Emergency Trunk Release...

[creekman]

I had an e-mail chat with Loren to discuss where the end/loop of the Stainless Steel emergency trunk release cable was? Loren said it should be somewhere between the right front fender baffle and the bumper. However what he had done was to attach a fishing line to the loop and attach the line to the plastic bumper plug. I took it one step further and drilled a 3/16" hole directly above the tow eye threaded hole in the bumper. The S.S. loop will just fit through the 3/16" hole, then tied a fishing line to the loop and the other end to the plastic bumper plug. If you brought the S.S. cable through the tow eye threaded hole then you couldn't screw in the tow eye.

There's a step on the back side of the bumper so you have to position your drilled hole to avoid the step... At least now I know where the emergency cable is, plus I don't have to remove the tire and maybe the fender baffle. Anyway, chalk one up for Loren.

I'm sure everyone knows there's a second way to activate the hook latch. By hooking up a battery to a terminal post at the kick panel fuse/relay panel. See page 214

in your owner's guide for details. I might add if you get into relocating the cable you might clean your radiators and A/C condensers at the same time.

[Mike Petonic]

Nice. I like how you did that. Since I don't track it and, thankfully, my TT is very reliable, I don't really use the tow hook hole. I do, however, use it to hold my front license plate when I get the occasional "no front license plate" fixit ticket.

[mpaton]

Recently I had a horn failure on my 2002 996, and after changing them both, and cleaning leaves and insect parts off th eradiators, I resolved that I wouldn't put the bumper cover back until I had decided on a good place to relocate the emergency trunk release cable. I've had 2 occasions in 17 years to have to use this cable. As I read the threads on here, it seems that I haven't had the patience to wait or a battery jump to bring voltage up, but then it seems that these H type batteries die leaving almost an internal short. Anyway, back to the release cable.

The first time I used it , it worked well. Years later, on the second occasion, it was very stiff. So. hard to pull that I cut my finger on the cable. I eventually used a tool, and pulled very much harder, and it did release the lock, but I didn't think it ever would again. I though the cable must have rusted to something.

Looking at it recently, I could see that it was stiff because as it turns from running across the car to rearwards, it rubs against a plastic bracket holding a headlight drain tube to the body. It had actually worn slots in both webs of the plastic clip, and it was binding in there. Relocation was a must if it was ever going to work again.

I was about to follow creekman's suggestion, when i discovered that I could route the cable past the position at which it usually turne rearward, then over the energy absorber supporting the passenger side of the bumper, and then downwards and slightly towards the center of the car.

In this position, the loop can lie in between the horns, and can be reached with a hand going up through the bumper cover hole that the horn sound comes out of. The energy absorber is a suitable large radius curve, won't grab the cable, and it pulls easily. So that's where it is now!