Hood shock conversion writeup (with pics) (1 Viewer)

[Dynosoar]

I got mine all done a few weeks ago. If I were to redo it in the future I think a 70-80lbs spring would be plenty, the current struts really lift the hood quick (it would lift a small child no problem),

Note: on the passenger side I just retapped the hole that was right where spook fit his and just threaded the bottom ball in place.

Dynosoar

Within the last week or so (6/30/2021) the struts began to fail. 15 years of service is not bad for $40.00. I should have new ones delivered here in the next few days.

 

[PAFJ]

I got mine all done a few weeks ago. If I were to redo it in the future I think a 70-80lbs sping would be plenty, the current stuts really lift the hood quick (it would lif a small child no problem),

Note: on the passenger side I just retaped the hole that was right where spook fit his and just threded the bottom ball in place.

Dynosoar

That's a good idea...why didn't you do both sides like that? Did you drill out the threads first...then tap, or just run a tap through?

 

[jts560]

Great write-up, thanks for the parts list.

 

[Dynosoar]

That's a good idea...why didn't you do both sides like that? Did you drill out the threads first...then tap, or just run a tap through?

The holes in the fenders are not symetrical. the bolt hole on the driver side seemed to low. I did not need to drill, the metric hole took the standard tap perfectly. (I used a blue loctite to make sure it held stong)

 

[Spook50]

The holes in the fenders are not symetrical. the bolt hole on the driver side seemed to low. I did not need to drill, the metric hole took the standard tap perfectly. (I used a blue loctite to make sure it held stong)

That's weird. The holes (which were just holes in the sheet metal, nothing there to tap) that I used were perfectly symmetrical on my rig. Is it possible that some 60/62 fenders might have different holes? Mine were both 1/2" exactly, which let me use a 1/2" OD washer as a spacer to keep the threaded shank of the fitting from sliding around with the stress of the pistons.

 

[PAFJ]

Completed conversion today...thanks again Spook for the great idea!!

The only issue I have is, the shocks lift the hood up so far...the back edge of the hood smashes down on the passenger wiper arm...not that big of deal since it is only rubbing on the plastic cap on the bottom...it has only left a slight mark so far.

Like Dynosoar, I would use the 70-80 lb shocks if I did it over. The 120 lbs. are a little overkill considering one of them will hold the hood up...it's a redundant system now.

 

[DirtyLittleSecret]

Just finished this sweet little mod...
used the 80lb shocks, and its not enough for one to hold it up, but two its sweet. Decided to drill/seal new holes so that Im not crushing my wiper valances.
Now to get going again under the hood!
Thanks!

 

[Jaybikman]

I've seen the hood prop rod reversed like the new tj jeeps. The rubber gromet wears out on the mounting end making it nervous to stick my head under the hood. I am thinking of doing this to my rig I was able to locate a wrecked jeep hood and was able to take all the hardware to mount the prop rod on the hood instead of on the front frame panel.

 

[davegonz]

Thanks for the great write up. This is next on the to-do list. Another source for struts and hardware is McMaster-Carr.

 

[joel hj60]

What is the length of the struts fully extended then fully retracted?

 

[Gutterpunk]

great functional mod.

How much sound are you dampening with that hood liner? I wonder if such a thing would work on the firewall too (if one could stand the agony of cutting around all that ****.)

 

[joel hj60]

What is the length of the struts fully extended then fully retracted?

bump

 

[Spook50]

great functional mod.

How much sound are you dampening with that hood liner? I wonder if such a thing would work on the firewall too (if one could stand the agony of cutting around all that ****.)

Very unlikely it'd work on the firewall. If you've got those holes in your inner fender walls, I'd recommend using those. The struts are 17" fully extended and 11" compressed.

As for the hood liner, it worked alright. After my truck was vandalized (coulda killed the little fxxxer) last year and I had to get a completely new hood, I redid the foam trick and instead of just slapping the new hoodliner in place, I cut out portions of it to perfectly fit the recessed areas on the underside of the hood, and put Dynamat Xtreme (the foil-lined stuff) along the stiffeners. Looks much better now, and works FAR better. This method shields heat so well that if there's snow & ice on my hood, it's STILL there after a 4.5-hour drive to Seattle to see my folks. Heat does NOT escape from this hood. It quiets it down a great deal too. I'll snap a pic or two this weekend of how it's done now and post 'em up.

Also, concerning heat being reflected back down to the engine, my temp gauge has actually red lower on average since using a reflective hoodliner. I'm not really sure why, but that's what it do...

 

[bkfj40]

spook50 - your PM box is full...can you pm the part numbers for the australian fj60 sliding rear number weatherstripping?

thanks!

bk

 

[MauiVince]

Great mod idea!!! Thanx for sharing!!!

 

[gaylon]

This is a great modification. Did it today - quick pretty easy (muscling the end of the shock down not so easy). Thanks for the idea.

 

[Spook50]

This is a great modification. Did it today - quick pretty easy (muscling the end of the shock down not so easy). Thanks for the idea.

Glad to hear you liked it. They still work like a champ for me. And now that my hood is holding a few extra pounds from the Dynamat stuck to it, the 120lbs (now that they're broken in a bit) are a perfect match for it.

Easily the best "cheap" mod I've ever done.

 

[Sixty's Guy]

I did this mod too, but used the same struts as the rear hatch.

 

[gaylon]

90 lbs. Shocks

I used 90 lbs. shocks, still more than enough lifting force. Thanks again.

 

[cruiserpants]

That is friggin’ clever, creative, resourceful and ingenious!

...now do mine.