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Eureka! I suppose during the time you guys were typing, I was arriving at the same conclusion. I pulled the latch mechanism out and examined it up-close. The tension spring was out of a pocket on the latch and not providing any push when the latch was released. Hence, the hood could be pulled up out of 'battery' but would not pop up on its own. I disassembled the mechanism, lubed it, and re-inserted the spring into the latch. Put it back together and now all is well. Very simple to do. This is how I did it and you may find it useful. Do so at your own risk, yada yada yada. 1st, open the hood and peel back the carpet cover just inside of the latch. Next, using a flat-head screwdriver, remove the four plastic 'screws' holding the trim plate between the bumper and the hood flange. They merely turn 90 degrees (so that they are perpendicular to the car's direction of travel) and pop out. Then remove the trim piece and place to the side. Next, using a ten millimeter socket, remove the two bolts securing the latch to the car. They are located just inside the trunk under the carpet you just peeled back. Once they are removed, the latch is now only held in place by two metal cables and the alarm pin switch wires. Carefully unplug the alarm wires. Push in on a small 'latch' on the lower half of the plug and pull out the lower half. Then carefully rotate the upper half about 45 degrees (it should be fairly easy to move, don't force it) and the plug will pop out of the metal holder. Then use a small screwdriver to gently push a release clip on the plastic mounting point. This will allow the small plastic mount to separate from the wiring plug. Now you need to gently remove the cables from their sockets. Take the tension off of the upper cable and gently pull the cable up out of its socket. Then remove the lower cable in the same way. The only thing holding the latch in the car now is the alarm wiring harness. Push the rubber grommet through the body toward the bumper. You can then pull the wiring through and the entire latch will come out of the car. Be sure to set the stainless steel shroud to the side. It was not attached on my car but may be on yours. Now that you have the latch out of the car, you can see the large diameter steel spring that is wound around the large post to the passenger side of the latch. That is the culprit. The small plastic shroud over it pulled straight out and off of my latch. This is the microswitch that tells the alarm that the trunk is open or closed. Set it to the side. You should now see the latch mechanism and the hole that the spring needs to be in to function properly. I used two screwdrivers to push the other end of the spring (the end on the release / catch mechanism ) over the catch. This allowed me to push the end into the latch more easily. I then popped the spring back over the catch. Now there should be tension on both the latch and the catch. Lubricate with white lithium grease, or some other semi-solid lubricant and work the mechanism to ensure that it is functioning properly. Once you have confirmed proper function, reassemble in reverse order (i.e. put the alarm switch back on - it should snap right back in place ), pop the cable back on, thread the wiring through and secure the grommet in place, place the stainless shroud on, insert the bolts and loosely tighten things. Once the bolts are in, line up the hood and the latch mechanism and tighten down the latch. Replace the plastic bumper/body trim piece but don't insert the 'screws' until you've tested the hood a couple times. Once it is clear that the hood is functioning properly, secure the trim, replace the carpet and smile at a job well done, for free. If I can figure out how to transfer my pictures out of my camera phone I'll add some illustration to this. Hope this helps. I was frustrated as *)*^*( until y'all help me realize what the problem was. Pictures ...

I did the oil change yesterday and it went perfectly. I thought I'd provide the information in this post that I consolidated from this and other forums for any others who are interested. Pics attached. Thanks to all those who provided this information. 1. I changed the oil with a warm engine so that the oil would drain more easily. 2. I didn't unscrew the cap on the filler neck until midway through the draining process so that the oil wouldn't come out too quickly. 3. Unscrew the drain plug using an 8mm hex bit and let drain into a collecting basin. Next time I'll also place a tarp on the floor to catch any splatter that comes from the collecting basin. 4. While the oil was still dribbling, I loosened the oil filter housing using the special tool Oil Filter Spanner 92040. 5. While waiting for the oil filter element to completely drain, I removed the old O-ring from the oil filter housing. I used a flat head screw driver to get under it and to pry it off. Ensure not to scratch/damage the oil filter housing. The O-ring comes off very easily. 6. I then cleaned the oil filter housing, and placed a new O-ring on the oil filter housing. In the latter regard, I dipped the O-ring in some of the oil that was still inside the housing, distributed it all over the O-ring, and then gently rolled the O-ring over the housing until it rolled into place. Rolling it on evenly ensures that it doesn't get twisted, which would hamper making a good seal. 7. I then removed the old oil filter and cut it open to inspect it for metal fragments. Apparently small pepper sized metal fragments are okay, but cracked pepper sized fragments are a sign of potential problems. Mine looked great, with only a few little metal fragments in the entire filter. 8. Then I replaced the drain plug. I changed from the original to a magnetic one from LN Engineering (via Pelican Parts). It uses a 10mm hex. When putting the new aluminum sealing ring on the drain plug, ensure the smooth side is toward the engine block and the sharp edged side is toward the plug. I turned it counter clockwise until if felt it seat, then turned it clockwise by hand to ensure no cross-threading. Then use a torque wrench to tighten to 37 ftlb torque. 9. Then I inserted a new filter element. Place a little pressure on it and it pops right in place. 10. I prefilled the oil filter housing to somewhere between 1/3 and just under 1/2 full. Then screw it on by hand and finish with a torque wrench tightening to 19 ftlb torque (my 1/4" torque wrench only goes to 200 inlb which is a bit less than 19 ftlb--228inlb, and my 1/2" starts at 20ftlb; so I put it on with the 1/4 at 200 inlb and then checked with the 1/4" at 20 ftlb and got the click right away, so it should be about right). 11. I then began filling oil, having placed some paper towel to catch some drips under the filler neck. I put in the rest of the container that I started for the oil filter housing, as well as 7 more litres (i.e., 8 litres). 12. Check oil level. It gave an overfull indication, which apparently is normal. I started the car and let it run for about 15 seconds (Despite having prefilled the oil filter housing, I did get a low pressure warning that lasted only a second). Then started the check oil procedure again. This time it takes about 30 minutes. It tested one segment short (sorry for the poor pic but you'll get the idea). One segment corresponds to 0.4 litres, so I put in 400ml more, checked again with ignition only, and the oil level was perfect. So, the total oil used was 8.4 litres. 13. Then start the motor again and let run for a few minutes. Check for leaks. 14. Take it for a spin, and check for leaks.

Here is how you replace the spring in the center console on a 2006 997S. The cost of the part was 87 cents. Here is a picture of the part. You remove eight torx screws to get the cover off. This is the cover off. Here is the cover. There were two different length screws but it does not matter where they go. Next you release tension on the spring. I have a torx socket resting on the spring release. The last step is to pull the hinge pin out. I used a vice grip and it worked real nice. Replace the spring and reassemble. This is a very easy task with a difficulty index of 1. I replaced the spring because the console door would rattle over bumps. The new spring works like a champ. Paul

Note: Part numbers sometimes change without notice. Always double check with your supplier that you have the latest part numbers. The switch is part number 996.613.155.00 A02 for a switch installed on the left side of the dash and 996.613.156.10.A05 for a switch installed on the right side of the dash. Like other dash switches it has a raised portion on one side. When you order the switch, ensure you specify which side you want the raised portion according to which side of the dash you are installing it into. These install procedures assume you will be placing the switch in the unused dash socket below the PSM switch on a RHD car. For LHD cars, the PSM switch is on the left side of the dash and the raised portion of the tail switch should also be on the left (as shown in the picture). For RHD cars, the PSM switch is on the right of the dash and the raised portion of the tail switch should also be on the right. Take care that you order the correct tail switch for your car. Parts you will need: 1 ea 996.613.155.00 A02 (or 996.613.156.10.A05) Spoiler Switch 5 ea Female connectors 5 feet (1 length) Connector cable 2 (3 inch length each) 14 gauge wire few Cable ties Tools you will need: Phillips head screw driver Blunt flat blade to prise the switch tab (I used a butter knife) Wire cutters Crimping tool Soldering iron Remove the cover from the fuse box. Then carefully remove the four screws pointed out in the picture. Ensure the screws do not fall into the fuses else you may start a fire! (The fusebox is located in the drivers side footwell.) Once the screws are removed, pull away the carpet trim around the fuse box. You will be cutting into the wiring loom connected to the existing spoiler (tail) switch. The switch is the black square item located in the bottom left corner of the fuse box. Note: The installation of the new in-dash tail switch does not effect operation of the existing spoiler (tail) switch. It is simply wired in parallel to it. I have used a mirror here to show you the back of the fuse box. Pull the connector from the switch. It has no clips but it may be quite hard to pull off. Be careful not to pull the wires out of the connector. DO NOT use a metal implement to pry it off. If you rock it from side to side while pulling, it will eventually come off the switch. Here you can see the connector pulled away from the switch. The connector has three wires: Green/black, Brown/Green and Brown. Carefully cut the 3 wires going to the connector. Ensure you do not short the wires as you cut them. Leave a long tail on the wires at the connector as you will need to splice them back later Use a blunt blade to carefully pry out the switch tab holding the PSM switch in the dash. I used alarm wire in a single cable. You need 3 cores in the cable and it needs to be about 5 feet long. Feed it through the opening for the PSM switch tab. You can see in the picture where you can feed it through the back. Push the wire through so that you can grab it from underneath the dash and feed it along within the dash to bring it out behind the fuse box. Carefully cut the 3 wires going to the connector. Ensure you do not short the wires as you cut them. Leave a long tail on the wires at the connector as you will need to splice them back later Fit the new tail switch into an unused slot. Usually the one below the PSM. Place the connectors as shown on the switch. Make a note of the colour coding you use and which switch terminals you put them on. I used red, brown and black wires in this configuration. Next you will wire up the tail switch light. Use two 14 gauge wires cut to about 3 inches. I used blue and brown wires. Strip both ends of the two wires. Crimp a female tag onto one end of each wire. Connect the tags on these wires to the two outer (remaining) tail switch tags. Pull off the connector from the back of the PSM switch. Insert the blue wire onto the left most PSM switch tag (blue/pink/brown connection wire). Insert the brown wire onto the top PSM switch tag (red/blue connection wire). Ensure the inserted wires are not shorting any other tags. Push the PSM connector back into place with the inserted wires. One way to do this is to cut the bare ended wires short and feed them through the tag holes before pushing the connector back on to the PSM switch. At the switch box end, feed a 1 inch piece of heat shrink sleeve onto each of the 3 exposed loom wires. Push the sleeves along to expose the bare wires. Pre-solder each end on all exposed 9 wire ends. Then solder the loom wires back together while at the same time splicing the new wires into the loom. The 9 wires comprise 3 from the original Spoiler (tail) switch connector, 3 in the loom that you cut from the tail connector and 3 that you have just wired in from your new tail switch. The wires are soldered as follows: red -> red/green black -> green/black brown -> brown Check the solder joints. Push the sleeving over the joints and use the soldering iron to heat the sleeving so that it shrinks around the solder joints. Ensure no strands of wires or solder is protruding from the sleeving. Refit the connector back to the original fuse box spoiler (tail) switch. It is important to tidy up your cabling. I used cable ties to ensure the cables don't rub on anything sharp. Before refitting the switch tab, test that your newly installed in-dash tail switch works. Also test that the switch light works when you turn your side lamps on (with ignition on of course). Finally, replace the switch tab in the dash, push the fuse box surround carpet back into place and replace the 4 screws. Job done.