It opens now. Just to be superman lol

 

Long extension, long needle nose pilers, flashlight and some patience. It's really not too bad just can be a pain.

 

Sometimes a headlight... one you actually wear on your head helps...
You can'thold the pliers AND the light at awkward angles...

Harbor Freight, 5$.

 

I ended up spending a lot of time going over everything and shooting latches and the cable with WD40, then threw them all in an oil bath to soak em' really good.

It was still acting a little ornery with the cable installed in it's guides, so I tried a couple of different ways and ended up not running the cable through any of them at all.

It's not quite as neat as having the cable in it's guides, but at least the hood opens pretty easily now.

 

I gotta reef on mine to to open the hood ... thanks for the fix ideas tho

 

Hey all - anyone know where t find this replacement part? I trashed mine getting the hood open when the release cable broke. I can't seem to find it on the web for some reason. Maybe I'm calling it by the wrong name?

 

Is it in this picture?

 

My vote is for silicone or lithium grease. Wd40 gets sticky with dirt. Silicone leaves a film.

 

Silicon spray works...
I had this happen to my Comanche where I replaced 2 hood release cables and then finally found the solution to the problem...
Where the cable connects to the hood that parts gets rusty and doesn't move thoroughly to release the hood...
I had to spray pb blaster and kept moving it till it was smooth to barely no effort to move it...
Installed the new hood release cable and added the wd-40 silicone spray and boom...works like a charm....

 

It is NOT! This is the same diagram Chrysler/Jeep uses on the internet site. The connecting rod(s) are not pictured because they are NLA (no longer available). A ceaseless search online has turned up a possible XJ to cannibalize the part from. Now all I have to do is get to it before someone else does. I think while I have the chance I'll scoop up a few extra parts (grille, headlight doors, etc) that are in better shape than mine. Wish me luck!