I have been workin on my truck a lot lately. today went outside to work on her some more and couldn't get the hood open. the latch handle wouldn't move at all. tried to sit on the hood and open it. didn't work . tried to lift up on the hood and open it. didn't work . tried to pull on the latch with all my might. didn't work . What would you recommend me to do? I hope i didn't get anything lodged up in there!!!! Thanks

 

Push down on the hood, while pushing, pull the latch. If that does not help, you push, and have a buddy pull the latch. Once open, lubricate the assembly.

 

yeah. i tried that. didnt work...........im at a loss. What can i do????

 

Well I don't expect it to open while you're sitting on it Just giving you a hard time.

The grill insert on a 78 can be removed from the front by some screws, removing that will get you some more access to the latch to see what's going on.

 

Sometimes a hood needs a sudden good jarring to free it.

 

Once open I have found just dribbling some clean motor oil on it really helps.

 

Be careful pulling on the lever too hard, you can bend it, complicating things. Before I swapped my cab, I had to use a screwdriver inserted in the space between the lever and the latch assembly, and it still took a bit of force to pop the hood. Furthermore, I had to slam the hood with all my might to get it to stay shut (and it popped open while driving down the road on more than one occasion.) One of the best things about my cab swap is my new hood opens so easy, just a gentle push of the lever opens it right up, and I can gently shut it, too.

 

This problem has been SOP since these trucks were nearly new.

What happens is, peeps slam the heavy hood down, over time that bends the hood latch support.

Usually pressing down HARD on the hood above the latch, then pulling the handle at the same time, allows the hood to pop up.

But if the latch hasn't been lubed (with white grease) since grandma was a girl, you may have to go thru the grille to access it.

 

thanks for all the advice!!!!!

 

+1, this is a good thing to do everytime you change the oil. there is always a dribble in an empty quart bottle while your waiting on the next one to drain in the motor. This must of happened to my 77 before I got it. The handle is bent outward, and I considered changing it, but after using it several times, and keeping it lubed, I kinda like it like that.