I have a 88 F-250 and cannot open the hood. The hood release handle inside the cab feels solid, it feels like it is pulling on the latch assembly fine. The lever under the front of the hood, inside the grill seems/feels like it's stuck..... rusted......welded......epoxy'd......super glued....... whatever, anyways, hopefully you understand what I'm trying to explain. The friggen lever just won't move let alone allow the latch to open.

Anyone have an idea how I can fix this short of using a cutting torch (grrrrrr, I've thought about it) LOL

Appreciate any ideas guys, thanks in advance :-)

 

on my 89 I have to lift the hood by hand to free the latch

 

Thanks Chris, I have pulled up on the hood while trying to move the lever..... I have tried pushing down on the hood while moving the lever.....still the lever will not move left or right....... I have no idea what you mean to lift the hood by hand to free the latch ??? My hood doesn't budge one bit....??? :-(

 

Several of my Ford trucks have been difficult to get the hood open. The ones without the in-cab release I had to pull on the release then "pop" the hood with my fist. Not so hard as to make a dent but a good solid smack with a closed fist. The ones with the remote release sometimes take two people the first time or two and after a good soaking with lube.

I was headed to Darlington raceway several years ago, it was late at night, stopped to fill up the IROC Z-28 we were driving. On the other side of the pump there was a guy trying to get the hood open on his newly acquired late 70's F-150. He was having the same problem as you. I walked over to see he was not a happy camper. After a short conversation I pushed him aside, pulled on the release, then smacked the hood, he was quite amazed when it opened like magic.

 

The cable prob frayed inside of the casing and it won't pull. Can you see the bolts that hold the latch to the rad sup? If so unbolt them, then gently pull up on hood enough to release the latch from the hood manually. With hood open disconnect cable and w/ a friend see if pulling release handle in cab moves end in eng comp. If yes lube it w/ motorcycle cable lube, if not replace cable. You can make an outside release w/ a coat hanger for temp use till you get a NEW cable. Sure you can put in a USED cable and then next week do it again, and again, and again, and repeat....

 

I'm not sure from your description if the problem is with the primary release inside the cab or with the secondary latch in the grill. Please forgive if oversimplistic.

The release handle in the cab should pull back approx 2 inches and allow the hood to open about an inch or two, catching on the secondary latch.

Pushing the lever in the grill to the left releases the secondary latch and allows the hood to fully open. Note that the lever in the grill doesn't have a lot of room to move until the primary latch has been opened.

My 96 likes a lot of grease on the hood latch assembly. There have been times in the past where I was negligent in keeping it lubed, and it required pullin the handle in the cab with enough energy I was afraid of snapping the cable. Maybe you can lube the latch assembly by spraying it with aerosol lube by fitting the plastic spray tube under the edge of the hood.

best of luck

 

Thanks to all for the help, my computer was killed by #@*% malware/virus ??? anyway I have it back and wanted to say thanks. I was able to get it open and it is working well with a lot of grease :-)