Hood won't pop

[Mk3 Pilot]

just picked up a Mk3 supra, and i was just messing around with the manual headlight knobs. when i finished i closed the hood. tried to pop it a few minutes later and it wouldn't. i don't know if messing with the lights did somethings to the hood. some help would be nice

[Spudboy]

The hood release is, of course, a simple cable and has nothing to do with lights. You may have adjusted your lights to interfear with the hood, blockingit/holding it down. If your hood hydraulic pistons are not good they will not help force the hood up. Look around on the outside of the hood around the pop-up headlights and see if it catching.

[Mk3 Pilot]

thnx i'll try that and see if it works

[scruffboy]

I had this problem and it was the hardest thing I ever dealt with on this Supra. It wasn't the lights, the cable wasn't broken, it was the lock mechanism itself. There is a little piece of metal that can break off (it holds the cable in). If it is broken, you may have one hell of a problem on your hands. I tried everything. Sticks, coat-hangars, from under the car, from the front, from the side, nothing worked. I finally took it to a body shop I know. He charged me $100 plus the part. And he told me if it broke again not to bring it back to him. Good luck, cuz if the same thing happened to you that happened to me, you'll need it. I ain't kiddin. Sorry to piss on your parade but I hope it ain't as bad as I had it.

Scruffboy

[mrnickleye]

About every 6 months I spray WD40 all over the hood latch mechanism, to help keep it lubed and prevent corrosion.

I think I'll go look at mine right now....

I'm back...Yep, it would be a real bitch to open if the cable broke at the latch...or the latch itself broke.

If the cable breaks somewhere else, tho, you can get the hood open. The cable runs between the battery and the left inner fender, them out thru a hole (with some wire harness) and inside the inner fender plastic cover above the tire.

You can remove the plastic inner fender piece and get to the cable. You can cut the cable, and then strip back the sheath to get to the actual moving part / cable, and then pull on it with some pliers to open the hood.

I suggest everyone look theirs over real closely so they will already have a good idea what it looks like before it breaks.

I am a mechanic, and I've done plenty of misc B/S type stuff, and I hope mine never breaks !!! cause it will be HELL to fix.

I think one day when I'm feeling itchy, I'm gonna pull the latch and drill a hole so I could use a screwdriver from under the car to open hood, if cable ever broke. These cars are old, and it will happen someday.

Same problem with Gas door, and back hatch.

[scruffboy]

Your last sentence was the next question I was going to ask. What about the gas hatch door? I was thinking of disabling it, and just open it manually. Maybe carry a small magnet and attach it to the door to pull it open. These are just some thoughts before I actually have looked at it. You are right MrKnickleye, that kid will be better off if the cable snapped somewhere, cuz then he has a very good chance of opening it. If it is the latch mechanism itself, well, that's a world of hurt I wouldn't wish on anybody. Thanks for warning folks about these little things that should be addressed before they become big headaches. These cars are coming up on 20 yrs old now, and you have to keep on top of a lot of the little stuff. So get out your cleaning rags, your WD-40, replace anything that looks rusted or worn before it actually goes, and you just might save yourself a big headache.

Scruffboy

[supra90turbo]

I wouldn't worry too much about the gas door. You can open it from inside the car by removing one of the access panels in the hatch if the cable were ever to break.

[mrnickleye]

Not so funny thing. My daughter's Camry gas door would not open down at the gas station, so I went there. I reached behind the panel inside the trunk, and removed the cable / latch. 2 second job.

Turns out the 'spring' piece had come off the plastic holder. Plastic was broken. Latch was working, but door would not spring open.

I was able to quickly mount the metal spring plate into a different place, and now it works fine again.

I am gonna investigate the gas door on my supra tomorrow, so I'll be ready in case it happens to me.

I'll let you all know what I figure out.

[scruffboy]

Thanks Supra90Turbo, I know what access hatch you are reffering to, so I think I'll feel around in there tonight to see if I can get to the gas hatch. If I could open it from in there, that would put my little brain at ease somewhat. Thanks.

Scruff

[scruffboy]

I was messin around with the gas hatch latch from inside the access panel (same one for power anteana) and it is pretty easy, if a little tight. You can depress the latch with one hand, and with the other pry open the door from the outside. I did it about 3 times just to get the hang of it. One less thing to worry about.

Scruffboy