Did you even bother reading my post where I discussed that with pictures?
Replacement Hood Struts
- Thread starter Sky Render
- Start date
Did you even bother reading my post where I discussed that with pictures?
LOL
WJBertrand
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Old thread but I thought I'd share my experience. Like others my AM struts started fading, especially in cool weather. Unfortunately I discovered the problem when the hood came down a whacked me on the head. Reading through this thread I figured 30-40 lbs force would be enough for the hood so I bought a pair of 40lb lifts off Amazon and fitted them. Not even close. In fact the failing AM struts were closer to holding the hood up than these new ones were.
I decided to try and measure the force of the old stuts. I used a piece of wood placed on top of a digital bathroom scale, zeroed the scale with the wood sitting on it then pressed the strut against the wood until it was almost fully compressed. You don't want to compress it all the way to the end of the travel or you'll get an unrealistically high number. One strut read 66lbs and the other read 69lb. Since these weren't quite doing the job at that force I figured they must have been 80lb force units when they were new.
The AM brackets have a standard 10mm ball fitting for the strut and accommodate a 12-12.5" extended length strut. When collapsed the struts need to be less than 8.5" or you'll bend something. I couldn't find the exact length ratios I needed in an 80lb strut but I found some 90lb ones on ebay for less than $20 for a pair! I installed them last night and they work brilliantly. They are a bit stronger than the AM struts were when new as I have to give the hood a bit of a shove downward to get it to latch. With the AM struts, even when new, the hood would just drop closed after the first few degrees of movement. If nothing else these 90 pounders might go a while longer before they get too weak.
Personally I would not install a strut that is too short to lift the hood high enough to use the prop. If they ever fail, you'll be forced to remove them to use the hood prop instead. Not so handy on a road trip. These are the ones I bought:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/2Qty-Universal-Shock-Gas-Spring-Lift-Support-Prop-Length-12-8-05-Force-90lbs/142102787801?ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT&_trksid=p2060353.m2749.l2649
I decided to try and measure the force of the old stuts. I used a piece of wood placed on top of a digital bathroom scale, zeroed the scale with the wood sitting on it then pressed the strut against the wood until it was almost fully compressed. You don't want to compress it all the way to the end of the travel or you'll get an unrealistically high number. One strut read 66lbs and the other read 69lb. Since these weren't quite doing the job at that force I figured they must have been 80lb force units when they were new.
The AM brackets have a standard 10mm ball fitting for the strut and accommodate a 12-12.5" extended length strut. When collapsed the struts need to be less than 8.5" or you'll bend something. I couldn't find the exact length ratios I needed in an 80lb strut but I found some 90lb ones on ebay for less than $20 for a pair! I installed them last night and they work brilliantly. They are a bit stronger than the AM struts were when new as I have to give the hood a bit of a shove downward to get it to latch. With the AM struts, even when new, the hood would just drop closed after the first few degrees of movement. If nothing else these 90 pounders might go a while longer before they get too weak.
Personally I would not install a strut that is too short to lift the hood high enough to use the prop. If they ever fail, you'll be forced to remove them to use the hood prop instead. Not so handy on a road trip. These are the ones I bought:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/2Qty-Universal-Shock-Gas-Spring-Lift-Support-Prop-Length-12-8-05-Force-90lbs/142102787801?ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT&_trksid=p2060353.m2749.l2649
^^^ pretty good info.
Here was my solution. Fits perfect between the strut tower and a little notch in the hood. What's really nice about it is that it serves a dual purpose. Sometimes I use it to dust my car off. How cool is that?
Here was my solution. Fits perfect between the strut tower and a little notch in the hood. What's really nice about it is that it serves a dual purpose. Sometimes I use it to dust my car off. How cool is that?
WJBertrand
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??
travelers
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Something you need to keep in mind is where it mounts to the hood, when it's closed it doesn't push up and bend the hood. You can see the hood will not be flush with the fender if to much pressure strut is used.
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