So far I'm having a great deal of fun with my new/ old 1979 300sd. I took the car to the car wash so I could have them steam clean under the hood. After I got the car back, I couldn't open the hood. The release lever pulls back and there is some tension, but not a lot. I think the cable is either broken or stretched.

Any advice on how to get the hood open? A fix?

 

check to see if the hood release is actualy pulling on the cable and your not just feeling the resistance of the spring. if the release is not pulling on the cable get a pair of vicegrips and pull the release cable that way. if the cable is broken somewhere inbetween i dont have an anwser yet. i will play with my release in the morning.

 

The cable was extremely stretched and I neeeded another person pulling the release lever in the cabin while I used a screw driver to fiddle with the mechanism. We finally got it open and I used a dremel to alter the bracket after adjusting the cable. I'll be adding replacing he cable, bracket to my list.