[Vwdiesel] hood latch difficulties

[Matt]

Hello all!

I've been working on replacing my hood latch cable and getting it all  
squared away.  I've been having problems with my hood closing properly  
for a few years now.  Everything was working until my old latch (hood  
side) broke.  I replaced it with one from a j/y, and now things aren't  
working right.

For the longest time, I'd close the hood, and it would be crooked.   
When crooked, the passenger corner would buff up and down in the wind  
while driving down the road.  Also, the hood release cable doesn't  
work.  To open the hood, just grab it and pull.

Tonight, after replacing the cable, I readjusted the hood side latch  
until it lined up perfectly with the lower latch.  It still grabs, but  
you only need slight effort to open the hood again.  The cable doesn't  
do anything.  You can pull forever, and it just doesn't release the  
mechanism.  The latch mechanism on the core support side seems to be  
shot.  I don't know if they can be rebuilt or what, but I'm pretty  
sure I might need a new one.

The trouble is, I'm short on cash, and I need the car to be road  
worthy as the Golf needs to go down for some freshening.  Has anyone  
ever just rebuilt the stupid thing and gotten it to work again?

-Matt
http://matt_lisa.home.sprynet.com/