Hood Release Cable DIY with pics

[Captain_Panic]

I couldn't find any good walkthroughs on this, so I decided to snap some pics as I went through. Hope this helps someone out in the future.

My issue was a little different. I hadn't resecured my cable when I had my front end forward to do my timing belt. When I went to open the hood again, it came off, and I ended up pulling the entire thing through the cabin (raged), so I had NO reference points to go off of.


Driving around with zip ties = not good.




STEP 1. Remove driver's side wheel.



Step 2. Remove all the little torx head bolts holding in the fender lining.









Optional Step 2A Use this opportunity to remove the compost heap that has collected for many years.





STEP 3 Locate the rubber grommet where the cable feeds through. It is the bottom of the two large lines going through the body. You can see where mine began to prolapse from a hasty and improper removal. (lol)







STEP 4. Feed the line through the hole provided. When inside the car, this is where it will come out:





STEP 5. Line it up, and install it on your release lever. You can see in the picture that my line isn't all the way pressed in. Do not leave it like that. (No, I didn't have to learn the hard way)






STEP 6 Begin to run your line through the wheel well, following the rest of the lines going that way:





STEP 7 I have heard of people mentioning that the washer reservoir needs to be removed. I did NOT remove mine. Instead, I pulled my headlight out (much easier), and pulled the line out through the front of the car, and curved around, following its normal line.






STEP 8 Tuck the cable as much as possible, following the factory routing. If done properly, the cable should line up with the release mechanism fairly well.


STEP 9 Stick a screwdriver down in the hood latch to lock it down. It will make your life SO much easier when trying to hook up this end.





STEP 10 Secure the cable to the mechanism. It should go right into place if you have it locked, and it will make a slight snap/pop from the plastic setting where it needs to be.





STEP 11 Once you have secured the cable in place, hit the release lever. You should hear a light click from it releasing (I did this several times just to be certain it was secured before actually closing the hood).

OPTIONAL STEP 11A Go back in your wheel well, and zip tie the cable in a few places just to make sure it doesn't move for any reason


Over all difficulty, I would say a 1 out of 10. VERY simple to do, and only a two torx bits are needed. From start to finish, this took me just over an hour. I think I spent that much time uploading the pics and writing this out.

[Luxus Panzer]

Good job.

I am also waiting for a DIY on installing the RHD hood release for redundancy ;)

[A4SoftWalker]

Nice write up and accompanying photos. Its not easy to do...

[Captain_Panic]

Nice write up and accompanying photos. Its not easy to do...

Thanks! It is my first shot at something like this.

Good job.

I am also waiting for a DIY on installing the RHD hood release for redundancy ;)

Just flip the photos!

[Cousinphil]

Yeah, nice write-up. My hood releases very hard and each time I pop the hood I pray that the mechanism won't break. So far so good. The plastic release lever feels too flimsy.

[Spike00513]

Yeah, nice write-up. My hood releases very hard and each time I pop the hood I pray that the mechanism won't break. So far so good. The plastic release lever feels too flimsy.

It's made of flimsy plastic so that it's the first point of failure, when one neglects to keep the latch mechanism (under the hood) lubricated with something like DuPont Multi-Use Lubricant, which dries to a solid waxy film of PTFE/Teflon.

At least that's the story I heard.
Maybe I'm wrong, but in theory, I'd rather have an easily-replaceable handle break, before a cable. The handle is cheap, plentiful, and held by only one torx screw or something.
I think it's designed in a way to prevent breakage under normal use.
The cable should be pretty strong.

Or should a stronger replacement really be made? A custom metal part?

I think Nollywood has or plans to install an extra one on the opposite side.

[SJorge3442]

Yeah, nice write-up. My hood releases very hard and each time I pop the hood I pray that the mechanism won't break. So far so good. The plastic release lever feels too flimsy.

I broke the level once. That was a $60 mistake I wont make again. I know pull the level from the base to prevent any stress on it. Really poor design on Audis part.

[Fast4esT]

does the cable get secured into the lock carrier at all? I removed my carrier and didn't pay attention to the hood cable.

[shurur9]

does the cable get secured into the lock carrier at all? I removed my carrier and didn't pay attention to the hood cable.

If you mean the ball end that goes to the hood latch, the best place to look is youtube. It is easier that thing to explain it.

Also, if the lever arm is hard to pull, it can be removed from the hood and bent up a bit.

[Fast4esT]

I mean the cable itself, it goes along the front clip, does anything hold it in place. between the latch and the fender

[shurur9]

I mean the cable itself, it goes along the front clip, does anything hold it in place. between the latch and the fender

nope,
It just goes up over the drivers side head light and behind the fan controller module; so that way, it goes into the latch at the right angle.
It seems to stay in place by tension.
It should not be visible when you open the hood, as it is routed under the fender and front end.

it needs to guide straight into the latch; so that the little cable cover can close on the ball end.

I think you need to "thread it" behind the fan controller.

[Fast4esT]

Once I put the rubber trim on its back to normal. Thanks. I was expecting there to be some clips to hold it in but I never took any clips off when I pulled it, 3 weeks ago lol.