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Thread: ***Hood Release (Bowden) Cable Replacement parts***

  1. #1
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    Question ***Hood Release (Bowden) Cable Replacement parts***

    If you've broken a hood release bowden cable or are for some other reason unable to open your hood, here's a link to instructions on how to gain access to the engine compartment (Thanks, Dorin).

    How to open hood when cables are broken or inoperative.

    I'm in the process of trying to piece together a parts list to do an overhaul of the Engine Hood Mechanism including the latches. I used Larinah's DIY to find the part number for the cable going from the lever to the connecting harness (#22 in the realOEM diagram below). Here is what I know I need so far...

    - #12 51238176595
    - #19 51238203859 (2)
    - #22 51238190754
    - #23 51238176596

    Depending on the issue, the bowden cable lever and hood catch may also be needed (Thank you, precisionpoint).
    - #11 51238226621
    - #15 51238172164

    Edit: Larinah points out in post #9 of this thread that the kit (basically the three bowden cables) is available through ECS (Hood Release Cable Kit). A request has been made of EAC to put together a similar kit.

    The link and diagram below are for my 1998 540i with a production date of 11/97. I'm not sure if the parts are all the same for all MYs, so be sure to go to RealOEM and use your production date or VIN to drill down to the correct parts for your car.
    (After checking, it looks like the parts are all the same, but I'd still recommend checking.)

    http://www.realoem.com/bmw/showparts...57&hg=41&fg=35
    Last edited by jamesdc4; 12-05-2011 at 03:55 PM.

  2. #2
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    11, 15 and that plastic bit between 22 and 23. Otherwise, nothing but some grease.
    I think possibly by not keeping the crank shaft in line with cams...letting the pistons/valve make uncontrollable love and escape the block in fury. - 814318i

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    Mine broke recently, I had my mechanic do it, the funny thing is that their supplier didn't have the one that I needed. The one that broke was the one attached to the kick panel in the car itself. You can get online for about 20 but it usualy costs 10 to ship. You can replace the others, but it is probably unecessary. There is the center one, which is in the front, the drivers side one and then the passenger compartment one. I am going to keep my latches lubed from time to time. I had ignored the hood latch and pins
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  4. #4
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    Quote Originally Posted by precisionpoint View Post
    11, 15 and that plastic bit between 22 and 23. Otherwise, nothing but some grease.
    Thanks guys.
    I've read before about a kit and Black540Msport was able to get one.

    Hood release cable broke. My prob is more serious.
    Black540Msport

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    Hey James, lets see if we can add this to maintenance because lets face it, our cars arent getting any younger and Im hearing of more and more people breaking their cables.

    Maybe we can get all the part numbers together and make a sticky

  6. #6
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    Quote Originally Posted by larinah View Post
    Hey James, lets see if we can add this to maintenance because lets face it, our cars arent getting any younger and Im hearing of more and more people breaking their cables.

    Maybe we can get all the part numbers together and make a sticky
    Great idea! I'm on it, but I'm really busy. It'll take a little time, but let's get it done.
    Last edited by jamesdc4; 12-05-2011 at 03:08 PM.

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    I must subscribe to this because I use mine everyday & it's bound to break at some point in the "very near" future...

  8. #8
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    Bump for info on the kit??? I could just purchase all the parts separately and I might just do that, but if a kit is available, I'd like to add it to the list we're compiling.

    TIA
    Last edited by jamesdc4; 12-03-2011 at 12:36 PM.

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    Lets see if Jared and Mark at EAC can make a kit for us. I'll Pm them. And speaking of broken cables, one of the cables (#23 in diagram) broke 2 days ago on my Girls 528i. So umm this is real, its happening all around us lbvs.

    Guys, I just realised Joe from ECS made a kit and the link is in my original thread

    http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum....php?t=1285641

    The link to ECS is here if You're as lazy as me lol
    Last edited by larinah; 12-03-2011 at 01:20 PM. Reason: Automerged Doublepost

  10. #10
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    Quote Originally Posted by jamesdc4 View Post

    Quote Originally Posted by precisionpoint View Post
    11, 15 and that plastic bit between 22 and 23. Otherwise, nothing but some grease.
    The plastic bit between the two cables is part of #22. I don't think most people having this problem will need to replace 11 or 15, but thank you for pointing those out. We can add them in as optional if an owner wants to refresh all of the related parts or if either of those items are broken.
    Quote Originally Posted by larinah View Post
    Lets see if Jared and Mark at EAC can make a kit for us. I'll Pm them. And speaking of broken cables, one of the cables (#23 in diagram) broke 2 days ago on my Girls 528i. So umm this is real, its happening all around us lbvs.

    Guys, I just realised Joe from ECS made a kit and the link is in my original thread

    http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum....php?t=1285641

    The link to ECS is here if You're as lazy as me lol
    Good idea on checking with Jared and Mark on putting together a kit. I'm going to just order them seperately through them for now.
    And thanks for posting the kit info.
    I'll also update the first post to reflect the new information.
    Last edited by jamesdc4; 12-05-2011 at 03:07 PM.

  11. #11
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    I purchased the kit from ECS because they have it all in one shot. I have the plastic wrap from #22 torn, and I need to replace the cable (spring-ish). The ECS kit comes with the lever as well if I remember correctly (sitting in my garage for about 8 months).
    IF the cable gets broken, and you cannot open the hood, here's the info on how to do it (I wold recommend doing it while the opening mechanism is still working, then if it breaks, you would know what to do).
    Looking for a DIY? Parts? Check this out, it might be your ticket

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  12. #12
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    It turns out EAC doesn't have the cable that connects to the lever in stock. It's a special order item, so I just ordered the kit and a couple of hood latches from ECS.

    Quote Originally Posted by Doru View Post
    I purchased the kit from ECS because they have it all in one shot. I have the plastic wrap from #22 torn, and I need to replace the cable (spring-ish). The ECS kit comes with the lever as well if I remember correctly (sitting in my garage for about 8 months).
    IF the cable gets broken, and you cannot open the hood, here's the info on how to do it (I wold recommend doing it while the opening mechanism is still working, then if it breaks, you would know what to do).
    The kit I just ordered from ECS does not have anything other than the three cables. The lever would have to be purchased seperately.
    Last edited by jamesdc4; 12-05-2011 at 02:53 PM.

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    Yeah James sorry again I didn't see this. Had a crazy weekend and wasn't around the computer much except for work stuff.

    Yes, the kit I got was the one you linked. It's just the cables.

    I still cannot figure out how to get the latch cable installed. I'd really like to be able to just pull the lever one day to get the hood open lol!

  15. #15
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    Quote Originally Posted by Black540Msport View Post
    Yeah James sorry again I didn't see this. Had a crazy weekend and wasn't around the computer much except for work stuff.

    Yes, the kit I got was the one you linked. It's just the cables.

    I still cannot figure out how to get the latch cable installed. I'd really like to be able to just pull the lever one day to get the hood open lol!
    NP. Such is the nature of online forums.
    As to the latch cable install, I'm trying to assess that right now as the parts are on the way. I believe the headlights have to come out, the radiator has to at least be moved backwards and the front panel crossmember needs to be removed.

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    I was thinking that the headlights needed to be removed as well. I did not want to do that until I had my angel eyes and reconditioning kit for them though. But I think that I may as well just do the headlights tomorrow if I can and save the Angel eyes for another day since I don't have them yet and do the hood latch cable while I am in there. If I can accomplish this, I will do so and post high res pics.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Black540Msport View Post
    I was thinking that the headlights needed to be removed as well. I did not want to do that until I had my angel eyes and reconditioning kit for them though. But I think that I may as well just do the headlights tomorrow if I can and save the Angel eyes for another day since I don't have them yet and do the hood latch cable while I am in there. If I can accomplish this, I will do so and post high res pics.
    Excellent.

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    Quote Originally Posted by jamesdc4 View Post
    The plastic bit between the two cables is part of #22.
    Interesting. When I replaced mine (broke at the fitting that fits on part 11), the OEM replacement from DDM came without it. I guess someone there needed it more than I did.
    Last edited by precisionpoint; 12-05-2011 at 07:03 PM.
    I think possibly by not keeping the crank shaft in line with cams...letting the pistons/valve make uncontrollable love and escape the block in fury. - 814318i

  19. #19
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    Quote Originally Posted by precisionpoint View Post
    Interesting. When I replaced mine (broke at the fitting that fits on part 11), the OEM replacement from DDM came without it. I guess someone there needed it more than I did.
    That is interesting because I believe the plastic sleeve is actually not removable. It's molded into the cable itself.




  20. #20
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    FYI, yes, the headlights need to come out. I am just doing the reconditioning of me lenses at the moment but plan to hopefully get the hood latch cable done today too.

    Edit: apparently I'm a Leprechaun today

    I did not try this repair today. The more I looked, the more it became apparent what I needed to remove. I quite honestly am not looking forward to this repair James.
    Last edited by Black540Msport; 12-06-2011 at 04:30 PM.

  21. #21
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    Quote Originally Posted by Black540Msport View Post
    Edit: apparently I'm a Leprechaun today

    I did not try this repair today. The more I looked, the more it became apparent what I needed to remove. I quite honestly am not looking forward to this repair James.
    The DIY does seem to be a wee bit of a PITA. It looks like it's possible to adjust the cable tension without jumping through all the hoops, but cable replacement is going to require a bit of a tear down.

    Last edited by jamesdc4; 12-06-2011 at 05:43 PM.

  22. #22
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    James, did you find an e39 diy??

    To me, it appears to be necessary to remove the radiator entirely. The front support structures all have tack welds holding them in place and the further I traced them, the more it looked like you would have to remove the front bumper to get the crossmember off that holds the hood latches in place. The simpler solution was to just remove the radiator but even that looks like a task right now being winter in Michigan. If I had a heated garage to work in I'm sure I could have this done in about 2 to 3 hours but without one, it looks like a project that might be waiting until Spring.

  23. #23
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    Quote Originally Posted by Black540Msport View Post
    James, did you find an e39 diy??

    To me, it appears to be necessary to remove the radiator entirely. The front support structures all have tack welds holding them in place and the further I traced them, the more it looked like you would have to remove the front bumper to get the crossmember off that holds the hood latches in place. The simpler solution was to just remove the radiator but even that looks like a task right now being winter in Michigan. If I had a heated garage to work in I'm sure I could have this done in about 2 to 3 hours but without one, it looks like a project that might be waiting until Spring.
    I was considering doing this myself, but it sounds like a royal PITA at this time of year (even though the weather has been mild). All my parts arrived yesterday afternoon, so I may just have my Indy do it.
    As for a DIY, no luck.

  24. #24
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    Agreed, its not seeming like any fun to do this considering its not 70* and sunny. Depending on the weather this weekend I "may" pull this off though, I have a space heater and I could probably move stuff around in the garage enough to get it in there. I have a 3 day weekend and I'm installing Angel eyes, probably buffing my Lenses (again) and I think I have Dareck coming up from Chicago so I can do his pixel repair, assuming the part gets here in time. So, if I have any time left over, with my hectic weekend of ugly christmas sweater parties, strippers, and way too much drinking I'll attempt this repair one last time before I call it quits until the spring.

    If you have your INDY do it, ask them how for me please! I'll do a DIY if I have some direction rather than just unbolting everything thats in my way, or not.

  25. #25
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    Quote Originally Posted by Black540Msport View Post
    Agreed, its not seeming like any fun to do this considering its not 70* and sunny. Depending on the weather this weekend I "may" pull this off though, I have a space heater and I could probably move stuff around in the garage enough to get it in there. I have a 3 day weekend and I'm installing Angel eyes, probably buffing my Lenses (again) and I think I have Dareck coming up from Chicago so I can do his pixel repair, assuming the part gets here in time. So, if I have any time left over, with my hectic weekend of ugly christmas sweater parties, strippers, and way too much drinking I'll attempt this repair one last time before I call it quits until the spring.

    If you have your INDY do it, ask them how for me please! I'll do a DIY if I have some direction rather than just unbolting everything thats in my way, or not.
    I'll try to document some of the work if I can to add to the DIY. My Indy is not your typical mech. He gives me complete access to the garage, and gets excited when he realizes I know almost as much if not as much about certain aspects of the car as he does. He allows me to purchase all my own parts which saves me a ton of money. Great guy.

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