Ford Expedition Eddie Bauer 1998 hood latch spring replacement

Ford Expedition 1998 hood latch spring replacement. If your hood won't latch on the secondary latch, but does on the first, and when you pull the hood handle from the drivers dash, from here you should feel a pull when opening the hood. It should feel like you are opening the hood. However, the secondary latch is not latching. You may have a spring broken in the latch lock.

I had this problem. Mind you, I am 115lb, 40 year old lady. I was told to leave it alone, bring it to someone who knows what they are doing or I would have to tie it up with rope..lol.....I was up for the challenge.

Open the hood, disconnect the battery, find your latch. It is in the middle of the truck, by the grill in the front -under the hood. You may have to remove the plastic covering that shields the radiator. There should be 6 plastic screw caps found right where you can see them, and 2 plastic pop off caps closer to the engine. I had to step on the bumper to see them. Next, with a marker, mark the location of the lock. I put a line across the top onto the truck, and on the sides of the lock. This is so when I put it back I don't have to do any adjustments. Don't forget to mark the placement of the screws on the lock. With an 8mm socket, place the socket on the two bolts holding the lock in place. I didn't need to take anything apart to get to the lock, just a little pull on the plastic you should see in front of the lock. However, I would suggest you taking the sensor cable off of the latch. I didn't need to remove mine. I was very careful in handling the cable and the lock. Please remember to keep the screws and bolts (if any) to the side, you will need to put them back on. Once you have the lock out of it's place, carefully bring it out about 4-6 inches (it should almost lie on the metal for you to see inside). Here you should see if you have a broken spring. The lock should only have two. One spring is about 2.5 inches, and the lower one is about 1.5 inches. My problem what the 1.5 inch spring. I took out the broken spring, and using a flat head screw driver, I latch the spring on. I then had my daughter pull the hood handle, shabang! It worked. I reversed my steps in putting the latch, bolts, screws, and battery back together. I didn't need to adjust any of it since I marked the placements. It has been working great ever since.

Hunnybunny