; given my proclivity for long trips, I tend to check the oil level a lot. I've never noticed any change. Good to know my car does not burn oil at this young stage of its existence!
__________________
2002 3.8L V6 automatic. 98K miles (got it in April 2004 at 27K... the rest are all mine!)
stock... unless a small Red Sox sticker on the corner of the back window counts as a mod!
"My coolant is yellow, a fact I discovered after peeing down the tube at a funny angle."
Yeah I hate dropping it! When I first got it I tried to baby it shut. Then I saw that the sales guys at Ford slamming them shut when they showed people the engines. After a few times doing it, you realize its not that bad and it closes!
Yeah I hate dropping it! When I first got it I tried to baby it shut. Then I saw that the sales guys at Ford slamming them shut when they showed people the engines. After a few times doing it, you realize its not that bad and it closes!
Yeah, the oil change people WHAM it shut, so I suppose it can't hurt. Also, it looks like there's a lot of big old metal parts near the yellow lever, designed to take several hundred thousand beatings.
__________________
2002 3.8L V6 automatic. 98K miles (got it in April 2004 at 27K... the rest are all mine!)
stock... unless a small Red Sox sticker on the corner of the back window counts as a mod!
"My coolant is yellow, a fact I discovered after peeing down the tube at a funny angle."
The latch probably just needs a real good lubing. I'd first spray some penetrating oil on the latch wait a few minutes then spray some white lithium grease into the latch. Open and close hood several times to work in the lube. I'll check to see if there are any service messages or tsbs. I also do the one foot drop. :thumbsup
The latch probably just needs a real good lubing. I'd first spray some penetrating oil on the latch wait a few minutes then spray some white lithium grease into the latch. Open and close hood several times to work in the lube. I'll check to see if there are any service messages or tsbs. I also do the one foot drop. :thumbsup
what is a TSB? Something "service bulletin"? I'm pretty sure it's working fine; I opened and closed it a few times this morning, using the drop technique... probably to the mild consternation of my neighbours ;-)
__________________
2002 3.8L V6 automatic. 98K miles (got it in April 2004 at 27K... the rest are all mine!)
stock... unless a small Red Sox sticker on the corner of the back window counts as a mod!
"My coolant is yellow, a fact I discovered after peeing down the tube at a funny angle."
what is a TSB? Something "service bulletin"? I'm pretty sure it's working fine; I opened and closed it a few times this morning, using the drop technique... probably to the mild consternation of my neighbours ;-)
TSB is short for Technical Service Bulletin. SSM is short for Special Service Message. A SSM usually is issued very shortly after a problem has been discovered by Ford and is only available to dealership personel. Some of the information in a SSM pertains to part number changes, updated calibrations for various modules and etc. A TSB is usually released after a SSM for a particular problem has been released. TSB's usually have more information then a SSM and can be read by people other than dealership personel. I checked for any TSB on 2002 Mustangs and there were none for hood closing effort faults.
TSB is short for Technical Service Bulletin. SSM is short for Special Service Message. A SSM usually is issued very shortly after a problem has been discovered by Ford and is only available to dealership personel. Some of the information in a SSM pertains to part number changes, updated calibrations for various modules and etc. A TSB is usually released after a SSM for a particular problem has been released. TSB's usually have more information then a SSM and can be read by people other than dealership personel. I checked for any TSB on 2002 Mustangs and there were none for hood closing effort faults.
awesome, thanks for checking! I'm guessing that the 12 inch drop method is the recommended one, and since that appears to work fine for the Ford Mustang, there's no problem. If other methods don't work, then it's the method's fault, I suppose.
__________________
2002 3.8L V6 automatic. 98K miles (got it in April 2004 at 27K... the rest are all mine!)
stock... unless a small Red Sox sticker on the corner of the back window counts as a mod!
"My coolant is yellow, a fact I discovered after peeing down the tube at a funny angle."
the latch is probably not meeting with teh stricker or what ever its called correctly, get down and watch the hook part, see if it grabs the little part. if not align it or bend it so it does.
__________________
01 V6 with mods: best ET 9.8 @ 72 mph 2.2 60ft in the 8th mile
the latch is probably not meeting with teh stricker or what ever its called correctly, get down and watch the hook part, see if it grabs the little part. if not align it or bend it so it does.
I know what you refer to. Thanks for the tip. :-)
I think I'm not going to worry about it, given that a few tests of the drop method worked just fine. I feel confident that the hood will open when it should be open, and remain closed when it should remain closed, so I'm going to declare it functional.
__________________
2002 3.8L V6 automatic. 98K miles (got it in April 2004 at 27K... the rest are all mine!)
stock... unless a small Red Sox sticker on the corner of the back window counts as a mod!
"My coolant is yellow, a fact I discovered after peeing down the tube at a funny angle."
honestly, i have a pain in the butt hood and all i have to do is this.
1. lower it to the lever but not lokcing it down.
2. get a firm grip on the top of the hood with my palms.
3. move hands to both sides of the hood
4 give an extremely firm shove downward.
no matter what anyone says, i hate the 1 foot drop technique. it makes me cringe every time
problem with hood opening lever (my hood is stuck open) 
