I have read the other posts about going in through the wheel well and could use a bit more detail from someone who has done it.

My '01 XJ8 passenger side cable broke or came loose at the latch. I pulled the well liner and found that there was already a factory hole right where the other posts indicated to make one!

But, I can't locate a damn thing in there by feeling around with coat hangers, screwdrivers, etc. Can someone tell me, is it straight up from the hole, to the side, to the back; am I going to push something back toward the rear of the car, is it really hard to move?

Any other clues that might help me get this bugger open would be appreciated. I keep thinking about my Sawzall and that makes me nervous.

Thanks, Rik

 

Got it open. Evidently the '01 is a bit different situation than the '99 in the previous posts.

First, there is already a factory access "slot" at that position in the well. There must be an official tool that fits in there and pops the hood.

What I couldn't tell, until I opened that nice factory hole a bit wider, was that the latch is inside another hole within the first hole, that is toward the engine compartment. Basically, that first hole opens into an empty box-like compartment with a hole on the engine side. Inside that hole, with a thin, long screwdriver, I quickly found the release mechanism and it easily pushed rearward and the hood popped open.

The devil is in the details. Now I can start on the broken cable, but making matters more difficult, the release handle inside the car broke at one of the cable end slots and will need to be replaced so I won't have to use pliers every time I need to open the bonnet.

So if anyone has replaced the interior hood release handle, I am dying to hear about it... Cheers.

 

Hey Rik, you got me curious and whilst I was under the hood of mine today I looked at my hood latches so in the event of a broken cable etc I would be able to see what I needed to do to release it. Looks like my 99 has two large holes coming in from the passenger compartment footwells into the area of the latches. It is kinda tight, but in a pinch I could probably get something in there to release the latches. I will include a couple of pictures I took, maybe they will help someone else out someday.

 

The hood release lever is held by 2 8mm nuts - I use a ratchet spanner. It's a pita to get to the top one, but can be done with a bit of light shone up there. Once you've removed the bust one, you can see how to replace the cables and fit back up. Plenty of grease on the release mech's should see it right. It can help to remove the coin box.

 

Another plastic part failure... glad to hear it is actually replaceable. I can't see a @%$# thing up there. Maybe with a mirror, and I'll look at taking the coin box out. Good suggestion. It's a bugger when you can't see what you are doing.

Looks like the lever assemblies are available for $25 or so and cables are everywhere at all sorts of prices.

 

Thanks for the replies guys , keep us updated , I trust you can make it jaginblack

 

I am not totally out of the woods yet, but have an update that could be helpful to someone else in the meantime.

What I discovered once I had the latches off, was that the cable had not broken but it was falling out of its slot in the latch mechanism. So don't buy new cables before confirming your cable is actually broken. To temporarily prevent the cable end from popping out again, I used a short length of thin mason's twine to neatly support the cable end and keep it in place without being under tension. This works great and I can now release the hood from the cabin by pulling the cable with pliers. No more fishing under the wheel well, at least.

Removing the lever was next. I found that there were two 10mm nuts holding mine in place and they were really easy to remove thanks to Sean B.'s suggestion of pulling out the coin box (one screw and it slides out). With the box out you can see what you are doing and you needn't be a contortionist to get at the nuts.

So now I just need to find a replacement lever. I thought this would be easy but so far today I have not found a match online. It is marked with Jaguar part #PA6-GF30 (left hand). I suppose the dealer will have one if all else fails. When I get it sourced I will post the details.

 

You might try Coventry West for a used part.

 

Thanks - I was using the wrong part number... when I tried HNC2561AC I found sources galore. I will checkout Coventry West - it seems to be about $25 OEM at several places online.

Time to wrap this job up!

 

When the devil is playing... after sorting partially the engine problems, the passenger (left side) bonnet latch can't be open, the cable just snap out of the release lever. If my 2002 have the hole under the liner, I will save the bonnet , no grinder this time...
Any pictures?

 

No one has ever reported having to damage the hood on a latch failure. So, you should not have to cause any either.

 

Job done! It was a 20 minutes work from the moment of jacking the car, to the bonnet release and one more hour changing the cables with the spare ones. The cable was not broken but the ball from the end of the cable just jumped from it's location.
I have some pictures, but will try to attach later as today it was not possible.

 

Just finished changing the timing chains and tensioners. The cart runs great. drove ti to the parts store to get new plugs, came home and wanted to open the hood and let it cool down a bit and then WOW the hood would not open.

Thanks for the heads up on the holes I'll let you know how that worked!