E36 Hood Problem

[hazardous111]

Hey the other day when I tried to close my hood, it seemed like it didnt close all the way and only latched on one side and the other wouldnt latch. I cannot open the hood from inside the car because the latch is stuck...so my question is: is there a way to open the hood from the front like the grill area?
thanks

[E36Gurl325i]

Take out right kidney grill, put your hand up there and try to reach for a cable, pull as hard as you can


open grill.

Also, you can try to reaign the pin on the hood to the nose panel, and push it down, then open it normally

[305bimmer]

did u get it open?

[Sentaruu]

Take out right kidney grill, put your hand up there and try to reach for a cable, pull as hard as you can


open grill.

Also, you can try to reaign the pin on the hood to the nose panel, and push it down, then open it normally

yes, but op, w/e u do.. dont drop anything into your engine block!!!

[hazardous111]

No I couldnt get it open.. It feels like the latch is stuck..looks like im takin it to the dealer...the whole in my pocket keeps getting bigger

[hazardous111]

I just took it to the dealer and they quoted me at 900 dollars!!! WTH!! just to get the hood open. they said they would have to take the fender and skirts off to get to it and then trial and error to open the hood. I decided I am just going to get the parts and take it to a buddies that has a shop and we are going to do it...much cheaper hah

[hazardous111]

So this weekend I am going to try to take care of it myself, but first, I need to get the side skirts and fender off to get to it.. I really need help with this part guys..what is the best way to take those off??
Thanks

[smurfdawg]

.... they said they would have to take the fender and skirts off to get to it ...

err no, are you sure you took it to the BMW dealership?

You can't remove the fenders without opening the hood.

Crawl underneath the car and start removing all the plastic splash guards until you see the hood pins, using a flat screwdriver pop the pins.

[hazardous111]

U sure itll work? if so i am doin it this saturday..im not paying 900 to get the hood open

[smurfdawg]

U sure itll work?

Positive

[motorwerks]

I just took it to the dealer and they quoted me at 900 dollars!!! WTH!! just to get the hood open. they said they would have to take the fender and skirts off to get to it and then trial and error to open the hood. I decided I am just going to get the parts and take it to a buddies that has a shop and we are going to do it...much cheaper hah

They quoted you for opening the hood, and a hood cable replacement. You can pop the latches if you go from underneath. If you do need to replace the hood cable, you don't have take the fender off.

[drtweak1992325i]

you dont need to take the fenders off...getting the bumper and nose pannel you should be able to get off with out opening the hood. Bumper for sure.

which one of the sides is stuck? is it just one side or both of them?

[y2khris]

Have you tried having somebody push and pull on the hood while you are pulling on the hood lever from the inside?

[E36RJBMW]

Have you tried having somebody push and pull on the hood while you are pulling on the hood lever from the inside?

Yeah this happened to me I left a screw driver on the edge of my engine bay and it got effed when it was close and I couldn't pop it again. Ever since then Ive had to do the two man team open. Have your buddy push the hood down a little bit like push and let go well you hold the handle up in the car.

[hazardous111]

I tried that but to no avail..that was one of the first things I did..push and pull on the hood while the other pulls on the cable.

[hazardous111]

Its more like the cable is stuck not the latches...the cable when pulled from inside has tension but never unlatches..like its rusted in or something...anything else I need to know to get it open besides take off the splash guards to get to it?

[hazardous111]

In case anyone was wondering the outcome, I ended up taking off the kidneys, cutting out the extra plastic surrounding the fan in front. I had to do this to get to the hood pins.Then I had to use an air ratchet and unscrew the pins from under the hood. This eventually opened the hood. I was able to replace the cable and realign the hood-it wasn't aligned right. It was starting to worry me that I wouldn't be able to get it but thanks guys!!

[y2khris]

Thanks for posting the solution.

[nerona1974]

few steps to open the bonnet if your cable is broken or no resistance at all:

1. try to remove the nose grill,left side will do if your facing the car
2. remove the 8mm head screw that holds the plastic on the left inner side
of the grill (top only) then bend the plastic to gain access on the hood
latch
3. take a flat scrwedriver about 4mm tip
4. locate the square hole on the buttom of the latch(where the cable is
connected),then insert the screwdriver and push,your rotation should be
counter clockwise(square hole is plastic by the way)

hope problem will be solved

[tH16]

Epic bump, nice first post. What...

[twofake]

OK I thought I would post my two cents worth.
Just had the same bonnet stuck down problem and this is after removing the bonnet trim to have it resprayed.
The metal pins may have been replaced very slightly off from where they were originally and when the bonnet was shut, the cable release slipped from the plastic housing next to both the left and right latches.
I removed the kidney grills and the plastic shrouds that were mentioned by nerona1974 above were indeed in the way. Yes when you are in a panic, you remove anything in the way.
Strangely the right side shroud had been cut open enough by the previous owner to see the bonnet pins.
The idea is to get a flat head screwdriver to turn the pins so that they unscrew enough to release the pins from the bonnet which then opens. It is not exactly easy to see what to do as the pins are located a distance form the kidney holes.
A better way is to undo the three plastic trims from the underside of the front fender (bumper bar if you are in Australia) so you can access the screws in a straight line.
Once the pins are unscrewed, if teh bonnet latch is not opening or the spring latch mechanism is not visible in the holes that receive the bonnet pins, undo the three torx head screws around each latch and check that the draw wire has not slipped out of its track as this can make the latch mechanisms not work .If either is faulty, the whole lot will not open).
Hope this helps someone better than the utube video where the man cut his bonnet off and bought a new one and still had problems with that shutting perfectly in place.

Oh yes, I have a 1995 E36 316i

[RedManE36]

So this weekend I am going to try to take care of it myself, but first, I need to get the side skirts and fender off to get to it.. I really need help with this part guys..what is the best way to take those off??
Thanks

Woah woah woah.. What the hell does the side skirts have anything to do with opening the hood? Fenders, ehh. But c'mon, of anything, go to a pull-a-part, get a new hood, all the latching stuff and hood equipment, and tear the hood off...that is if all else fails. First try to remove the front bumper to clear it up a bit, takes 5 minutes tops.

[flyfishvt]

Woah woah woah.. What the hell does the side skirts have anything to do with opening the hood? Fenders, ehh. But c'mon, of anything, go to a pull-a-part, get a new hood, all the latching stuff and hood equipment, and tear the hood off...that is if all else fails. First try to remove the front bumper to clear it up a bit, takes 5 minutes tops.

did you bother reading the rest of the thread?

[chrissss]

Hi,
I've just had this problem. My cable wasn't broken. I got a can of WD40 (lubricant spray) and attached the small tube that you get with new tins to direct the spray.
I inserted this tube under the bonnet to the top right of the headlight and gave it a very liberal spray. I sprayed in as wide an area as I could by pointing the tube in slightly different directions so that I new some would go where it was needed. I pressed the bonnet down a few times to try and get things moving. When I pulled on the bonnet release cable the bonnet popped open OK - phew!

Hope this helps someone.

- - - Updated - - -