How do you install Chevy Blazer hood release cable?

Answer 1

I just got done installing a hood cable for a 98' Blazer. I must say it is a pain however it is doable. I am a programmer not a mechanic and I pulled it off :P

Note: If you cant open the hood just drive around your neighborhood and keep pulling the latch and it should eventually pop open. If your hood cable isn't severed.

What You Need:

- Replacement Hood Cable (About $15-$20 online)

- Needle Nose Pliers

- Ratchet set

- Wire Cutters

- Wire Coat Hanger

- Flash Light

- Nice to have another person to test with however that will be the only time you need a 2nd person.

Approx: 1-2 Hours (Took me 3 without a guide)

Under the hood (Removing the Cable):

1) Undo the hood cable from the hood latch. Just bend open the bracket with needle nose pliers and slide out.

2) Pop the rubber cable holder out of its spot. You can do this with a screw driver.

3) To the right above the drivers side headlight there are 2 little plastic snaps holding the cable. Just use a screw driver to pop them open.

4) Pull the cable towards the drivers side headlight until it pops out (around the brackets).

5) Cut the cable with wire cutters. (This gets rid of the hassle of it catching on crap when removing the rest of it. I found this out after getting the end stuck. )

Inside the car: (Removing the Cable)

1) On the drivers side remove your floor mat(s) so its just carpet.

2) Take a screw driver and pop the trim up at base of the doorway where the 2 pieces of plastic connect. (You only need to pop it up enough to remove the plastic housing around the hood release and e-brake.)

3) With your hands (Or with screwdriver if needed) pop the plastic housing off around the hood release and e-brake. Don't worry it shouldn't break even if it feels like it will. Start at the bottom closest to the trim you just popped up and work your way to the back behind the release lever. Yank on the plastic it should come off. (As said earlier it will feel like it will break but it wont.)

4) Peal back the carpet in the corner behind the hood release.

5) Undo the 2 screws on the hood release lever.

6) The plastic kick board (Should be black directly above the hood release) will have 4 screws. 1 on the left, 1 on the left - center, 1 on the right, and 1 on the right by the accelerator. Undo them and push it off to the right a bit.

7) Now that you have access to all the screws holding the e-brake in. Remove the 2 screws and nut. (1 in the front, 1 in the back behind the cable, and the nut is at the very top in a tight spot. The nut is a royal pain if you have big hands! Keep in mind its a nut NOT the bolt directly above it. Takes a bit of feeling around until you get it. Its at the top closer to the front. )

8) Pull the e-brake off of the bolt that is holding it up (Pull towards the pedals and down once its off. Its the bolt you removed the nut off of) and push it off to the right.

9) Follow the cable with your hand until you reach a rubber stopper. (There will be some material with a slit that you have to go behind about a inch up until you find it. Remember this location and that there is indeed a rubber stopper. I didn't know about the stopper and looked for 5 min before I realized it was there.

10) You now have full access to the hood release cable so pull it until the cut end is out. (If you have troubles you may need to look under the hood and find what its getting stuck on. Shouldn't be a issue if you cut the end off.)

11) Remove the rubber stopper you found at step 9.

Installing the new cable (Mostly under the hood):

1) (Inside)Push the end of the cable with the spring through the hole you found when removing the old cable. Just push back the rubber stopper attached to the cable until its somewhere near the handle. Only push like 4 inches in or so because it will run into something.

2) Under the hood near the drivers side wiper look down and your cable should be viewable to the left of the black thing.

3) Push the cable back and behind the black thing towards the drivers side fender then pull the cable slack threw.

4) Tuck the cable in along side the drivers side fender down with the other wires and continue doing so until you are past the wiper fluid.

5) Push the cable through the the holes so that its sticking out on top of the headlight. (As in under not over the top)

6) Direct the cable behind the grille (Same path as the black plastic cable holders you unclipped when removing the cable).

7) Take a wire coat hanger and bend a little hook at 1 end and stick it through the top hole (To the right of the bigger hole by the hood latch) and hook the springy part of the cable and slowly work it through the hole.

8) Push the hard plastic stopper ( the part right before the metal cable ) into the grove part of the latch.

9) If you have the bracket bent open already skip to step 10. If not then take needle nose pliers and bend open the bracket on the latch so that you can fit the cable in.

10) Pull back the spring and hold the cable (In front of the spring) with needle nose pliers and push the cable into place on the bracket.

11) Bend the bracket back into place.

12) Push the cable into the plastic brackets and snap them closed. As you do this start tucking the cable in.

13) If you still have excess cable then push the cable back towards the drivers side area until the excess around the headlight is tucked away.

Installing the new cable and cleaning up (Inside the car):

1) Make sure you have the right amount of cable inside so that the latch will screw into place. (Don't screw it in yet!)

2) Make sure the hood cable goes between the e-brake cable and the side of your car.

3) Slide the e-brake back onto its bolt and tighten the nut down.

4) Push the hood cable until it fits properly with the e-brake.

5) Screw in the 2 screws on the e-brake and make sure its on snug with no wiggle.

6) Screw in the hood release lever. And test it. ( I suggest having someone pull the hood release lever while you test the hood latch with a screw driver. You test by pushing the shaft of the screwdriver down in the latch as if the hood was latching in. Pull up with a bit of force and if the latch opens when the person pulling the release lever lets go of it then you should be fine. However if it doesn't double check that you did every step correctly or it may be the latch itself that is faulty. Could try lubing up the latch so it operates more smoothly. )

7) If your test went well close the hood and try it for real. If it opens then everything went fine. If not you may need to driver around the block and pull the lever until the hood opens again and check what went wrong.

8) Put everything back into place on the kick board so it will fit correctly and screw it back in.

9) Push back the carpet to its usual spot.

10) snap the plastic panel back into place. May need to hit it a few times with your hand so it snaps in.

11) Snap back down the plastic trim at the base of the doorway (over the top of the plastic part you snapped in place in step 10).

12) Put back in your floor mat(s) and clean up.

Congratulations you have replaced your hood cable :)