[MR2] Stuck engine compartment hatch

[Bob Peitzke]

Today I tried again to open the engine compartment hatch.  I disconnected
the remote cable from its lever, and pulled on it with vise-grips - no luck.
The cable is not frozen, does move in its housing a little with no drag, so
it must be the latch itself.  I opened the trunk lid, and was able to see a
little of the hoop that the latch locks onto, sprayed it with WD40. Tried
again, still no luck.

I guess my next step will be to put the car up on jack stands, and try to
access the latch from underneath.

Any other thoughts?

Bob

-----Original Message-----
From: mr2-bounces at mr2.com [mailto:mr2-bounces at mr2.com] On Behalf Of Bob
Peitzke
Sent: Tuesday, June 21, 2011 8:44 PM
To: mr2 at mr2.com
Subject: [MR2] Stuck engine compartment hatch

My 87 MR2 na has been sitting in my garage for several years.  I finally got
ambitious to fire it up and start taking it out for neighborhood drives.
First step was to check out the battery.  Well, I couldn't get the engine
compartment hatch open.  Seems the latch release cable is frozen.

 

Does anyone know a way to bypass it, to open the engine compartment hatch
without damaging any cosmetics?  I replaced this cable once, quite a few
years ago, but I was able to get the hatch open then.  I remember that
routing a new cable requires removing a few trim panels, and access on both
sides of the engine firewall.

 

Appreciate any suggestions.

 

Bob

87 Mk I na

 

_______________________________________________
MR2 Mailing List
MR2 at mr2.com
http://mr2.com/mailman/listinfo/mr2_mr2.com