96 ranger hood latch won't release

[bnrr]

Hello TRS, I am not sure if I am posting on the right forum but I could not find any threads related to my problem. The hood latch will not release or the hood does not pop up when the hood release lever is pulled. I inspect the latch through the front grill with a long screw driver
in hopes to be able to engage the latch to release, but encounter an obstacle
there seemed to be a Jimmie jammer or a guard to prevent thife. With that thing in the way I
am unable to engaged the release mechanism manually. Does anyone know a way around
this problem, spend two days trying to figure a solution. Thanks I really appreciate the help

Edit:sorry I forgot to mention that the problem is on a 96 ranger XL.

 

[alwaysFlOoReD]

I had a similar problem on a 97 f150. With a 1/4" drive, extension and u-joint and IIRC a 10mm socket I was able to undo the two bolts that hold the latch to the rad support. Hopefully it's the same for the ranger.
Good luck,
Richard

 

[adsm08]

Wow you guys are making this hard.

Have someone pull the release in the cab while you hit the hood right above the latch. You don't gotta hit it too hard, just bang on it with the side of your fist.

 

[tinman_72]

Wow you guys are making this hard.

Have someone pull the release in the cab while you hit the hood right above the latch. You don't gotta hit it too hard, just bang on it with the side of your fist.

I had the same problem for quite a while. It took two people to open the hood. I would have to pull on the latch using four fingers while someone bumped the hood. I fixed it by gooping the latch assy with grease. Once I did that I can just reach under the steering wheel with one finger and pull the latch and the hood pops up like new.

 

[alwaysFlOoReD]

That's fine if the cable is still good. There does come a time that even two people can't open a hood.

 

[bnrr]

Hello Guys, thank you for the replys to my post. I will try the suggested methods and post an
Update. Thanks.

 

[bnrr]

Update

Success I have open the hood by using the hit the hood method. But I did not use my fist, because an old man like myself doesn't have the strength to hit hard enough, so I use a
mallet hammer and light force. I had my wife pull out the release lever, hold and do not release. With the mallet hammer I hit the spot where the latch is located under hood with a soft and light impact force with only 2 hits, and viola.. it pop opened. Now I am a happy camper. The only problem is that the latch springs have lost it's tensions, which is why there was no release action when the release lever is pulled, no problem in getting a replacement.
Thank you everyone for the auto repair 101. This has been a very rewarding and valuable lesson for me. Keep up with the valuable advice for all newbies like myself