Bonnet Won't Open?

[mick.n]

Went to pull the release the other day & nothing. tried the getting someone to press down on it & bang it while i pulled the cable from inside but no good.

Looks like the front bumper will have to come off, but from what i read in the manual there are some plastic fasteners that are behind the bonnet.

Can the bumper be removed with the bonnet stuck closed? It's a 04 reg LS hatchback, 2 litre DTI. Pre facelift.

Many thanks for any replies as my vectra is "maintenance free" at the moment.

Dont want to rip the front grill off unless i have to.

[burnswood]

this may help you - read this today
http://www.vectra-c.com/forum/showth...-vectra-bonnet

[mick.n]

Thanks m8. Just removed the bumper but i dont see that spring loop that you move across................load of plastic panel things in the way.

Gave up in the end & put it back together as it started raining.

Maybe different as mine is the DTI engine?

[vectra ste]

http://www.vectra-c.com/forum/showth...opening+bonnet

post 9 and 10

[mick.n]

Thanks ste. Problem is i cant see the spring\catch thing for the black plastic stuff behind the grill.

[mick.n]

Managed to get the ****** thing opened today........ had to bite the bullet & rip out the front grill. Had to also fiddle about to remove the plastic channel that covers the air intake duct and also remove 2 of the plastic rivets that hold on the plastic strip at the drivers side so that i could bend it out of the way to get me fingers in. Used a coat hanger to loop around the spring eye & a good tug opened it.

Here are some pics in case it helps some unfortunate soul in the future.

These 3 pics show the drivers side plastic strip partially removed to allow it to be bent out of the way to allow access.








2 of the holes in the plastic strip where the plastic rivets need to be removed.



Me poor grill in 4 pieces and the air intake plastic shield.



Grill bodged for time being & cable tied on.

[v6vc]

I'm the unfortunate soul!

So once you have the grille off, you can get at the plastic cover ok? I'm going to have to do this Saturday but it's a face lift so may be different

[burnswood]

pretty good job of taking it off (especially as of yesterdays 577 quid effort post!) and it looks like its back together cosmetically! I had a look at the wire that does the pulling - was odd that the cable appeared to come from the passengers side on mines, but you pull from the drivers?! Anyway, the bit at the end that does the pulling under the bonnet was corroded to F... definitely gonna keep my eye on it and see what can be done, like replacing it before i have to go down your route! (hope i aint jinxed me self now)

THanks
Dave

[mick.n]

@burnswood..... the cable does take a hell of a long route & according to the Haynes manual it involves removing the scuttle panel to renew it....allthough it may be possible to "wangle" it a bit (one way or another) to avoid removing the scuttle. My advice would be, if you have any doubt about the cable, to renew it before you have a non-opening bonnet!!

My cable had merely popped out of the spring due to excessive slack in the cable.......i adjusted the slack up & checked it about 1000 times before i committed to closing the bonnet.

As far as repairing the grill, i was pushed for time as i had to pick the grandson up from school....hence the cable ties. But i reckon, with more time to spare, i could repair it well enough with glass fibre to avoid buying a new one. I priced a new grill from my local dealer.......£69 + vat!!. No chance.


@V6VC.....once the grill is out of the way, the fiddly part is removing the plastic rivets from the plastic panel on the passenger side. There is a total of 3 (IIRC) plastic rivets but i could only get at 2 of them. The one on the passenger side i couldnt even see, but with the 2 removed it will bend easily enough to allow you to get a hook in to pull the spring catch.

What did confuse me initially was the plastic channel on the drivers side.....the one that covers the engine air intake. I thought at first that it was attached to the slam panel, but it is fastened to the grill itself. when you rip the grill out you will see that it is attached to it. It is at this side where you will need to put your hand in to enable you to feel the spring loop......then you put your wire hook in at the passenger side (where you have the bent plastic panel)then feel with your left hand to engage the hook onto the spring loop. Give it a good yank & you are in!

You need to take care when bending the passenger side plastic panel to not damage the air con condenser......so long as you take your time & dont loose your rag with it you will be ok. Also a good idea to put some strips of masking tape along the bonnet edge where it meets the grill so that,when you are ripping the grill off, it will protect the paintwork when levering with a big screwdriver.

Not sure about the facelift variant though?, may be differences.

[burnswood]

thanks - i have had the scuttle panel off - took a while but i learned the way to take it off again as i had to swap out the wipers a few weeks back No doubt when i get round to changing it there will be a tense moment when i close the bonnet, and then panic when it doesnt open