I took apart the pull handle in the cabin and pulled on the cable as hard as I could and it popped open.

If I pull the cable on the inside of the engine bay to shorten the length at the ends I can get the handle to work again, although not for long. Eventually the cable sheathing pulls out and there is not enough travel on the cable again. I couldn't find anything on either end to tighten the sheathing to stop it from traveling.

I opened up the inspection hole under the hood catch and attached a wire that runs behind the grill. By pulling on this wire with a set of pliers, the hood can be opened.

__________________
Michael LaFleur

'05 E320 CDI - 86,000 miles
'86 300SDL - 360,000 miles
'85 300SD - 150,000 miles (sold)
'89 190D - 120,000 miles (sold)
'85 300SD - 317,000 miles (sold)
'98 ML320 - 270,000 miles (sold)
'75 300D - 170,000 miles (sold)
'83 Harley Davidson FLTC (Broken again) :-(
'61 Plymouth Valiant - 60k mikes
2004 Papillon (Oliver)
2005 Tzitzu (Griffon)
2009 Welsh Corgi (Buba)