Rear hatch struts - wrong ones? '70 FJ40 (1 Viewer)

[Searcher356]

I'm working on a 1970 FJ40 hardtop. I think, but don't know for sure, that the top is original to the rig.
Here's my problem. The hatch isn't square in the opening - big side gap at the left and not even across the top. There is only one strut - on the right side.
Looking closer, the right upper hinge has been pushed UP and the hatch actually contacts the top when closed. The gap along the top increases from right to left to 1/2" on the left.
The problem is that the remaining strut, on the right, is too long, so it exerts a big upward pressure on the right hinge, actually scraping paint (overlapping the top by 1/8" or more) as the hatch closes.
Yes, I have loosened the brackets and adjusted as far as possible and gained 1/8" but nowhere near enough.
I don't have another FJ40 to compare, so I have some questions.
Are all hardtop struts the same length? Are there different brackets that may have been swapped sometime?

 

[Poser]

Pics please....

 

[Searcher356]

Pics in a few days. In the meantime, were all the rear hatch struts and brackets the same?

 

[pavieSD]

OEM looks like this:

One on each side, internally hollow, with a plastic spacer and a metal spring. The beveled knob in the middle of the housing could be turned and tightened to hold the hatch up when open.

 

[Searcher356]

Here are some photos. Lower bracket, upper bracket, and picture of the hatch just as it compresses the strut fully, before it closes. Look at the gap at the top and you can see that it's <zero> and that further closing forces the right hinge upward into the top panel.
Eye-to-eye extended length is 18 1/2", fully compressed is 11 3/4"
What's going on?
Are there more than one strut sizes for different years?

 

[Living in the Past]

Is that a bent and rust I see on the header the hinges mount to?

 

[FF LC FREAK]

Are you sure you're strut is compressing all the way? My eye to eye length is 11 1/4". Maybe yours is binding before it completely compresses. Here's a picture of mine. It compresses until it reaches the screw on the rod.

 

[Searcher356]

Are you sure you're strut is compressing all the way? My eye to eye length is 11 1/4". Maybe yours is binding before it completely compresses. Here's a picture of mine. It compresses until it reaches the screw on the rod.

Thanks for that photo and measurement. I'm missing a half inch!
The strut slides freely, no hint of a bind, until it just bottoms out with a solid feel. There must be an obstruction down there. The nylon ring is intact and the chrome nut WILL lock the strut in the length I choose, so that part is OK. I guess.
I haven't taken a strut apart in over 40 years - what happens when I remove that screw on the bottom cap? Do I release a can of snakes, bearings and washers, never to be seen again?
Or is it pretty obvious as I carefully ease off that last bit of tension?
Any guidance or cautions?

P.S. I assume your measurement is from center to center, right?

 

[shelfboy1]

i have a bunch of those from different years and they look all the same .they are all extended .toyota never changes anything unless they have to they simply modify to improve

 

[Searcher356]

i have a bunch of those from different years and they look all the same .they are all extended .toyota never changes anything unless they have to they simply modify to improve

I agree, but you never know when (mid-year?) they might intro a version 2. I never noticed anything different about the struts ("stays" #68970-60010 right and 68980-60010 LH), but then I never held up two from different years and compared. Thanks for your observations.

Those part numbers are from my 1967 parts catalog. Anybody with a newer catalog showing a different part#? Again, I'm working on a 1970 FJ40.

 

[bikersmurf]

The hatches, hard tops and struts are they same for the years that had them.

The hinges are also adjustable to the header bar and the hatch. Yours are in need of adjustment. Unless your tub is bent, that should resolve the non-strut issues.

I don't remember opening a strut, but they're pretty basic. If you did 'break' it, that'd be an excuse to update to gas charged struts. I'd likely just switch to gas charged and call it a day.

In my signature line there's a thread with hatch pictures.

 

[Searcher356]

FF LC FREAK, here's a pic of my strut fully compressed.
Thanks for the photo that shows what I am missing! Yours compresses 1/2" more than mine, to 11 1/4". If I can get that then everything should fall into place.
Looks like it goes on the bench tomorrow!

 

[Searcher356]

<snip>
The hinges are also adjustable to the header bar and the hatch. Yours are in need of adjustment. Unless your tub is bent, that should resolve the non-strut issues.

What do you see that makes you think the hinges are out of adjustment? What could be improved by adjusting?

 

[bikersmurf]

This --->

The hatch isn't square in the opening - big side gap at the left and not even across the top.
Looking closer, the right upper hinge has been pushed UP and the hatch actually contacts the top when closed. The gap along the top increases from right to left to 1/2" on the left.
The problem is that the remaining strut, on the right, is too long, so it exerts a big upward pressure on the right hinge, actually scraping paint (overlapping the top by 1/8" or more)

<----All points towards hinge adjustment. Fix/replace strut, align doors, message me if you run into trouble.

 

[shelfboy1]

i have exchanged those struts from truck to truck for over 40 years and never had a problem im geussing its something simple we are missing here .meassure the lenght of the struts open and compressed and let us know .did you measure the openings on both sides of the top to see if they are the same .is the gap between the rear top support and the hatch the same all the way acrossed good luck

 

[Living in the Past]

 

[Searcher356]

Living in the Past, thanks for the pics. The red one looks more like mine - does it feel "too long" as you close it, exerting upward pressure on the hinge and closing the upper gap between the hatch and the top?

 

[Living in the Past]

I just snapped these pictures quick yesterday as I was getting ready to leave. Both hatches work find. The red/burned orange as I call it while on a 68 is from a 73 hard top I bought back in 76. Month in 73 it's from unknown. The beige one is on my 10/69 70 model. I just moved the 68 to this location. Will be at least a few week before I back and there. Could be a couple of possible reason for this. Either the struts were different or Toyota changed the mounting location on hard top sides or hatch. Need to do some more research on that. I did look at the 68 hard tops sides and hatch compared to a 72 hard top side and hatch and mounting points looked the same. Month of the 72 is unknown but has the newer style weather stripping on all five pieces of glass and not the hole for the three point seat belt that started with the 73s which makes it a 72. 68 is 9/67. Still have the struts from the 72 but trade the 68's to a guy need them to finish a project. it was either a 73 or 74 and guy didn't mention any problems.

While I didn't count the twists both sets of struts were loosened to close.

 

[Searcher356]

While I didn't count the twists both sets of struts were loosened to close.

Thanks for reinforcing my memory. I thought I remembered adjusting the lengths of the struts, back in the '70s, and I tried that on this one, but the length didn't change. So I thought I remembered wrong, and that there wasn't a user-adjustable length feature.
I tried adjusting by collapsing all the way and twisting - nothing. (Still haven't had time to take my strut to the bench and disassemble.)
Was I doing it wrong, did the adjustment threads just become disengaged, or is something broken inside?

What's the correct procedure? Collapse or extend? Clockwise or counter-clockwise to shorten? Or what?

 

[Searcher356]

Well, I'm finally back at the strut problem. Thanks for all the photos, above. From the photos and measurements, it seems that mine just doesn't collapse as short as others. Especially looking at the pictures showing how much of the screw head is exposed/covered, I think mine just doesn't fully collapse.
So, two questions:
1. Does anybody remember adjusting the length by some action? Like rotating one end in relation to the other? (I kind of remember that, but nothing happened when I tried on this one.)
2. Disassembling- easy or subject to spring-loaded innards shooting across the room? I'm wondering if mine has something lodged in it that prevents full collapse.
Thanks.