Emergency Hood Release Latch

[Stuart M. Cohen]

Great article in the most recent issue of Comments on how to install an emergency hood release latch. Thought there was something here, but looked last year and couldn't find anything. Gonna have my mechanic put it in after the winter.

Of all the things that could go wrong with the car, that's the only one I'm worried about because it's a little thing that can cause a big problem.

[Ken Stevens]

Details and photos will be appreciated!

[Ken Stevens]

Is this an available kit or an ad hoc solution?

[papawayne]

Got my magazine last night...you can do this yourself with readily available parts. Somewhere on here I did my own set of instructions. but I don't know where it is. I didn't label it as a new post, just glommed on to someone else's. Wayne

[tomo]

The best solution is to keep the hood latch and cable lubricated so it operates freely. They should be lubricated every oil change or seasonally.

[stevedrums]

The best solution is to keep the hood latch and cable lubricated so it operates freely. They should be lubricated every oil change or seasonally.

i lubricate the latch frequently. how do you lube the cable itself?

[Mike]

I didn't see the article but isn't there a writeup somewhere about running a wire from the latch into the wheel well to make a back up release?

[Dan Szwarc]

There have been posts about how to do this. They go back nearly 15 years or more. I challenge someone to find one!

The release cable is attached to the latch then routed dangling under the car. It has to be routed to it will pull the latch aft.

The cable doesn't really need to be lubed, but hosing it down with WD-40 and exercising it a lot (or using it frequently) is a good idea.

[Mike]

There have been posts about how to do this. They go back nearly 15 years or more. I challenge someone to find one!

You mean like this one? (It includes an older link)

https://www.thelincolnforum.net/phpbb3/ ... 5&p=316383

I have no idea why I bothered looking and it's not what I was thinking of but it might not even have been here I saw it.

[Dan Szwarc]

You mean like this one? (It includes an older link)

https://www.thelincolnforum.net/phpbb3/ ... 5&p=316383

I have no idea why I bothered looking and it's not what I was thinking of but it might not even have been here I saw it.

Well, Yeah. That thread links to the procedure to open from 2008: EMERGENCY HOOD RELEASE PROCEDURE

I recommend anyone who wants to add an emergency release cable on their own to just examine their car and figure out what will work. It's not hard and trying to follow someone's instructions will likely waste more time than if you just grabbed some cable, connected it yourself, then figured out where to route it so it would release.

[Stuart M. Cohen]

"It's not hard and trying to follow someone's instructions will likely waste more time than if you just grabbed some cable, connected it yourself, then figured out where to route it so it would release.

Unless you are a mechanical moron like me!

It's already on the spring "to do" list for my mechanic.

[TonyC]

One day I have to see about doing that. The one thing that has stopped me from doing it is trying to figure out where to route the emergency release. I do not want to thread it to the outside, because that nullifies the advantage of having an inside release handle. But I'm sure I may be able to think of a way to route such a backup release to the inside, so that way vandals and thieves cannot sabotage or rip off things in my engine bay.

---Tony

[tomo]

To lube a plastic covered cable, I just spray WD40 on the wire inside and under the hood, like Dan said, to clean it. Then I spray silicone lube on the wire both inside the car and under the hood. If the cable is not covered, I dribble a light oil like 3in1 over the length of the cable. In both cases I operate the cable several times to make sure there are no binds.

[Solid]

One day I have to see about doing that. The one thing that has stopped me from doing it is trying to figure out where to route the emergency release. I do not want to thread it to the outside, because that nullifies the advantage of having an inside release handle. But I'm sure I may be able to think of a way to route such a backup release to the inside, so that way vandals and thieves cannot sabotage or rip off things in my engine bay.

---Tony

Hmm, thieves so intent on stealing stuff that they don’t bypass the ancient door locks and instead use their psychic powers to know you have a hood release reachable under the car so they can instead steal your... ???

[TonyC]

Hmm, thieves so intent on stealing stuff that they don’t bypass the ancient door locks and instead use their psychic powers to know you have a hood release reachable under the car so they can instead steal your... ???

Essentially, yes.

Sure, those locks are ancient to a professional lock-picker...but fact is that a pro can and will pick any lock if he has the talent, hardware, and motivation. Proof is in the number of vehicles less than 20 years old that are stolen every day. Of course, any lock-picker runs the risk of being spotted in the middle of a job, so why not keep that risk high by forcing him to pick a lock? Pro thieves can also look for secret access points (e.g., "Hide-A-Keys"), and I prefer not to have them come up on a "secret" outside latch release.

There's a reason the entire auto industry followed Lincoln's temporary lead to delete outside hood latch releases—battery thefts and even plain old-fashioned vandalism were common in the late-'60s and into the '70s. In fact, I won't understand for the life of me why Lincoln took a major step backward from security by reinstating outside latches on their '70s cars starting with the Mark III, until around mid-decade.

---Tony