Hood Release Cable Replacement Tip

by 73 ss wgn Thu Mar 14, 2024 12:54 pm

Thought I'd share my experience replacing the two-piece GM hood release cable on my '73 Chevelle with a new one-piece.

The one piece has a thick retainer on the end which I'm guessing the two-piece avoided somehow (I haven't taken the old one apart yet). So all the prayers, pushing, and lubricants in the world will not make the fat retainer pass through the grommet in the firewall. Trust me. So the grommet has to come out.

Unlike EVERY OTHER firewall grommet I've taken out on EVERY OTHER '70s GM car I've owned, this problem child is held in by a tiny self-tapping screw and has an embedded metal washer.

Hood Release Cable Replacement Tip Img_1110

Now if you are leaning on the driver's fender trying to pry the grommet out, you can't really see the screw, especially in a dusty engine bay like mine. You really have to be hanging over past the brake booster to see it. Then once you find it, there's barely room to get a small wrench on it to get the screw out using a hundred quarter turns. How this ever got installed on an assembly line is beyond me unless it went on before the fender or from inside the engine bay before the engine.

Anyhow, it was a major PITA and you can see I damaged mine before figuring out the problem. Sharing to save the next guy the headache.

by Mcarlo77 Thu Mar 14, 2024 11:47 pm

Yep, I've removed a number of these at the JY's and that screw truly is a PITA. Then, you need to wrestle that reinforced grommet off the cable in order to pull it thru the firewall.

by Joe73 Sun Mar 17, 2024 1:58 pm

I just installed my kick panels along with the hood release cable. Today I went to install the grommet on the firewall. First off, every original rubber piece I reuse on my car gets a thorough cleaning and then lathered up with Syl-Glyde and let it set for awhile preferably a couple days. Then wipe it clean. Makes the rubber quite a bit more pliable and has a nice OEM matt finish. Anyway, I slide the wiper bottle out to take a look. Mind you, I dont have my hood on the car which I think would make it a real pain. Reached in there through the wiper bottle bracket and I could access the cable hole but decided to remove the screw closest to the fender for the wiper bottle bracket. Loosen its other bolt to swing the bracket out of the way. My grommet had a slit in its side when I removed it from the car but I still had to wrestle to get it on the cable. Then it slid ride down and one good push and it was in place. I looked down and rotated the metal tab hole to line up. Reached in, inserted the screw and used the small knob ratchet handle to snug it up. For me, it went very easy.