I'm as happy as a leetle girl (M. Myers SNL reference)

[Cruisergreg]

The UPS man cometh...

For years the lift struts on the 60's rear hatch have been failing, finally to the point where in cold weather they don't work at all and in warmer times they let loose just as I try pull my head out of the cargo area, adding scar tissue to my ever-widening bald spot. When they first started to go I did some research on the forum (then the LCML) and a few people were experimenting with adapting units from other applications, with limited sucess. I can recall C-Dan making great flourish at an HDC meeting of providing Juane the last known OEM strut in the Toyota system.

Flash forward about 6 or 7 years and I'd had enough of bashing my head and sought advice from MUD. Seems a new supplier has come to town with bolt-in replacements. WWW.liftsupportdepot.com seems to have somehting for about any application. I haven't installed mine yet but the measurements seem right on, and there are several years worth of happy threads on MUD that seem to say this really is a plug&play solution for 60/62 owners and probably some 80 owners, at this point. If I have issues I'll check back in with a review.

 

[Cruisergreg]

10 minute install. Only minor potential gotcha is that the old "balls" are removed with a 12mm box end and the new ones need to use a 7/16" SAE to install. Thread pattern is identical but the bolt pattern is not. FWIW, the pair of struts were about $45 delivered.

FWIW and only slightly on-topic, those of you with an FJ40 with the older style (non-ambulance doors) rear hatch, you can adjust the tension on those struts by turning the joint between to two halves of the piston. You'll notice it has an octoconal surface to it for use of a wrench but my experience is you can adjust it by hand, something I only figured out after almost a decade of owning the thing. No need for replacement struts there.

 

[evanz80]

Greg - Sounds great! I can relate - the struts on my 80 were getting very tired, especially in cold weather. On the 80, they're used on the hood as well as the rear hatch. But it was easy enough for me to visit Cruiser Dan and get new OEM ones. But I can appreciate the research that goes into a new set when they're no longer available. Glad to hear it worked out well!

 

[Becca]

FWIW and only slightly on-topic, those of you with an FJ40 with the older style (non-ambulance doors) rear hatch, you can adjust the tension on those struts by turning the joint between to two halves of the piston. You'll notice it has an octoconal surface to it for use of a wrench but my experience is you can adjust it by hand, something I only figured out after almost a decade of owning the thing. No need for replacement struts there.

Great info to know, thanks for passing it on!