bonnet cable broken 400se

[ian350i]

any ideas how to open the bonnet if the cable breaks on a 400se

[pwd95]

Opened my Griff bonnet when it went a few weeks ago with a wire coat hanger bent to shape. Have you got any photos of under the bonnet with the catch showing? You should be able to work out what shape to bend the coat hanger & where to prod or pull. Good luck

[ian350i]

good idea,can anyone take a picture of the catch?

[MJG280]

I had this on a 280 and it was interesting I jacked up the front but the heater inlet got in the way otherwise I might have been able to reach up from underneath. Ended up removing the whole exhaust and downpipe on passenger side before we could reach it. The catch is offset to the passenger side. Afterwards I attached a piece of wire from the catch through to behind the dash for emergency use.

My bonnet is rough and if it ever happens again and my emergency back up fails I'm drilling a hole through the bonnet

[mightymouse]

I believe some people have fitted an additional cable or similar that hangs down in case this event happens. Something I have yet to do on my 350i
Sorry, other than that I have no idea but perhaps someone who does will be along in a bit

[rev-erend]

It's in the middle of the bulkhead .. under the middle of the wiper.

Access from below and push the lever indicated by my screwdriver towards the passenger side of the car.

[ian350i]

thanks for help,took 3hours of frustation with a coat hanger,cheers

[grahamw48]

Had the same problem with my 280i a while back....just chucked the bonnet away.

[wooly350i]

Can i assume you've done it,but if not i used a long thin length of wood and just hiked the offside of the bonnet up enough to push the wood in and directed it to the catch,once lined up onto catch(where screwdriver is pointed on 'revs'photo and smacked end of wood once,bingo.
Cheers,wooly

[gsx600]

I just pull mine hard and it pops of the catch, useful in an accident as I can then see the engine coming towards me once the bonnet has blown off

[cantus]

Better to drive without it......
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N1ud5MvGKFs

[FlipFlopGriff]

I used a coat hanger with a hook on the end (approx 1/2 inch hooked piece). Access from the n/s just in front of the wheel, straight piece up on an angle across the top of the manifold and onto the catch. Quick pull and hey presto. Took about 20 minutes in total (excluding getting the car up). The catch is almost exactly central but the bit you need to pull is slightly nearer the n/s. You could push from the o/s but found it easy to pull from the n/s.
FFG