Hood Release Question

[joe brackin <joetiger@mindspring.com>]

Can anybody provide some help on how the hood release is supposed to work.
The real question concerns the bracket under the dash. The pieces are as
follows: metal rod, handle(permantly attached to rod), plastic cylinder
around rod, spring, washer to retain spring. Does the bracket clamp the
cylinder so the steel rod slides through it? Or is the bracket supposed to
let the plastic cylinder move with the steel rod. I have not been able to
get this mechanism to work smoothly.
Thanks,