[Tref_h]

Hi, I tried to open my bonnet this evening and the lever went floppy after a pop and the bonnet is still secure. Lever is in the passenger footwell on this model (LHS kick panel). Cable has come out of the lever, barrel end still in place and outer sheath seems to move fairly freely (al least 20 odd mm). There’s a white plastic end over the outer that isn’t fixed to anything.

How do I go forward from here? Tried pulling the cable with pliers but no joy, whole cable just moved. I assume the white plastic piece is intended to clip into something to prevent this.

Is there a non-destructive way to release the bonnet from the front of the vehicle without assistance from the internal release?

Thanks!

 

[Stu E]

Hi
This happened to my Clubman as well, The bracket that the outer cable clipped in to is very flimsy. I straightened the bracket put the inner cable back in the slot and held the outer cable in place, then opened the bonnet.
The long term fix was to get a couple of stainless steel cable ties to hold the outer cable in place.
HTH Stu

 

[Stu E]

Should have been clear held the outer cable in place in the bracket

 

[Tref_h]

Ta, I’ll give that a try. Damn thing needs coolant so it’s getting quite urgent! ??

 

[mike1967]

Ta, I’ll give that a try. Damn thing needs coolant so it’s getting quite urgent! ??

might find by removing the lever inside the car and gripping the end of cable with molgrips and give a good tug on it as long as cable is still connected to the under bonnet catches it should release, also worth while you tug on the cable get someone to push and pull on the front of bonnet, might be worth dong this before removing anything

 

[Tref_h]

Removing trim and pulling cable with grips got me open. I’ve got cable reseated now and bonnet once more operating normally. More than I can say for rest of car...

 

[Tref_h]

Ok, so the coolant issues are now in hand but I’m still opening the bonnet with grips, the top plastic ring on the trim lever pull has broken so the lever only pivots on the bottom now. Possibly ironically the metal vee that the white cap sits in doesn’t appear distorted although the white cap now seems a bit chewed. Do I have any realistic options other than replacing the lever assembly? It looks like that’s about £45!

 

[mike1967]

Ok, so the coolant issues are now in hand but I’m still opening the bonnet with grips, the top plastic ring on the trim lever pull has broken so the lever only pivots on the bottom now. Possibly ironically the metal vee that the white cap sits in doesn’t appear distorted although the white cap now seems a bit chewed. Do I have any realistic options other than replacing the lever assembly? It looks like that’s about £45!

get one from breakers complete with cables off a new car maybe haggle a cheaper price

 

[Tref_h]

? That occurred to me pretty much after I pressed send, and by the magic of Royal Mail 24 I now have a £9.99 replacement sat in front of me! Might be worth noting that as I was pretty much forced onto web to source (no breakers locally) I found actual search term was very picky for SH units, but brand new and expensive options popped up with a wider variety of search terms.

 

[mike1967]

? That occurred to me pretty much after I pressed send, and by the magic of Royal Mail 24 I now have a £9.99 replacement sat in front of me! Might be worth noting that as I was pretty much forced onto web to source (no breakers locally) I found actual search term was very picky for SH units, but brand new and expensive options popped up with a wider variety of search terms.

i very rarely search the part i need secondhand ir search the car,, ie example mini r56 breaking or r56 cooper s breaking, then ask the lowest mileage newest posting for said car and ask for a price delivered for the said part. or ask them would they take £15 say for bonnet pull with cable.. they then list give me the listing link and i go buy it,
my theory is anyone who has listed a item as invested time removing it and thought about the price and tends to be higher from past dealings, and by asking will you take said amount dont effect anyones awkward ego as some people get when selling stuff, just my theory might be totally wrong but works for me

 

[Tref_h]

It’ll be nice to get the molgrips out of my footwell and the trim reassembled!

 

[mike1967]

It’ll be nice to get the molgrips out of my footwell and the trim reassembled!

just remember to attach the new cable on end of old cable before pulling the old cable out,, ie use the old cable coming out to thread new cable through its gromit etc, makes the job a lot more easy

 

[Tref_h]

The cable is actually fine, molgrips are only needed because the plastic flip lever itself is broken due to force applied with stiff bonnet catches. The white plastic locator isn’t in first rate condition anymore but if held in with finger to stop it flexing out of the vee still does it’s job, so I’ll replace the bracket as the lever itself isn’t practically replaceable and add a couple of zip ties to keep the cap located. Should be fine I think!