i was cleaning up the catch mechanism the other day, i may have slightly moved that lil ball thingy that fits into the gap thingy. when i pulled on it earlier, it came away in my hand. anyone had a go at dealing with the lock?
from my research, so far it seems to be a choice between:
trying to feed a piece of hooked wire onto the little lever. but with the bracket round the catch seems virtually impossible. would it help taking one of the lights from the front?
cutting the whole thing off from underneath, but again seems extremely difficulty because of the protective bracket.
i’m guessing its impossible to get at the bolts from underneath because of the bracket?
even if you haven’t attempted yourself, do you know of any solutions?
thanks
Not sure I ever said you don’t have to remove bolts. Yes, some 10mm bolts on the top, 2 10 mm nuts either side in the wheel arches and release the airguide.
I think your best shot is going to be to speak to a very experienced technician at your nearest Mazda dealer or perhaps someone from one of the Rescue Services RAC/AA/Green flag. I had a brief look at my NBFL this afternoon and could not see anyway of getting there at all without doing some damage to at very least the bumper cover.
Seeing as you have a Mk1 taking a headlight, n/s probably, out might give you a way to feed a coat hanger type wire in to snag and release the catch but ideally you’d have another MK1 to hand to work out how to proceed as doing it completely blind will be very hit and miss.
Good luck and keep us informed about how you do eventually get in.
Hopefully the OP didn’t close the bonnet after dislodging the cable when cleaning/greasing the catch. Then, indeed they are screwed.
If it were me, my first step would be to buy a used vatch assembly. Second step would be to study said used mechanism. Then remove the airguide. Bludgeon the original latch into submission.
