HELP,my 2004 f150 heritage (old body style) my hood won't release from inside the cab,anybody have a clue how to open it from the outside, it sucks can't afford to drive it and now I can't even open the hood. The vehicle has been a lawn ornament for the past 6 months and I'm trying to get it ready for old man winter but I can't. It only has 28,000 miles on it. Any help would be appreciated, thanks
champlainl@twcny.rr.com

 

if the cable isnt broke, have someone else hold the release open and just give it a good wack with your palms and it should pop, most likely cause is just a stuck latch,

if the cable is broken you can release it with a coat hanger, you need to bend it properly and theres no way to tell you how to do this, but i can tell you it can be done, i locked my keys in my 04 with the headlights on so the keypad didnt work, had no choice but to pop the hood to get a set of jumpers on the batt and juice for the keypad.

 

My 2002 F150 4x4 latch was stuck. Tried having someone hold the latch pull while I bumped the front/top of the hood. Didn't work. Removed the rubber splash guard between the radiator and front bumper from below. The plastic fasteners are one-time use. Pick up some before starting... Sprayed the mechanism from below with liquid wrench let it soak in for a while. Then using a long screw driver was able to tap the mechanism to the open position. Once under the hood lubed the mechanism with oil and worked the latch by hand until it moved freely. The pivot points had corroded due to the heavy ice treatments here in the northeast. Plan on opening the hood every week and spraying it with lube. After driving in the snow/ice/salt mix, I will spray some WD-40 to dissipate the water. WD is not a lube. Then re-oil the pivot points... good luck

 

Thank you - but your post would have been a lot more helpful 3 years ago!

 

lol
At least the rest of us know now.