Hood latch replacement for Gen 1 Toyota Tundra (2000-2006)

[wdn]

Today I replaced the hood latch on my Generation 1 Toyota Tundra TRD, that after 16 years of faithful service in the rust belt, gave up the ghost this weekend. The symptom was the hood would not fully close, it would be in the half latched position. This covers the 2000 to 2007 Tundra.

It is not a difficult repair but there are a number of steps and things that must line up. I go through this step-by-step here with photos, for the next person who needs to do it.

First here's the truck and what it looks like with the hood unable to close/latch fully:

On this Tundra the job is made easier because the front grille is actually part of the hood and raises when you life the hood. Therefore it is not necessary to remove the grille to get at the latch mechanism

The latch is held in place by three bolts: however only one of the bolts is accessible.
To gain access to the other two you need to remove covers that bolt to

the radiator frame. A Phllips head screwdriver will do it then you pull off the caps. The bracket on the right has two caps

After removing the shields all three bolts are now accessible. Give them a good shot of penetrating oil. I used Kroil.

You will use a 10 millimeter socket to remove the three bolts, or a 10mm box wrench. There is plenty of room so I used a ratchet wrench and a 10mm socket.

Before removing any bolts scribe the outline of where the existing latch is, before you remove it. This will scratch a fine outline of the old latch, and the new one will line up perfectly. This is a very important step and is not so obvious. Placement of the new latch is critical.

Then remove the bolts. The old latch will come free but is still attached to the hood cable that must be carefully removed from the old part. It is the other end of the "hood release" lever under the dashboard that you pull to open the hood.

Then cable is covered with a nylon sleeve that fits into a slot cut into the hood release. At this point I may upload no more photos.

To be continued in part 2.

 

[wdn]

Part 2.
The old hood latch has been unbolted but the cable is still attached to slot and also the ball end must be removed. Using a screwdriver carefully pry the cable out of the slot. After that unhook the ball end of the cable from the keyway. By the time you made it this far it will be obvious how to unhook the ball.

The old latch assembly is now completely removed from the Tundra and is free in your hand. Clean the cable and and lubricate it, I used Kroil to loosen and remove all surface rust followed by Dupont Silicone lubricant with Teflon, to lube the cable.

Using only Genuine Toyota Part 53510-0C011 begin the install procedure

Remove from the package and examine. Lubricate all springs with the Dupont spray.
Old, and new:

Attach the ball end of the cable to the keyway and slide the nylon cable sleeve into the slot of the new latch assemybly

Now line up the new assembly using the scribe marks you traced around the old one. You did scribe the outline like I told you to right? Thread the three bolts about halfway by hand. I cleaned and lubed all 3 before reinstalling.

Now that all three bolts are in loosely and holding the latch assembly so it line up perfectly with the scribe outline, tighten the bottom bolt. That will hold it in place and will be in proper alignment. Then tighten the left and right bolts.

All that remains now is to reinstall the left and right side brackets. The left one is easy just be aware that there is a tab on it that fits into a slot in the newly installed latch mechanism.

The right one you have to line up carefully and great care that nothing is pinching the cable. But when it looks right it will be right.

Reinstall the trim fasterners that hold these brackets in place.

Now we are done. Check the parts tray there should be nothing in it.

The moment of truth: close the hood as you normally would. It closes and latches perfectly: in fact is latches like a brand new truck.

Continued in part 3.

 

[wdn]

Part 3 final check after removal and replacement of hood latch assembly of the Gen 1 Toyota Tundra.

Close the hood briskly. It should be in the full latched position, and fully closed. It is. There should be no gaps anywhere. There are not.

Get in the cab. Reach under the dash and operate the cable release. The hood should pop open to half latched position and by operating the lever inside the grill, the hood will open like a new truck. It does. Everything works as it should.

Success.

 

[JeffKeryk]

Well done. I have a 2001, just like yours.
But no rust in my neighborhood.

 

[mk378]

Often the problem is the cable sticks so the spring in the latch can't return the cable and release lever to the latched position when the handle in the cab is released. This will cause the OP's symptom where the hood doesn't stay down, it basically instantly pops back up to the unlatched position after it is slammed shut.

These are parts that aren't prone to wear out but do need occasional cleaning and lubrication.

 

[wdn]

This particular latch was lubricated the heck out of it though. I do not believe it failed due to wear it failed due to massive corrosion. It was wet with lubricant when it failed. It's a known issue by Toyota truck owners in the Northeast, Tundra, Tacoma, 4Runner, Highlander that the hood latching mechanism is prone to rust out on you oil or no oil, and will eventually seize up. I suspect if I dropped the old one in a vat of Evapo-Rust for a week and let it chelate all the rust off it it might even begin to work again. The cable is not binding whatsoever as far as I can tell, and I reused the original cable after cleaning the last inch or so of it, the exposed part. I could freely move the cable back and for after detaching it from the latch.