90507487 bonnet release cable
8mm socket & ratchet / spanner
Flat headed screwdriver
Cable ties
Optional – gaffa tape
Essential – tea
Over the course of it’s life, the bonnet release cable on a Cavalier Mk3 is prone to stretching / failure. This guide will show you how to replace yours.
If your bonnet cable has snapped, or is so stretched that the bonnet won’t open, get somebody to pull on the release lever inside the car while you simultaneously push down on the bonnet itself. This should encourage the catch to pop free. You are now in a position to fit your new bonnet release cable.
Starting at the front of the car, unscrew the bonnet cable hinge clip using an 8mm socket or a socket & ratchet. This will release some of the tension (if any is left!) in the existing cable. It would also be useful at this stage to remove the grille (for better access when testing new release cable). nb. you may have a different nut/screw holding the clip in place depending on the history of your vehicle:
Next, locate the end of the cable housed in the spring retainer and pop it free, then pull it towards the passenger side of the car until the end pops out from underneath the slam panel:
Moving onto the inside of the car, climb into the driver’s footwell. Remove the retaining clips from the foam/plastic cover above the pedals (twist clips 90 degrees and pull) and move the cover aside. You should now be able to see the bonnet release cable lever and housing clearly.
Pull the lever free of it’s housing (twist gently and it should pop out) and remove the cable from it. You should now be left with the housing and the cable:
Take a flat headed screwdriver and gently insert it beneath the mount itself (at the point nearest to you where it clips into place). With perseverance this should pop out. When it is free cut the head of the bonnet release cable so that the cable and mount are free of each other and discard the mount.
Now you will need your new bonnet release cable:
This bit is optional but you might find it useful. Take the end of your new bonnet release cable, and the recently cut end of the old cable, and fasten them together with gaffa tape (try to make the width of the join as thin as possible). This may assist you when feeding the new cable through the route of the old cable by simply pulling on the old cable. Worth noting that the hole/grommet in the bulkhead for the bonnet release cable to feed through is very small so this method may or may not work for you:
Follow the feed of the cable from inside the footwell to the bulkhead. Ensure the the hole/grommet is free of obstruction. You should be able to see daylight through it if the bonnet is open. Move around to under the bonnet and locate the cable as it enters the engine bay through the bulkhead. Gently pull the old cable. If you have fastened the new cable to the old cable you should be able to feed the new cable through as the old one is pulled. If the hole is too small for both cables, simply pull the old cable out and then, back inside the car, feed the new one through the hole/grommet (I found this to be easier than fastening them together).
Once the cable has been pulled through the grommet you should be able to feed it through easily. Don’t pull it all the way out but just enough to line the new mount and lever up with the mounting bracket inside the car.
Clip the new mount and lever to the mounting bracket inside the car. Push any excess cable through the hole/grommet in the bulkhead in order to line them up properly:
Working back under the bonnet, feed the new release cable through the same route that the old cable took. Pull the old cable at the front of the car so that the end of it is being fed through at the same pace as the new cable:
On the V6 the release cable disappears underneath the ABS unit and header tank, so at this stage you may wish to fasten the ends of the old and new cable together with gaffa tape and pull on the old one to feed them through. Pull until the new cable is all the way through the top of the slam panel and discard the old cable:
Feed the new cable through the hole in the slam panel so that it fastens to the retaining spring (where the old one was originally removed). Your new bonnet cable is now in place. All that is left is to retension it.
Working around the engine bay ensure that the cable is fastened in place wherever it appears to be loose. Use cable ties to ensure it is firmly tied out of the way.
Once you are happy that it is tied up adequately move to the front of the car and insert your screwdriver into the hole for the catch and apply enough pressure so that you can push the release spring towards the passengers side of the car. Continue to apply this pressure as you tighten the bonnet cable hinge clip. Once tightened, release the screwdriver. You should not see too much movement on the spring. Your new bonnet cable is now in place and ready for testing!
Once closed, if you have difficulty opening the bonnet you should be able to locate the part of the retaining spring (driver’s side) where the new release cable clips in by looking underneath the slam panel (providing you removed the grille as described earlier in this guide). Using a (large) flat headed screwdriver, firmly hit the end of the screwdriver into the spring to pop the bonnet free. Retension the cable. Repeat process until bonnet pops open using lever inside the car.