Help, Can't Open Trooper Hood

justin236

Hey, I have a 1988 or 89 (I forget) Isuzu Trooper and i'm trying to replace the starter. I'm pretty sure I know how to do it, however thats not the issue. For some reason the lever underneath the steering wheel wont pop open the hood.

It seems like such a simple thing that I shouldnt have a problem with, but I have no clue on how to open the hood, and none of my car buddies have ever run into this situation before.

Any suggestions?

atfdmike

I don't have your model, but check if the interior handle is still hooked to the cable....do you feel resistance in either direction. If no, then the cable may have separated from the handle. If it is still attached, I don't know of any way to release without destroying cable. In fire dept we had a tool to reach in to cable where we could see it and twist cable until hood popped, but it would ruin the cable. Still a lot less damage than bending sheetmetal!
Maybe someone more familiar will offer their experience.
good luck, one guys opinion.

sr764loper

I have a 93 Trooper and keep a plastic coat hanger in the door pocket. When I need to open the hood I jam the coat hanger under the release lever to hold it up then I reach under the edge of the hood and pull up, sometimes with more force thatn others. has worked for me since I bought the Trooper from a friend that did the same thing.

Weird part is the latch releases the hood it just won't pop up when released.

johnblazed

i share your pain, i have a 94 trooper and the same thing happened to me. i had my mechanic buddy take a look at it and the cord was stretched behind the firewall. so basically he said he could order me a new cable but it would take a while or he could just make me an external handle. i went with the external, its free and easy. your best bet is to bring it to a garage they'll get it open in 2 seconds. wont cost you much at all.

rawood321

Yep - I had the same problem with my '91. It turned out that the latching mechanism was freezing up. I ended up hitting down on the top of the hood just above the latch and it popped open. Once it was opened, I WD-40'd the tar out of it and never had the issue again. I'm sure by now you have resolved your issue. Just thought I'd share.

volcanosolar

In addition to the cable problems, I had one other problem come up.

'88 Trooper: could only get the hood to release with much grief involving a long, heavy screwdriver and access from the front. You CAN actually use a flashlight and peer through the grill and spot the hood pin where it pokes through the latch, get a screwdriver on it, and push to release it.

The pin on the hood is adjustable, and it turned out mine was too far out. It was hooking on the lower lip of the latch mechanism, not being held by the lever that connects to the cable. In other words, pulling the cable was pulling the hood-release lever just fine, but since the hood pin was hung up it had no effect. Solution was to just thread the hood pin in some.

jevie23

Hey John: You said your buddy made an external handle? Is there any way you/he could give me some idea as to how to do this. As I just experience the old cable problem today. Had to fight with the a coat hanger between the grill to get the primary hood latch open. And now am keeping my grill off till I come up with a solution.
Thanks