Chrysler Repair: 94 Dodge hood latch broken, dodge caravan, release cable

Question
Hi Roland.  I saw you answered a similar question to another user once, so maybe you can help me out.   I have a 94 Dodge Caravan 3.0 and I think i have lost the hood latch mechanism return spring.  The latch stays in the open position and will not retract back to lock, so I am driving with just that loose secondary lock holding it down. Do you know what kind of spring would go in there, and more importantly how to get access, it seems like the latch is completely inside the metal frame.  Thank you.

Answer
Hi John,
To get to the latch you may have to loosen up the grille a bit for clearance: it has 2 bolts on each side that hold it to a bracket that is in front of the radiator (on each side of the radiator opening) and 6 bolts on each side that hold it at to the headlamp housing edges it appears) so that once loosened you can then remove the thin wide panel on top of the grille called the sight shield. It has push-in fasteners that hold it in place, just lift the round center plug gently to relase those fasteners. Once you have sight shield removed the latch will be accessible. As to the spring, you could inquire at a dealer parts counter or simply go to a good hardware store with a supply of springs and buy one that seems to fit and not be too aggressive with the strength that you have to apply to the release mechanism so you don't break the release cable in the future.
Roland
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