Cheap hatch lift replacement

[MikeB]

For what it is worth, here is how I replaced my tired hatch lift supports for cheap.

Your local Autozone should stock Mighty-Lift 95237 supports. This lift has the right gas tube but doesn't have the right brackets to bolt into an 80. I got them for $25.99 each with a lifetime warranty. You can reuse the brackets from your old lifts with a few minutes work and $1.82 worth of hardware per side from the bolt aisle at Ace Hardware. The attached picture shows a Toyota support compared to a modified Mighty-Lift support.

Tools
--------------------------
Drill with 1/4" and 1/2" bits
7/16" wrench
big screwdriver.

Hardware (2 each per lift)
-------------------------
1/4"x3/4" truss head slotted machine screw
1/4" nylock nut
1/4" flat washer
3/4"x1/2"x1/8" nylon washer
1/2"x1/4" nylon spacer for 1/4" screws

1) Remove the brackets from your old lift by drilling out the rivets with a 1/4" drill bit. Continue drilling to enlarge the bracket holes to 1/4".

2) Remove the bracket that came on one end of the 95237 lift by drilling out its rivet. Discard the bracket and the nylon washers that came with the lift.

3) Enlarge the holes in both ends of the 95237 lift tube to 1/2".

4) Assemble your old brackets to the 95237 lift tube using the hardware in the order shown in the attached picture. Note that the nylon spacer acts as a hub for the end of the tube to rotate on. It appears to me that this will stand up to a LOT of opening cycles. If the spacers ever do wear out, they are only 30 cents each to replace.

 

[cabron]

Nice writeup, this will save some people some bucks

 

[Dusty]

nice post. great help-my hatch has been wacking me head too.

 

[JasonH]

Here's a bump and a thanks for this writeup. I just finished doing this last night and it works great!

 

[John E Davies]

Very nice - thanks. What does an OEM set from the Mother Ship cost?

I'm a little worried about using "Grade Jello" hardware store bolts on a couple of hatch struts. They have very little actual strength and if one of them shears the hatch will come down on your head. Or your kid's. Ouch!

I suggest a visit to the bolt store for some Grade 5 or harder bolts, preferably with no threads where the bushing sits, to prevent cutting into the nylon. There is a heck of a lot of leverage on those bolts.

 

[kup99]

I did almost the exact samething last summer.... awesome!!!!!! I think when I looked into it it was going to cost around $100 Can.

 

[JasonH]

When I called the local dealer, they were quoting me $110 each.

 

[MikeB]

I'm a little worried about using "Grade Jello" hardware store bolts on a couple of hatch struts. They have very little actual strength and if one of them shears the hatch will come down on your head. Or your kid's. Ouch!

My head is still intact.

I did worry about the strength needed and tried to look up a safe load for an ungraded 1/4" bolt in single shear. I remember it being about 200 lbs. If you look at the cross section of the rivets used in any assembled lifts they are less than a 1/4" bolt, and the steel is nothing special. There is no shock loading because of the springiness of the lift.

A graded bolt would be good insurance. The issue would be whether the hex head would fit between the bracket and the body. It would be real close unless you wanted to try bending the bracket.

 

[JasonH]

You'd have to break a bolt on each strut at the same time for it to whack you on the head. One strut is almost enough to hold up the hatch by itself.

 

[SUMMIT CRUISERS]

Thanks MikeB for your directions on changing the lift supports. Everything went perfect except for finding the 95237 supports. I went to the first Auto Zone - no luck, O'Reily's - no luck, Advanced - not even close, 2nd Auto Zone - in stock - got em. I went with the grade 8 1/4 x 3/4 bolts and they fit just fine. Great write up. Hatch works perfect. Thanks again.

 

[Heffenoche]

This may be a stupid question but last night I picked up a pair of these supports from AutoZone last night. When I took them out of the package I could not get them to move. I put one end on the ground and put a fair amount of pressure on it and I could not get the support to contract. Are they normally this tight and they need to be installed to get the force to get them to work? I’m trying to avoid doing the work just to find out I got a bad batch.

 

[george_tlc]

This may be a stupid question but last night I picked up a pair of these supports from AutoZone last night. When I took them out of the package I could not get them to move. I put one end on the ground and put a fair amount of pressure on it and I could not get the support to contract. Are they normally this tight and they need to be installed to get the force to get them to work? I’m trying to avoid doing the work just to find out I got a bad batch.

More likely than not they are in perfect condition. It requires a LOT of force to make them contract - which would be clear if you remove both old struts off your 80 and then try to lift the hatch without them... that hatch (especially all that glass) is heavy!

cheers,
george.

 

[Heffenoche]

More likely than not they are in perfect condition. It requires a LOT of force to make them contract - which would be clear if you remove both old struts off your 80 and then try to lift the hatch without them... that hatch (especially all that glass) is heavy!

cheers,
george.

Thanks, that is what I suspected but wasn't sure.

 

[cruiserman]

Local Autozone doesn't have these and can't order them. Autozone.com indicates D95724 is the replacement for 80 series, but the price is $54.

 

[MikeB]

Local Autozone doesn't have these and can't order them. Autozone.com indicates D95724 is the replacement for 80 series, but the price is $54.

The 95237 wasn't the part number for an 80. I found it by looking through all the struts for something with a gas tube that would work. I never even checked what application it was made for.

I looked at the Mighty-Lift rack in my local Autozone today and found (as others have reported) that they no longer stock 95237 supports. I also didn't see any other supports that they had in stock that looked easily adaptable to an 80 hatch.

This mod may be a thing of the past unless we find another source for a cheap lift tube that will work.

 

[PandaEG2]

Great write up! I will try it this weekend and keep everyone posted/

Thanks
Ray

 

[teejnut]

Great write up! I will try it this weekend and keep everyone posted/

Thanks
Ray

Were you able to find the 95237 struts for $25.99?

 

[medtro]

$35.99 from Parts America.

 

[PDoyle]

The 95237 wasn't the part number for an 80. I found it by looking through all the struts for something with a gas tube that would work. I never even checked what application it was made for.

I looked at the Mighty-Lift rack in my local Autozone today and found (as others have reported) that they no longer stock 95237 supports. I also didn't see any other supports that they had in stock that looked easily adaptable to an 80 hatch.

This mod may be a thing of the past unless we find another source for a cheap lift tube that will work.

Been wanting to do this for a while. Stopped by Advance Auto asked if they could match Mighty Lift pt# 95237. Looked up the Mighty lift part on their computer screen and they came up with their pt # 4813. Cost $26.99 each...Doesn't look like #95237 in the picture, but the parts chick told me they all don't look like that. I ordered it with the idea that I could get a full refund if it didn't match up. Got a set yesterday. They are exactly what your looken for.

 

[debushau]

I was looking through some catalogs and noticed that Rock Auto sells this lift from Monroe (901612). It lists for $22 and is also noted as a replacement for 1990-1996 FJ80 on the Monroe website. From the diagram it looks like it's missing the brackets to bolt to the hatch/body but Rock Auto notes that hardware is included - so maybe that stuff is snapped on. Just curious is anyone has tried this out before on the off chance that it's the right part. Is there a difference on the lifts between FJ80's and FZJ80's? Is the '97 different? It would be nice if it was a bolt in replacement.

I also noticed that NAPA has a part number BK 8196297 which looks like a fairly direct replacement - with the right brackets. It's pricey at $88.