In the chaos that is my life I lost one of the hood spring brackets (I had removed it a few weeks ago and now, poof, it's gone) In any case I fabbed up a replacement hood-side bracket that maybe is not quite right... I am going to drill a new hole in that bracket to extend the reach of the strut... 3/4" sounds about right... thanks.
Hood shock conversion writeup (with pics) (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter Spook50
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Nothing wrong with the original design, it's now been effective for a few decades. The 80 series came stock with hood struts and on my 80 these have reached the end of usefulness. I'm not going to the expense of replacing them, instead I'm using a 60 series hood support to hold hood open.
Hood rod is good until you accidentally whack it with your elbow as you are climbing out from leaning way over the engine and the hood comes down on your noggin... Stupid move? Yes... but one I'm hoping to avoid. I'll leave the hood rod in place for that day when the struts give up for whatever reason.
Belt and suspenders I say!
Belt and suspenders I say!
Rob Faucett
GOLD Star
Has anybody had problems with these struts pressing so hard on the hood latch that it won't open? I get the feeling that the latch that holds the hood closed has enough pressure on it from the new strut conversion that it won't unlatch/release.
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I did this mod 6 months ago and my struts feel super tight closing and opening the hood.
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- Thread starter
- #107
It'll still release, but your hood won't pop up that inch or so like it used to (because of the overcenter positioning of the struts). You still open it the same way though.
Tapage
Club 4X4 Panamá
old thread revival .. how it's this mod still doing .. ?
any other option on amazon or ebay for
McMaster-Carr
any other option on amazon or ebay for
McMaster-Carr
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David,
Reid Company ---GAS-124
Gas Springs - Fixed Force | EssentraComponentsUS
I recommend the 120# over the 90#. My 90# struggled in cooler weather and started leaking down in less than a year.
Jason
Rob Faucett
GOLD Star
Mine's working great. I went with 120# as well. The only problem I have is that when open the hood opens so far that it pushes against the wiper arms.
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Rob Faucett
GOLD Star
Does that require drilling a new hole? I'm in preexisting holes.
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Did anyone go with the shorter strut (from McMaster) to avoid the contact with the wiper arm?
extended compr. stroke
15.24" 9.77" 5.47"
17.13" 10.83" 6.3"
extended compr. stroke
15.24" 9.77" 5.47"
17.13" 10.83" 6.3"
A shout out to Spook50 for the original write up. I love this mod on my FJ62. I couldn't wait to install this set up.
I bought my Gas Springs from McMaster-Carr. I used the 17.13" length versions. However, I noticed a single 120 lbs spring can lift the hood alone. I also noticed having 2 120 lbs springs changed the sitting position of the hood enough that the hood would catch/rub against the body when opening.
That being said...I went with 1 60 lbs gas strut and 1 70 lbs gas strut (130 lbs total lift).
This setup works great on my hood and the hood does not rub the body anymore.
Since our rigs are old, the hood pivot points are old as well. So this fix may work differently on someone else's rig.
I bought my Gas Springs from McMaster-Carr. I used the 17.13" length versions. However, I noticed a single 120 lbs spring can lift the hood alone. I also noticed having 2 120 lbs springs changed the sitting position of the hood enough that the hood would catch/rub against the body when opening.
That being said...I went with 1 60 lbs gas strut and 1 70 lbs gas strut (130 lbs total lift).
This setup works great on my hood and the hood does not rub the body anymore.
Since our rigs are old, the hood pivot points are old as well. So this fix may work differently on someone else's rig.
- Thread starter
- #116
So since Reid Supply is no longer a good source for these parts, and I realized after doing the 4Runner wiper arm upgrade that the shock length I originally had would cause the hood to strike the passenger side arm, I found replacement shocks from McMaster-Carr that are shorter and still hold the hood considerably higher than the OEM prop rod does. I updated the original post with new part numbers so the whole setup can be ordered from McMaster.
The ones I'm using now have a 13.74" extended length as opposed to the 15.24" length posted by @richxd87 , and work very well.
The ones I'm using now have a 13.74" extended length as opposed to the 15.24" length posted by @richxd87 , and work very well.
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Cruiser Jimmy
Moderator
Don't know how this happened but the part numbers from MMCarr that are for the Female Ball Socket studs are off.
(9424K12) is an M8 1.25mm thread
What is needed is
(9424K23) an M6 1.0mm thread for the gas springs.
Found out the hard way and didn't check the numbers.
Any thoughts or am I wrong?
- Thread starter
- #118
You really could use either if you do it the same way I did. I just picked up the right size nuts and washers to use with the M8 threads.
@Spook50, @Cruiser Jimmy is talking about the female Ball socket ends for the ends of the struts. The new struts you have listed at threaded for M6 instead of M8.
- Thread starter
- #120
Oh woops you're right. Just updated the original post.
