HELP! Last year I had the clutch slave cylinder replaced on my 1990 convert. (L98, 6-speed). the original had started leaking fluid. After the slave cylinder was replaced all was well in the clutch department.

About 2 weeks ago I noticed it was getting hard top shift and the pedal felt kinda soft. I located the clutch fluid reservoir (that was an adventure unto it's self), it was empty, eo I filled it and took it back to the the shop that did the original swap.

They said the replacement slave cylinder was leaking and replaced it (at no cost). After a week I noticed the clutch getting soft and it was hard to get it into gear. I checked and ....yup, no fluid in the reservoir. I was going to put fluid in the reservoir but Magilla Gorilla put the top on and I had a hell of a time getting it loose. I moved some cables out of the way (turns out they are the hood release) replaced the fluid and was good to go.

This morning I was going to check the fluid level, but the hood won't unlock....aaarrrggghhh!!!

Question: Is there another way to unlatch the hood on a C4 other that the main one (drivers side lower dash)?

also, I have had the 'vette for 3 years or so and have had very little trouble (usual oil leaks that were corrected) and the radio is almost gone. Other wise she's been a very dependable and fun car! I know some of the other cable operated things have alternative ways to open, how about the hood?

Thanks for any help on this....

Keep the wave alive and the rubber side down..

 

Eklers sells a product # 32206, a rod used to sneak under the hood to catch the lever that operates the two latches. You could make one out of 1/8 " drill rod if you look at the picture in the catalog. Check under the dash to see if the clutch master may be leaking out the back and down the firewall. Can't see a car eating slave cylinders unless there rebuilt or installed wrong.

 

Thanks to Yankee Corvette..
Ecklers only shows half of the tool... Mid-America has a full view. I tried making one out of welding rod but without instructions haven't had much luck.

I may have to check with the dealer or a body shop.

Thanks again,

 

This happened years ago to me.... When it first happened, I took the car to Pine Belt Chevy (Lakewood, NJ) to see if they could open the hood; They said SURE, it'll cost you $700 (they were proposing to take apart the dash from the inside). I left with a smirk. I drove to my mechanic (Ultimate Car Care, Neptune, NJ - hello, Nick, Baldo and Fulvio) and within .30 minutes they had my hood open. I believe a very long (perhaps 14 inches) screwdriver did the trick... the price was $20.

Mind you, this was BEFORE that special tool was being sold; I have since purchased one.

My suggestion: find another Corvette (a friends), open the hood and STUDY the configuration of how to push/pull the lever that springs open the hood; if you don't have the tool (even if you do for that matter), practice with an open hood and BECAREFUL FOR THE WINDSHIELD EDGE. It will either cut YOU and you will chip IT..... how do I know? look at my hand and then my windshield both bare the signs of an intense struggle with the hood opening tool.

 

and once you get it the hood open mount you some emergency release cables. You won't want to go through this again.

 

I had the same problem . I looked under the dash and I found the plastic hood release was broken I fastened the bracket with a clamp 10 years later it still works. I also bought the hood release kit it comes with reference marks.

 

Found a better picture in the MID-AMERICA MOTORWORKS catalog of the hood tool and the same page has cables. Built my own from that picture.

 

Thanks to all the helpful info...I found the picture in Mid-America, too. I tried for several hours but couldn't get the %@#$ thing to open. I did get the passenger side open but the driver's side wouldn't let go. I called the shop that was doing the rest of the clutch work and warned them. No problem! They had it open in no time and it turned out that the second slave cylinder was OK, the master cylinder was leaking. I thought it strange because the first time I was noting fluid on the garage floor under the vette. After it was replaced (and the hood stuck) I didn't see fluid leaking on the floor, but it was still loosing it from the reservoir.. Yankeecorvette hit it on the head. Got it fixed today and the clutch feels better than ever, shifts smoother too!
LeesVette, thanks for the idea, i'm going to rig something to act as a backup release.
One problem I didn't plan onwhen I was trying to get the hood open, The latches are flipped from each other. I could see the passenger side latch and was attacking the driver's side the same was....oops! they work opposite from each other. I'm also going to take a couple underhood photos, latches included!!

Thanks again for the responses!!!

Happy vetteing...

 

I will try and post a pic of the cables I rigged up tonight.

 

Thanks again.. To LeesVette, that would be great. It's amazing to me how easy it is to knock one of the release cables loose and then you are dead in the water! It's a great idea to have a manual way to release to hood....Looking forward to seeing your fix....