Gas Struts for rear lift gate on '73 - Where do you fin 'em?

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mrboatman said:
I left that piece in just don`t tighten the collar down to tight. This is one of best mods.
JP
Click to expand...

Gas struts on the rear hatch work well... I can’t say if it’s better to put gas struts inside the originals or simply replace them with new ones.

I opted to replace my rusted struts with new gas charged. Now after opening it a few inches with no resistance, it opens the rest of the way itself. It does need to be pushed down to close, but it requires minimal effort.
 
Ok - so I have put everything back together and installed in back on the 40 - the lift gate will now not close all the way. I followed all the directions from other mudders - which included keeping the white spacer that fits inside the smaller of the two tubes. I screwed one end of the new gas strut into the spacer. I then cut of the other end so that it was flush with the end of the larger tube. See the pics below - it will not retract all the way and have about an inch between the end of the larger tube and the screw that holds the bracket on the smaller tube. I assume I need to cut down the gas strut an inch so it will close. If I do so - I assume that will have the lift gate will open an inch less. Before I start hacking - wanted to confirm I am right.

IMG_1640.webp


IMG_1641.webp
 
Have the stock struts out getting them ready for the up grade and ran into this.
A little wear on a couple of the pins so turned some new ones out of stainless.
Got the struts ordered and hoping I don't run into the same problem as others here.
IMG_6313.webp
 
McIntosh said:
Ok - so I have put everything back together and installed in back on the 40 - the lift gate will now not close all the way. I followed all the directions from other mudders - which included keeping the white spacer that fits inside the smaller of the two tubes. I screwed one end of the new gas strut into the spacer. I then cut of the other end so that it was flush with the end of the larger tube. See the pics below - it will not retract all the way and have about an inch between the end of the larger tube and the screw that holds the bracket on the smaller tube. I assume I need to cut down the gas strut an inch so it will close. If I do so - I assume that will have the lift gate will open an inch less. Before I start hacking - wanted to confirm I am right.

View attachment 1808610

View attachment 1808611
Click to expand...

Try it with the white spacer removed. If I recall correctly that spacer is at least an inch if not 1.5”
 
Got all the parts and figured I'll show these guys.
Measured center to center on the pins with rear hatch closed.
Trimmed and installed the pistons and compressed the arms and they stopped right at the point that I measured.
Put them on the Toy and the door bound up at almost closed.
Did some head scratching and came to the conclusion the arc on the top pin drops just a smidgen (Technical term) lower than the resting position when door is closed.
Forcing could break the seals on the strut so in some cases the strut will have to be shortened to accommodate.
The hatch on my Cruiser now rises to normal height and closes fine.
I am going to have to stop reading these articles as it is costing me money.
piston.webp
 
cooney said:
Gas Struts for rear lift gate on '73 - I FIGURED IT OUT!!!!!

Saw some on eBay, but was outbid ($50). Where do you get 'em? Or does anybody have the specs so that I can order some?
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that part number doesnt fit in my tube. any ideas?
thank you
 
Last edited:
@Racer65 (CityracerLLC.com) sells these replacements. They work great

1919114


www.cityracerllc.com

Rear Hatch / Lift Gate Gas Struts for Land Cruiser FJ40

Gas struts for the rear hatch / lift gate of '74 and earlier Toyota Land Cruiser FJ40 in the U.S. market, or through '85 in other world markets. These plug and play replacements are based on factory design as fitted on late model European spec FJ40s, with the correct brackets on both ends. Use...
www.cityracerllc.com
 
Spike Strip said:
@Racer65 (CityracerLLC.com) sells these replacements. They work great

View attachment 1919114

www.cityracerllc.com

Rear Hatch / Lift Gate Gas Struts for Land Cruiser FJ40

Gas struts for the rear hatch / lift gate of '74 and earlier Toyota Land Cruiser FJ40 in the U.S. market, or through '85 in other world markets. These plug and play replacements are based on factory design as fitted on late model European spec FJ40s, with the correct brackets on both ends. Use...
www.cityracerllc.com
Click to expand...
 
I used the model number
GSNI-5200-60


Worked easy with a 1971 fj40. No problems closing the hatch if done correctly. Like others have mentioned here, this is a :banana: job. 20 minute job if you go slow like I did. Pleased with the results. I no longer need to worry of having the hatch slamming into the back of my head.

the " 60 " at the end means it is rated at 60lbs. $27 for both struts, including shipping. You do need to trim the black spacers on these new struts a tad so it meets flush with the threaded end on the original hatch arms. I also ground down the skinny side spacer so it fits inside the tube. Yes, I could have removed it and used the OEM plastic spacer, but since there was absolutely no reason to alter OEM material and these gas struts already came with their own "spacers," I went the easy route.
 
Tried this great idea but the struts mentioned struts dont fit in my tubes? any ideas ?
thank you
 
jd81173 said:
Tried this great idea but the struts mentioned struts dont fit in my tubes? any ideas ?
thank you
Click to expand...
What exactly wasn't fitting? When I removed the gas struts straight from the packaging, yes, they would NOT fit just like that. The black caps at the end of new gas struts were too large to fit inside the smaller diameter section of the OEM metal housing.

FJstrut.webp


What I did to make it fit was grind down the diameter of the end cap on the skinny end (pictured here on the right side) so it could slide into the OEM metal housing. I used an electrical hand grinder for this to remove plastic until it was the correct diameter. Once it fit into the tube, I cut the ends of the cap just a tad, using a hack saw, so the gas strut fit correctly into the OEM metal housing.

I can take pictures of what I did if need be. Just let me know where you are stuck.
 
DesertFJ40 said:
What exactly wasn't fitting? When I removed the gas struts straight from the packaging, yes, they would NOT fit just like that. The black caps at the end of new gas struts were too large to fit inside the smaller diameter section of the OEM metal housing.

View attachment 2067128

What I did to make it fit was grind down the diameter of the end cap on the skinny end (pictured here on the right side) so it could slide into the OEM metal housing. I used an electrical hand grinder for this to remove plastic until it was the correct diameter. Once it fit into the tube, I cut the ends of the cap just a tad, using a hack saw, so the gas strut fit correctly into the OEM metal housing.

I can take pictures of what I did if need be. Just let me know where you are stuck.
Click to expand...
The gas strut tube is to big for the oem chrome tube
 
Source3 said:
NAPA Part Number in post #13. Just did this last weekend on my 73. Worked perfect. Just unscrew the grey plastic mounts on each side of strut and it will slide right on in.
Click to expand...
Do you happen to have any pictures of the gas strut inside the original housing? I have a 1973 with original chrome spring lifts, I just bought the referenced Napa strut and it fits into my housing with the ends off. However the metal extender portion of the new strut is not long enough to go through the smaller original tube and larger side sticks out of the larger original tube. How does it actually attach so that it can extend? Thank much for any help
 
DesertFJ40 said:
What exactly wasn't fitting? When I removed the gas struts straight from the packaging, yes, they would NOT fit just like that. The black caps at the end of new gas struts were too large to fit inside the smaller diameter section of the OEM metal housing.

View attachment 2067128

What I did to make it fit was grind down the diameter of the end cap on the skinny end (pictured here on the right side) so it could slide into the OEM metal housing. I used an electrical hand grinder for this to remove plastic until it was the correct diameter. Once it fit into the tube, I cut the ends of the cap just a tad, using a hack saw, so the gas strut fit correctly into the OEM metal housing.

I can take pictures of what I did if need be. Just let me know where you are stuck.
Click to expand...
Pictures please :-)
 
cooney said:
Gas lift gate shocks for 40 - I fugured it out!!!!

Well, I searched for a while, tried a few different shocks and finally figured out a solution. I wanted to keep the stock look so I found some gas shocks that fit inside the original lift gate arms. Just remove the original arms, remove the inner springs and misc. hardware and insert the new shocks. Worked like a charm. I shimmed a little on one end to lift the gate about a half inch farther but that was it. I now just pull the handle and watch the gate lift. No more twisting to lock in place! No more wondering if it's gonna come loose and knock me out! No more wrestling to unscrew the gate once lifted! Problem solved!! I'll try to get some pics posted.

Oh yeah, NAPA part#819-5565
Click to expand...
I ordered this napa part number and it does not fit inside the tubes of a 1970. The length would likely work if the diameter were a tiny bit smaller. The new strut won't fit in the thinner section of tube and is just about a half inch long to reside only in the fat tube. White spacer removed and plastic ends from strut removed. too fat. Does anyone have the proper strut part number for this mod to fit a 1970?
 
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