Broken rear engine lid cable

[jonathan ward]

How do I access the engine compartment if the hood cable is separated from the latch?
The T handle at the door jam pulled back two feet and is obviously separated (unscrewed? broken? unattached) with the bitter end somewhere between the door jam and the rear hood latch. It will not advance. There appears to be a cable size metal conduit fused to the driver's left rear wheelwell. The rear hood is 1/2 inch open (gap) but unable to see or easily access the latch. The grill is attached from the inside so can not access that way. Very little room for a screw driver. Access through the left taillight not obvious. Remove rear seat?
Even if I pry the latch open,can I then access the cable?
Someone must have broken a cable before???

[group911@aol.co]

I don't understand how it can be partially opened. It's not like the front with the safety catch.
If you can see under it, try getting to the two 10mm bolts that hold the male end to the engine lid.

[sugarwood]

Try rattling the male prong back and forth and see if it comes free.
If it's 1/2" open, it may just be off centered.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/porsche-911-technical-forum/369191-engine-lid-keeps-unlatching.html

[Lyle O]

Originally Posted by sugarwood

Try rattling the male prong back and forth and see if it comes free.
If it's 1/2" open, it may just be off centered.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/porsche-911-technical-forum/369191-engine-lid-keeps-unlatching.html

If it is partially open, this is the most likely scenario...agree you should first try to get something to try to move the pin so it un-catches from the guide. Some strong wire could do the trick if you cannot get a screw driver in there. The pin is spring loaded so should pop free.

[jonathan ward]

Got it open! Now how to fish the cable around the bend and out the sleeve to Grandmother's House!

[JSV798]

I thought that the rear lid opened if the cable broke. Is part of the cable still attached to the lock? You need to be very careful when you install a new cable as the cable must be pre-tensioned. If you don't know how to do this then I can give you instructions.

[Ok here we go]

Originally Posted by JSV798

I thought that the rear lid opened if the cable broke. Is part of the cable still attached to the lock? You need to be very careful when you install a new cable as the cable must be pre-tensioned. If you don't know how to do this then I can give you instructions.

How do you pretension it? The frunk cable, the gas lid, and the deck lid cables are on my to-do list to replace. Thanks!

[JSV798]

Here's something I wrote a while ago:

It is a good idea to remove the grille BEFORE you attempt adjustment. When adjusting bear in mind that the cable must be pre-tensioned. First make sure that the handle is fully screwed onto the cable at the door end. At the lock end loosen the cable clamp screw; the lock will then be open; it opens automatically if the cable breaks. Move the lever with the clamp screw to a point where you can see most of the "blade" and tighten the clamp screw. Test. If it fails to open you can reach in through the grille opening and release the lock lever by hand.

It is important to realize that the lock has two open positions: one when the cables has no tension and two when you pull on the handle. This clever design means that if the cable breaks the lock opens.

The front hood lock was the same on the early models but has been changed. Presumably it was thought not to be such a good idea to have the hood unlock at speed.

[Ok here we go]

Originally Posted by JSV798

It is a good idea to remove the grille BEFORE you attempt adjustment.

Something I probably never would have thought of until it's too late. Thanks for the info

[jtsilverfox]

JSV, Thanks! Your comment on the dual open position just saved my butt. My rear deck latch wasn't closing and I couldn't figure out why. So I pulled it out, took it apart (be careful bending the tabs), cleaned it up and couldn't see any issues nor how the heck it was supposed to go to locked position! I was all ready to drill a hole & put a pin in a position that would have it swivel back closed. But then I thought it just might be something someone else had dealt with before, and did a search of the forum, and right out of the chute came your comment (which I almost skipped over!).
It turns out that some SOB thief got into my car one night and commenced to steal various pieces - including the T-handle for releasing the rear deck. Hence there was no tension on the latch and it was staying in the open position. So, just for anyone wondering what the latch innards look like:

Latch position when there’s just tension on the cable:


Latch position when opening:


Latch position after the cable is pulled:


Hope that helps someone...
cheers, jt

[JSV798]

Glad it was useful. I have never found anything on adjusting the engine lid lock in manuals. I figured it out myself when I owned my first Porsche back in the 1970s. It took me a while to realise what a clever design it was.

[JCHinCT]

I've had a long-term rear deck lid latch issue on my '83SC. When pulling the T handle, the deck lid would sometimes open, but mostly pops part way. For the past year I'd carry a paint stirrer to gently put a bit of prying pressure, and this works, but it takes 2 people.
I finally disassembled the rear grille and took out the A/C condenser (which hasn't worked in 30 years anyway.) In starting to look at the pin/latch alignment, I noticed the the deck lid is now really warped. For instance, upon pushing the lid closed, the right side is flush with the fender, but the left side as about a 1 inch vertical gap ... it badly warped. Wondering if this has to do with the A/C hose? ... it used to be compressed but is now free; perhaps that puts pressure on the hinge stamping?
I want to start disassembly & inspection of the latch, but until I fix the warpage I may be wasting time. Has anyone else seen this kind of deck lid misalignment?

[JSV798]

Apart from correct cable adjustment, there is the issue of correct alignment of the "bolt" on the lid. This can be too short or out of line with the catch. If it's too short the lid won't latch and if it's out of line the lid will jam. This is why I say remove the grille before adjustment. In your case I would guess that the "bolt" is out of alignment; it needs to hit right in the centre of the latch. Some lubricant might also help.

[Hextremist]

Almost the same thing happened to me, except the cable broke much closer to the handle.

What I ended up doing was inserting two bicycle wires as long into the tube as possible from the handle side. Then I used a drill to twist them around the broken cable. I could then just pull the drill to open as if it was a handle.

The reason the lock was stuck was that it was worn and thus there was to much friction to allow the lock to unlatch. When I released the screw, it immediately opened. After that I could just pull all three cables out using the drill.

[Mark Salvetti]

Nice job!

Mark

[PeteKz]

Innovative.

[porschedude996]

I concur with the others. The way the latch works, it captures the pointed shaft when the Tee Handle is in the fully seated position. When the handle is pulled, the latch is released. If the cable breaks, the latch goes to an open state to prevent from being locked out.