I need to replace the hood cable on my 2006 Estate Wagon. Does anyone know if you can hook up the new cable to the latches without removing them, or do you have to do it by feel? I've removed the bolts holding the latches in place, but they won't come out, probably being held in place by the old cable.

 

https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...p-15313/page2/

 

Thanks Dell. Prior to taking on this project I viewed every Forum post and the ChrisFix video. They all took on getting the hood open and showed how the cable worked inside the latch. What they didn't cover was how to access the underside of the latch to remove the old cable and install the new one. The latch can't be removed with the cable still attached, and I've not had any luck trying to pop it out. Then there's installing the new one (by feel)? A brilliant piece of engineering.

 

UPDATE: I just spent the better part of two afternoons changing the hood release cable (making as many mistakes as possible). For those about to take this one, I have the following tips:

Follow the ChrisFix video which has been linked to similar threads; it's the best way to do the job. As an alternative to pulling the new cable through the interior to the engine compartment, Thanks to a lapse in judgment, I decided to to reverse the procedure and pull the cable out from the interior so that the rubber plug on the firewall would seat more easily. Big mistake. It gets hung up on the all of the wiring clusters, eventually jams, and can't be pulled in or out. Yanking it too hard could do some damage to the underdash wiring so I ended up cutting the old cable to get it out and threading the new one in from the engine compartment. This is NOT the job you want to take on.

Be careful to exactly follow the original cable routing under the hood. If you don't, you can introduce kinks and/or find the cable won't reach the latches properly.

Once the cable is pulled through, it has to be attached to the individual latches. You may be tempted to remove the latches to make it easier to attach the cables. You can remove the latches, which will make it easier to attach the center white nylon sleeve to the actual release lever, but you can only attach the black ends on the cable sleeve with the latch in place. Unless you can position a mirror to actually see what you're doing, it has to be done by feel. Not that difficult, but you better have strong fingers to push them into the openings in the latch..

Finally, I spoke with my local mechanic who told me that their flat-rate book allowed .9 hours for the changeover. If I had to do it again, that's probably the way I would go. Including the cable, and depending your mechanic's labor rate, you're looking at around $ 100. Based on the way my back feels this morning, that would seem to be a bargain!

 

Max I agree with you 100%!

 

If the automobile engineers actually had to work in the field on the cars they design, they would be way easier to work on! Now to take off the front bumper and remove and disassemble the headlights to fix the adjusters (another killer design and choice of materials).