Once again... "last year, after I whacked a deer with my '96 Tracker" (third after crash story tonight...), i temporarily fabricated a set of hood pins to hold the hood down until I got it fixed.
I twisted the rubber stops out and used two nuts on each bolt and washers to fasten a couple long bolts to the crossbar at those holes. I cut the bolt heads off and marked the locations on the underside of the hood by spraying white paint on the cut ends and lowering the hood onto the wet paint. Then I drilled holes in the hood so the bolts would pass through the holes when you lowered the hood. Then, with a pair of shock absorber washers in place, I marked the location on the bolt shaft and drilled holes through the bolts. A pair of spring clips through the holes held the hood down.
I used bolts with a smooth shoulder , so I didn't have threads sticking through the hood, and smoothed down the tops of the cut off bolts with a Dremel tool. I used the setup for a few months until I got a replacement hood and latch. It kept the hood down, but it was a PITA checking the oil. I was glad to go back to the stock setup.
You can probably junkyard a latch pretty cheap, and they are easy to change. If it is your cable that is messed up, you can use some light bar stock to fabricate a release handle behind the grill. Either way, I prefer the stock hood latch.
