Hello all,
After I was finished under the hood of my 97 F150, I attempted to close it only to realize that it wouldn't stay shut. I push the hood all the way down and it pops open about an inch to where the latch catches it. I'm not sure if this is a secondary latch or what? It'll hold it down while driving and I have it tied down just incase but seeing the hood moving up and down as little as it does is scary on the highway. I also noticed that when I pull the hood lever from inside the truck nothings happening, maybe a broken cable? I'll be honest, I don't know a whole lot about maintenance but any suggestions or info would be greatly appreciated.

 

Grab a cup of coffee and your lunch...<deep breath>

There are 2 latches on a hood latch. The primary is the one you have to release by pulling the cable from inside of the vehicle. The secondary is the one that you move with your hand from the front of the vehicle just before you open your hood. Your hood is latching on the secondary latch. Glad to hear you tied the hood down, as the secondarys can become unlatched during transit.

The function of the primary latch is 2 fold: it keeps the hood in the closed position and it makes the hood "pop up" when the cable is pulled. When you pull the cable from in the vehicle, what you are doing is overcoming the force of a small spring on a lever that has a tooth which hooks into the primary to keep it in the closed position. In the closed position, there is a second (much larger) spring that is under tension, this tension is released when the lever is released from the primary, causing the hood to "pop up". When you close your hood, the striker on the hood inner panel knocks the secondary out of the way and hits the primary causing the big primary spring to reload as it rotates past the lever, which engages and catches the primary-holding it shut.

<SHAKE><SHAKE><SHAKE>Hey, wake up! Now that you know more than you ever wanted regarding latches...

1. When you try to close the hood, does it hit hard and not close all the way, i.e. does it feel like you swung a 4 foot pipe into a brick wall and is there a large gap between the hood and the grill? If so, the primary may be jammed (can't rotate when the striker hits it). I'd use some WD-40 on it and try prying on it with a screw driver to get it free. It is good practice to keep the latch lubed, if you have never lubed it, it may be rusty.

2. Does the gap between the hood and grill close (look normal) when you push down on the hood but when you let go of the hood, it pops up? This means the lever that holds the primary is not engaging (rule out #1). The spring may have fallen off of the lever or the lever is broken.

3. When you pull the cable from in the vehicle, does the handle you pull on get sucked back into position? If so, the cable is not broken (the small spring that releases the lever that catches the primary also pulls the hood release back to position) and the spring has not fallen off of the lever that releases the primary (rule out #2).

4. Be sure there is a wire striker on the hood inner panel (when the hood is open, look up at the front of the hood). The striker is what engages into the latch. On your model year it should be a piece of wire, maybe 5-8 mm in diameter, with the ends spanked down and holes through the spanked portions. It is attached with 2 bolds (through the holes) that go into u-nuts on the hood inner. The striker wire could have cracked, one of the bolts came out and the wire is rotated (not hitting the latch when hood is closed), or the inner could have cracked, causing the u-nut/striker to float in the cavity between the hood inner and outer (not likely).

Have a look at it again and let us know some more details of how the hood acts when you try to close it.

 

...Welcome knightsmen, to Ford Truck Enthusiasts! Please read the Guidelines, it will help you to navigate through and understand this site.

We are happy you have chosen the best source for Fords!

Enjoy FTE....and
JOIN CLUB FTE -SUPPORT THE FORUMS!
…..See you on the boards.

 

Hello again,
Thanks for the response. Well I went down the list of possible problems and took a closer look at the latch. It appears to be number 2. The primary latch isn't engaging.
I push down on the hood and when pressed down, it looks normal but pops back up after I let go. I untied it the hood and brought it back up and took a couple screwdrivers and tried to pry the latch down in the locked posistion. No luck, for whatever reason it isn't locking. I'm thinking its like maybe you said, the spring fell off somewhere or the latch is just busted. I pryed down on the latch with a screwdriver, spayed it down with WD-40. It moves easier, just doesn't lock. I guess from here I'm going to a parts store and getting a new latch? Any idea how much of project this could be?

 

Ok, I think I just made matters worse
I found what appeared to be the remnants of a spring inside the latch mechanism. I figured I had to replace the whole thing so I go to tie down my hood and for whatever reason the primary latch latched. So I say a few choice cuss words because as I suspected, I pull the hood lever from inside the truck and nothing happens, I have a stuck hood. Any ideas on how to release a hood from a broken latch on a 97 F150?

 

#@#$@%! That stinks. Let me look into it...

 

ok, you should be able to get to the latch from the grill opening. If you have the honeycomb grill, you will have to go from under the vehicle (which may require removal of a rubber air deflector...not sure). The bottom of the latch assembly is open. Toward the driver's side of vehicle, you should be able to see the end of the lever that locks the primary (you should see the cable end too). I would use a screwdriver and pry the lever toward the driver's side of vehicle. That should release the hood.

2 bolts hold the latch in. I would remove it and go to the hardware store to see if I can match up the spirng before I buy a new hood latch.

 

Raise and support the hood (16612).

1. Remove the upper air deflector.
   1. Remove the screws.
   1. Remove the upper air deflector.

• 

1. Remove the hood latch (16700).
   1. Remove the two hood latch bolts.
   1. Disconnect the hood latch cable from the hood latch.
   1. Remove the hood latch.

• 

 

If you have the honeycomb grill, you will have to remove a rubber air deflector from under the vehicle.

Also, there is a plastic piece infront of the center portion of the latch, making it a little difficult to get to.