When you say "the cable worked fine" how fine is fine? If it feels tight or hard to pull, it is on its way to cable heaven. On a w123 there should be very little force to open the hood while pulling on the interior release handle. Also keep in mind that lubing the latch on the radiator crossmember does not lub the inside of the cable, which is where it becomes slow-moving and breaks when itīs time. Itīs almost impossible to lube the entire length of the cable, so itīs best to replace it before it breaks when the hood is closed.

Just in case, the latch can be released in a broken cable situation by inserting something long an narrow enough to fit thru the grill slats and pushing on the latch from its right side. New cables are fairly inexpensive.

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