1986 Cherokee Pioneer 4X4 4 door 2.5 engine.

Yesterday I tried to open the hood and the hood release lever pulled to its stop without releasing the hood. There is some spring tension on the lever but only in the last 20% or so of travel and the lever stays out the other 80%.

I tried pressing down on the front of the hood while my wife pulled the release, but no joy. Can the hood be released from underneath? Or by removing any grill parts from the outside? Help!

 

usually, having someone pull the cable while you "thump" on the hood with your fists pops it open. Otherwise I think you have to remove the headlight assemblies to get to the backside of the latches to release them manually. Regardless, lube the snot outa them when you finally get it open and good luck!

 

REMOVE EVERYTHING from that area:
grill, headlights, cover under radiator
get: flashlight, mirror and blanket, (pillow is optional)
needle nose pliers, vise-grips
there is a metal rod, opening both locks, you have to grab it somehow and move side to side.
If that doesn't work, you need to reach each lock and move lever, connected to the rod.
Good luck, have fun!

 

Thanks for the replies. I tried reaching up from underneath and couldn't find the release bar, just a lot of grease in my armpit. I found the instructions on removing the headlights to get to the latch bolts and took the drivers side headlight and bucket out, but couldn't find any bolts. Using a mirror I could see a small black boden cable just above the overflow tank behind the left headlight but no bolts. Then I l remembered some photos I had taken of the engine several years ago, and looked those up realized it does not have latches on each side of the hood like my 90 and 96 but has a single latch in the center above the radiator.

So....All I needed to do was take off the grill and locate where the cable pulls the center latch release. It was on the bottom within easy reach. I cut a piece of dowel the length of the exposed inner cable (about 3/4 inch) and slotted it to the center with a hack saw and put it over the cable between the end and the latch lever and taped it in place. Now I just have to clean up and reinstall all the stuff I didn't need to take off in the first place, and maybe write myself a note on how to open the hood on an 86 Cherokee if this ever happens again.

 

quick update. it wasn't a stretched cable that was the problem - it was that the collar at the end of the cable that had slipped out of a notch in the latch base and moved toward the latch so the cable could not pull far enough to release. I pushed it back on the notch and left the dowel on the inner cable and now it takes only a short pull on the hood release to trip the latch.

 

Just a FYI for those who don't know, the early XJ's used a center hood latch then moved them to the front corners a couple years later.

 

Wish I'd known/remembered that before I started taking things off. I saw a listing for replacement safety latches for 87 up to 2000 something, so perhaps 86 was the last year for the center latch. It is easier to repair if you know where it is.