Hood Lock Woes. Hood won't open on passenger side.

[Sw12]

Hello everyone. I know this topic has been beaten to death, but most solutions are the same and they will not work in this case. I have a slightly different problem and I could not find a solution to it. Problem: The passenger side hood lock (BMW Part#52138164764) arm has completely disengaged the lock assembly. The arm I'm talking about has a receiving ball on one end.

Probable Solutions: 1) Cut the hood to gain access. 2) Drill the lock in several spots and pray it disengages.

Any ideas would be happily welcomed.

My Ride: 95 740il

[jclausen]

Cut the hood grill out

[Sw12]

Both kidneys have been removed.

[Sw12]

Latch 1.jpg

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latch 4.jpg

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latch 6.jpg

[Sw12]

latch 7.jpgHood latch on the car currently, viewed from the front of the car with grille removed, on the passenger side. The piece circled above is located on the other side of the hood latch facing the engine bay but it has all come apart including the release lever, spring, and cable as shown above. So now all there is left is a hole where the release lever used to be.

[Sw12]

I managed to cut the wind duct open. I drilled the side of the lock housing, its plastic. I used a flat screwdriver to pry the cover off the lock.Once this was done the hood popped up, and the remaining pieces of the locking mechanism fell on the ground. Sure beats having to pay a BMW dealer over $1000 to get my hood open. Took roughly 20 minutes to complete. Again, Thanks, Edwin!

hood latch open.jpg