My fix for the ever-elusive hatch struts (1 Viewer)

[Sc0-]

I appreciate the info, just ordered these for the front and of course two sets of the rears. The extra lift will be nice as I feel bad everytime I laugh at my dad when he walks into the hatch....

Also ordered a few different O-rings for my airgun hobby...

For the hood struts, McMaster-Carr doesn't have an exact replacement,
kinda like the hatch. The stock hood strut extended length is
16.325", compressed length is 10.75", with a 5.625" stroke.
I would think the 4138T569 would work, because there's 3/8"
of unused stroke on the stock strut. I used a cable tie on the
plunger end to arrive at the 3/8" measurement.
YMMV

JJ

 

[JATO Cruiser]

Please let us know how the front hood struts work for you. I need front and rears too!

 

[branhamr]

Any updates on how the front struts worked out? Thanks

 

[Offroads4x4]

Ordered from McMaster-Carr on Sunday some rears with basic shipping. They were here Tuesday by 9:00am totally awesome.

During the deer hunt I opened up my scalp on the corner of the back hatch due to it being cold and the worn struts. never again. With the new ones even years from when there old and drooping I should still be OK.

 

[Sc0-]

Still waiting on my Mcmaster package...

 

[Sc0-]

Just installed the rear struts and front struts...

The front struts are a bit different than the rears in that you have to use the original ball stud off of the OEM and that you have to drill a new index hole for the strut bracket. The little "pawl" off of the original bracket is pointed towards 3 and 9 o'clock, a new hole has to be drilled at 12 o'clock as this repositions the balljoint back a little further which gives the strut enough room to close. The strut is long so that is why the bracket has to be clocked.

The most difficult part of this was seperating the OEM ball stud, the portion that bolts to the hood. I could have went to the hardware store and possibly found one that matches and threads in but I am pretty sure they wouldn't have had it. I used a sharpened Cold Chisel and a 3lb drilling hammer/mini-sledge. This process took about 5 minutes and the ball matches/ is close enough to the same diameter ball that came with the strut. The index hole took about 10 seconds to drill. One of these struts mixed with one weak factory strut was enough to hold my hood up, but one alone was not. Also, I am not sure if it's an issue but the OEM ball end of the strut looks to be beveled to allow more ball joint movement.....

For the hood struts, McMaster-Carr doesn't have an exact replacement,
kinda like the hatch. The stock hood strut extended length is
16.325", compressed length is 10.75", with a 5.625" stroke.
I would think the 4138T569 would work, because there's 3/8"
of unused stroke on the stock strut. I used a cable tie on the
plunger end to arrive at the 3/8" measurement.
YMMV

JJ

 

[sundog4]

Just replaced my rear struts today with McMaster-Carr and they work great. With the new struts fully extended, the top of the rear hatch still has about 1/8 inch of clearance and my rear hatch lifts itself again without my help, SWEET

Thanks for the tip and the ordering info

 

[cartercd]

Thanks - this mod worked great. I had done another non-OEM solution a few years ago and the the struts starting sagging recently. I thinked the 90# McMaster Carr will offer a better long-term solution, and they are cheap.

fyi - a 48" Hi-Lift (base removed) was just perfect for keeping the hatch open while I worked on the struts.

 

[CycloSteve]

I actually went with just replacing one side. My spoiler hits with two, so I decided to leave one OEM, and have one new McMaster Carr. Thus the lift height is OEM, but the amount of lift is vastly improved. I will be up skiing next weekend and interested to see how the single-strut replacement holds. Certainly has to be an improvement.



Steve

 

[Salt Cruiser]

Installed new struts today. Best mod so far. Finally wont hit my head again. Here's a couple things I learned from the process:

1) Have someone hold up the hatch when removing the old struts... Ouch! Or use a hi lift jack like one of the previous posters. I don't have one yet.
2) Remove both of the old ones before installing the new ones. The old ones are shorter, so you can't open the hatch high enough to install the new ones.

Thanks gabepari for the info!

 

[Lc80series]

Finished up my tailgate struts today. Great fix for the 18 year old originals! Cheap and performance is greatly improved.
Like has been said before, the tail gate opens several inches higher and really opens itself now. I have to pull it closed and it won't hit me on the head again.
I ordered the same ones as the OP along with the 5/16th nuts from McMaster-Carr. Very straight forward. I hoisted up the tailgate with a pole and unbolted the brackets with original struts attached. Used a vise to hold the brackets and drilled out the original shocks with a 5/16th drill bit. Then bolted the new shocks back on. I did use a dremel to shave some of bottom portion of the shock stud. A must do, fun job if your tailgate sags! Thanks again Gabepari.

 

[sl33p3]

my gas strut saga...

tired oem struts, front and rear when i bought it last dec. busting noggins on both fronts, rears would not hold past 2/3 lift height, let alone lift, warm or cold, front struts would sag slowly till a point and drop <insert explicative here>

purchased hood and rear hatch struts from lou, liftsupportdepot, ref'd earlier in thread, price was good, figured what do i have to lose? no mods etc. installed mid summer '10. fronts work great, still going strong, i am no longer paranoid to work on it without the trusty sawed off broomstick brace. rears, well, no such luck. would lift pretty much all the way during the summer as new. but creeped to hit max height, holds fine... insert fall and winter... of feeling shorter everytime i lift the rear hatch... now on a nice 70deg day in the sun... crack head <insert multiple explicatives, for my head and the fact that within a year i am replacing again>... push gate up. holds, or so it seems, never trust head again...

so i believe the rears from lou are marginal force. there is one post near the front of this thread with similar results. i have no rear spoiler, nothing funny on the rear hatch, 'cept for a couple led strips and if that is the prob my previous statement still stands. mine seemed to work at the beginning, and have lost juice in less than a year... everything "leaks" and loses force, i view useful life as the margin you have to minimum useful force, and i think these started at zero... jsut my .002$

i just ordered the mcmaster struts to tryout. if that doesn't pan (but i am hopeful) it will be the bigpond AUS oems for my next iteration. i chose the mcmaster over the aus oem ones this time since i am intrigued with a couple more inches of hatch height, i'm 6'3 and if the ground isn't flat, the rear still makes me nervous (i might be gunshy). i have ome 2.5" and 33's, slightly stinkbugged.

just my adventure, take it for what its worth...

 

[land crush]

Thank you!!

 

[bradshew]

This took 15 min tops! I'm so glad to have the rear lift gate hold itself up; first time since i owned it!

 

[Sc0-]

This is a picture of the front struts and the required modification to make them fit... The old hole is visible at 3 o'clock and the new hole is more at 12 o'clock and has the bracket tab seated against it.

 

[Kaveeks]

Well, this blows.
I just ordered some of the rear hatch struts from Mcmaster-carr and 5 minutes after my order online I get a phone call. It's a customer service rep who informs me that they cannot get the struts to me because they are deemed hazardous to ship. (Shipping to Hawaii is always fun when ordering things)
How is it that we ever get lift struts here if they cannot be shipped here? I guess they must just spawn somewhere here on the island. Weak sauce.
*rant over*

 

[azTony]

Do you know someone in the states you can ship them to and them ship to you? More expensive but you have them

 

[gtfour43]

Well, this blows.
I just ordered some of the rear hatch struts from Mcmaster-carr and 5 minutes after my order online I get a phone call. It's a customer service rep who informs me that they cannot get the struts to me because they are deemed hazardous to ship. (Shipping to Hawaii is always fun when ordering things)
How is it that we ever get lift struts here if they cannot be shipped here? I guess they must just spawn somewhere here on the island. Weak sauce.
*rant over*

I just ordered hood struts for my LS400 from amazon today. It's on its way by UPS. Check there.

 

[Kaveeks]

azTony,
I was thinking about doing that but I'm not sure how the post office would handle it.
I was also thinking about sending it to my brother who could then put it in his luggage when he comes to visit, but also not sure how TSA would handle it.

gtfour43,
I did look there but it was more money and the reviews were not so good. This is plan B.

 

[nicholas]

I just ordered from mcmaster Carr on mon afternoon and they were at my door the next day. Granted I live an hour away from their HQ. The box has a big sticker that states the box is not appropriate for air shipping. Your best bet is to have someone stateside take a risk of shipping them by air to you or ship by boat. If those explode mid air it probably wouldn't be pretty.