53 plate mondeo bonnet lock

[gog440]

I have a 53 plate mondeo estate that I havent used for a couple of years since I got my company car (I kept it for a while to see how the job went and then never got rid).I have finally decided to pull my finger out and get it fettled so I can sell it, the battery was dead and I was sure that it would be useless after being flat for so long so had bought a new battery. The bloody bonnet wont open!. Key will turn to the left fine but when I try to turn it to the right there is a lot of resistance and it wont open. I dont really want to have to smash the grill to get in to drill the bolts out, is there an easier way? or a way of opening it without damaging anything really
I have already tried wd40 etc to try and get it to move but I have a feeling something has failed in the lock.

[igiveup]

Does lifting the bonnet a bit to take the strain help when turning key to the right?

[gog440]

igiveup said:

Does lifting the bonnet a bit to take the strain help when turning key to the right?

No it didnt seem to help but I will give it another go

[gog440]

FFS I spent literally 20 minutes the other day trying to open this bloody thing, lifting the bonnet edge made no difference at all but squashing it down whilst trying to open it worked!
Right tomorrow I can get this fired up and over to my mates garage to get it sorted out for its test and then flog it.

[LuS1fer]

Is there no footwell or steering column lever you have to pull first? ie is the lock not simply a lock?
It's a footwell lever on the Mk IV and there is no lock so I assume yours is a Mk III.

Edited by LuS1fer on Thursday 16th May 08:54

[Howard-]

LuS1fer said:

Is there no footwell or steering column lever you have to pull first?

Not on the mk3 Mondeo, no. It's a stupid, annoying design.

[gog440]

When I finally got it all open it appears that all the random road ste on the lock mechanism had set solid, so when I pushed down on the bonnet it broke the crap apart and let me open it. All cleaned up and working fine now.
After over 2 years of being sat there put the glow plugs on, then tried to start it really just to see if it was all free. It fired on the first attempt!
Kicked a fair bit of smoke and st out but I left it ticking over for a couple of minutes to get the oil all around the engine then gave it a bit of a rev, revs cleanly and seems to be as good as it was when I parked it up. The handbrake (which I had left off) is a bit stiff but works ok, all the wheels turn ok (no seized brakes or bearings) clutch works fine and all the gears select ok. What a lucky bugger I am!

[gog440]

fking thing is fubar.
At my mates garage for test,bonnet staying stubbornly shut, had to rive the grill out and and managed to get access,It looks like the rod from the lock to the mechanism isnt turning with the key.
any bright ideas? or do I just need to spend the £80 or so for a new one?