passenger side opens but drivers side will not release. I have removed the inter liner of the wheel well on drivers side but can not find the access hole. I have a 2000 vanden plas Help anyone got any pictures or diagrams if how i can open hood latch

 

Hi Mperry

Re-post this in the X308 forum which is the right one for a 2000 XJ. This is for the all-aluminium cars from 2003 to 2009

Regards

Thanks for picking that up - I've moved him
Steve

 

mperry, Same thing happened to me recently and found a great post with pictures. There is a small hole under the wheel well cover that you push through with a screwdriver and unpop the hood. I will look and see if I can find that posting. The hole seems to be covered in a thin rubber covering but it is there.

 

https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...release-29427/

Have a look at post #18

 

did you find the link you were speaking of? My 2001 VD is locked up and we cannot find the access hole.

Thanks

 

will this work on a 99XJ8 ? Both sides are locked up.
pulling with vice grips did nothing but
pull thru the small cable.
Both cables are detached from the inside lever.
thanx jmarti

 

I would think t would. As I posted, the access hole is about 1 inch to far back. My mechanic drilled a 1/2 hole in front of it and then took a small screw driver to pull the latch "spring" back to unlatch, not the cable.

Hope this helps. He did have one of those cameras to see up in there.

 

Hi; just opened my 2001 xj8 vdp s/c hood with right latch cable off. No access hole under inner fender flap and NO WAY to reach it from under car or under dash. Remove tire & fender flap. 2'' behind flap fastener hole drill 3/8 hole slit hole with wood chisel 1&1/4 inch pry it opened enough to see latch lever and push it back open sesame. My cable was good the plastic fastener broke so I put the cable in place and squeezed the hole shut you will see what I mean. Took about an hour. I tried to upload some pics not sure where they went??? Good luck

 

Good news 2001 xj vdp s/c got my hood opened right side stuck. Now while hood is opened lets take care of possible future left side trouble and no hole will need be cut. If the left side is stuck I posted pics as where to drill. Do not drill a large hole. Use 1/4 or 3/8 bit and elongate with wood chisel. Use care fluid hose on left side and battery cable on right. Most times the little plastic clip that holds the cable ball fails the cables VERY seldom brake.
Good luck from Steve & his 01xjvdp s/c [Gold Digger]

 

FYI, I had this problem about 3 weeks ago. This thread, especially post number 5, along with the first photo, really helped:

https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...-stuck-106016/

I will say that I had to open that first hole VERY wide with a chisel to get the range I needed to "hunt" for the lid release mechanism. AND, it took me way longer than expected to find that latch. Push it back towards the firewall at a 45 degree angle to get the latch to release. This is not easy because at 45 degrees the screw driver head wants to slip off. You may hear your driver hitting the spring. The latch is inboard to the spring. Once you have the hood open and the latch exposed you will see just how small of an area there is to push on. Crimp the metal piece to be tight without the plastic collar. Reassemble. I used some plumber's putty to fill in the hole. It dries but never completely so I can always get back in if needed.

Go ahead and crimp the fellow side latch so it won't come loose later.

 

find a plug approximately 1/2" and then drill the appropriate size hold. One you have opened the bonnet, put the plug in and seal with RTV. Keeps it neat.

 

Thanks for all the help. I finally got it open. I was able to move the clip through the hole that leads from the fender.

 

2001 Jaguar XJ8 Vanden Plas.
The bonnet latch on the driver side opened but not on the passenger side. I was lost. I called a couple mechanics and they told me it would take a couple of hours to get the hood open. All I could see were dollar signs in my brain. Both told me they were backlogged 2 weeks. I then had a friend who recommended an auto repair place. In speaking with the technician, he told me this was quite common. Wow, not some weird Jaguar dilemma. Jaguar had planned for this potential problem by providing an access hole above the front tires. He told me where to look under the wheel well, for an access opening. He could not do it today, but could do it the next day if I had no luck. Not something I had to wait for 2 weeks and then hours of a labor charge!!
I removed the rubber flap -- the wheel well guard, that is held in place by black plastic grommets--around the wheel well above the tire and next to fender. I had jacked the car up which allowed that tire to hang down giving me more work room. Thus no need to remove tire. When you remove the plastic grommets you will see they are all quite small, and those holes all the same size.. This makes it easy to distinguish these holes from the one larger opening for access to the latch assemble. I am told that in a vehicle with no problems a rubber plug fills this hole. Apparently mine had had previous problems so the rubber plug had not been replaced. I easily found this somewhat larger hole and with a flashlight saw the steel cable.


The actual release mechanism is about 1/2 inch or more towards the front of this access hole. The access hole is located under the wheel well at about 10 o'clock. It is not directly in the middle of the overhead wheel well but on the side towards the engine. If you realize the latch in under the hood and not the fender then you easily realize the top middle of the wheel well is under the fender. The 10 o'clock position on the side of the wheel well on the interior of the tire side is below the hood . this makes sense. It had a rubber plug previously removed. I used a pair of vice grips to make a larger opening, pulling this very thin sheet metal towards the front bumper about another 1/2 inch or so. I was reluctant to use a drill and ruin something, of which I was unaware, that might be there. I also did not want to start hammering away with a chisel and cut who knows what, hidden from view. This was safe and took a few minutes of gentle tugging to pry the sheet metal open.
Once this opening was enlarged, It took about 2 minutes to actually pop the release by forcing it towards the windshield/firewall area. I used a screw driver and also a rigid piece of metal, stronger than a clothes hanger, and it worked.


Once opened, I removed the assembly that held the catch release which had 2 screws with a star shaped head. I simply used my vice grips to remove these 2 screws. The steel cable had popped out of the track. I reinserted it and also wrapped a piece of thin wire to hopefully keep it in place in the future. This bracket could have easily had a much smaller opening so as to prevent this from happening. Or the round end could have been made larger or shaped differently.
I replaced the assembly with the two screws and it now works. The next problem is to replace the black plastic release under the dash by the driver's foot. I'm sure I can find one somewhere.


In the Jaguar manual it says to close the bonnet by lowering It gently and then pushing in the middle of the fender to get both catches to connect. I do think that simply allowing the hood to " fall " probably caused the steel cable to pop out of its track. I will never simply " drop" the hood ever again.


The worse part of the entire undertaking was how dirty your hands get from grease and oil from working such a nefarious area of tires and undercarriage.


I know many others have had this problem. BUT it is quite easy to solve.


I am not a mechanic. I am 70 years old, have not even changed my own oil since I was 30 years of age.


This is my 4th Jag-u-ar. And I will always love them. They are priceless jewels of art. Why do all cars today look alike? Not the way it was when I grew up as a kid in the 50's.


My dad converted the third floor of our house into an apartment. A couple from Oregon came and had a jaguar XK140. I said to myself--Someday I'm gonna have a Jaguar.


Enjoy.


My vehicle had 71, 400 documented miles. I now have 76, 750 within 6 weeks. Love to drive it !!

 

I agree - It's the spherical end of the cable that drops out (downward) of the installation slot because a minor plastic sleeve fails to hold it in place.
I reinstated mine with a silicon blob - The cable was fine

Because "pushing cables with flat head

screwdrivers" doesn't work on a slack cable then I've attached a shot of the mechanism with the tip of a screwdriver indicating what you are aiming to push - through the hole from under the wing!
I could see the round rivet head through the bent/enlarged hole. It's just judging an inch forward from there - aaaand BINGO