Crazy Hood Latch Ideas (or not so crazy) 1998 v70

[MrAl]

Hello there,

I suddenly got this new idea but first the old idea.

As EVERYONE knows now, the hood latches on this Volvo and probably others are a bothersome invention. They stick sometimes so it takes two people to open the hood and there is the possibility that it will jam and could cost some bucks to get repaired, so alternate ideas are interesting to think about.

The first, the old one, is to use some of those racing hood pins. They install into the car body just under the hood and stick up through holes in the hood (that you drill during the install) and a pin or lock through the hole in the pin keeps the hood from opening. You have to pull the pins (or unlock the locks) to be able to open the hood. Because of that, you no longer need the original troublesome hood latches, except for the main one in the center which is usually ok although you could ditch that one too.
The install isnt too hard from what i read.
With this idea the hood would never be a problem again, period, end of story.
The only drawback is it alters the look of the car, but for some it might be better as the pins look kind of cool really.

The second is actually much simpler but still poses a small risk of getting stuck.
Now with my car the drivers side latch works pretty much OK although a little sluggish, but the passenger side latch gets stuck a lot so it takes two people to open the hood. This might be because the hood is warped very slightly. So what i have been doing is pushing down on the drivers side only and that causes only that side latch to catch. That means the passenger side never latches so cant get stuck. The slight problem that comes up though is that some people like to close it completely so that means both latches catch and becomes a possible problem again.
So what i was thinking was, why not remove or just disable the passenger side latch. Once disabled, it will not be able to latch anymore so it should help a lot. I would still have the other latch and the main center latch that would keep the hood closed. I could always use a chain and lock also to ensure the hood can never open while driving in a strong headwind.

So what do you guys think about these ideas?
Thanks for any comments.

[abscate]

1. Clean and lubricate your latches so they don’t stick. Take off the latch with the three M6 bolts, leave the cables connected, invert over a wad of paper, and use brake cleaner and a wand to remove gum and dirt. Then white lithium grease to relubricate. Repeat every three years in Canada, 18 months in NJ.

2 keep a 6x6 inch ( 15x15 cm ) square from an Amazon box in your driver door cubby. To open a sticky latch, fold it in two, stuff it between the hood and headlight rim….pop ! ….goes the stuck hood latch, without having a helper nearby.

[scot850]

Or once you have cleaned and lubed, then adjust the latch so it works?

Neil.

[MrAl]

1. Clean and lubricate your latches so they don’t stick. Take off the latch with the three M6 bolts, leave the cables connected, invert over a wad of paper, and use brake cleaner and a wand to remove gum and dirt. Then white lithium grease to relubricate. Repeat every three years in Canada, 18 months in NJ.

2 keep a 6x6 inch ( 15x15 cm ) square from an Amazon box in your driver door cubby. To open a sticky latch, fold it in two, stuff it between the hood and headlight rim….pop ! ….goes the stuck hood latch, without having a helper nearby.

Sounds like some good ideas.

One of the reasons i was thinking of alternatives was because if i mess up the positioning of the latch and close the hood, i might not be able to get it back open. So i really didnt want to mess around with it.

[MrAl]

Or once you have cleaned and lubed, then adjust the latch so it works?

Neil.

Yes that would work, but i was afraid to mess with those latches in case i get it into the wrong position and then cant open the hood.

[scot850]

The way to do it safely is to remove the side lights and headlights when doing the adjustments. That way you can ensure un-latching the hood if you get it wrong. Careful removal of the sidelight retaining spring gets them out of the way and 3? 10mm headed hex bolts for the headlight. On the 850 you have to also remove the small plastic trim under the headlight . If you have headlight wipers you may have to remove the arms, but often the headlight can be removed without doing that.

Neil.

[Sveedy]

If you don't have the plastic piece that's under the front of the engine ( I don't and have not seen one ), then you can just reach up from underneath and trip the latch by hand. No need to remove headlights etc. In fact this is how I usually open mine, so i won't wear out or break the handle. I just use that inside handle when on the road and I don't want to lay down. But if I'm at home working on it anyway, then no biggie to lay down.

[MrAl]

The way to do it safely is to remove the side lights and headlights when doing the adjustments. That way you can ensure un-latching the hood if you get it wrong. Careful removal of the sidelight retaining spring gets them out of the way and 3? 10mm headed hex bolts for the headlight. On the 850 you have to also remove the small plastic trim under the headlight . If you have headlight wipers you may have to remove the arms, but often the headlight can be removed without doing that.

Neil.

Hi,

Thanks. That might be a bit too much work for me right now though. Good way to be sure though yes and dont have to worry about getting it unlatched after the hood is closed.

[MrAl]

If you don't have the plastic piece that's under the front of the engine ( I don't and have not seen one ), then you can just reach up from underneath and trip the latch by hand. No need to remove headlights etc. In fact this is how I usually open mine, so i won't wear out or break the handle. I just use that inside handle when on the road and I don't want to lay down. But if I'm at home working on it anyway, then no biggie to lay down.

Hi,

This sounds interesting. What plastic piece is that though, is that the one just past the front bumper that has maybe two bolts max holding it in place? I have removed that once before when working on the secondary air pump.

But you can really reach up into there once that is removed? Seems like quite a reach but i will surely check that out next time i go out there. IF this really works then i could be all set.

Also, do you think there is a way to attach a secondary pull wire to each latch so that if this happens you can just get under the car and pull the wire to unlatch each side? If that is possible that would be really really great, and i dont mind getting a little elaborate on the connection or construction of such a gimmick as i have rigged up more elaborate mechanical 'fixes' in the past, including one that included a woven steel wire and added springs and a special size tiny pulley to get my VCR capstan pressure a little higher as something wore out that did that job and could not find out what it was and didnt feel like buying a new VCR at the time
Now i realize this would compromise the integrity of the engine compartment (need no key to open then) but i could always hide it and make it difficult to figure out what it does or something. I would rest easier knowing there was a second way to get the hood open in a pinch and not sure i can reach up that far by arm/hand but i will look into that.
I think one of the problems i ran into in the past, i just realized, was that i could not SEE the operation of the latching mechanisms when the handle was pulled, so i never found out exactly how they work entirely. If i could see a video or something that would help a lot too. I dont know why i never did this in the past, yet.
But anyway, if that dual wire trick is possible that will be just good and fine with me, if there is a way to rig that up. The types of wire i can get vary from stranded stainless steel (made for applications like that) to just about anything else, so no problem there. Maybe a loop at the end and some crimps and it will allow grabbing with a hook and pulling on it. There are also 1/16 inch and 1/8 inch coated steel cable which is super super strong, would never break for the life of two cars. Heck, even a light duty chain would be good.
I think something like that would be the best option for me, if it is possible.

Thanks a lot and if you have any other ideas i'd like to hear them.

Take care.

[MrAl]

Hello again,

One more idea.

What if you tried everything to get the hood open and it still would not open.
Since it is so important to open the hood sometimes some how, some way, the hood must be opened.
So what would it takes to pry open the hood, even of the two latches both broke so badly they both had to be replaced at a cost that might be 100 dollars?

So is it possible to pry up on the hood and break the two latches and get the hood open?
If so, where would you pry, with maybe a crowbar?

Thanks.