Gas lift struts for Deck lid and Trunk

Has anybody put gas struts on their speedsters? I was looking at the decklid and it would be a nice mod to get rid of the pin that goes into the hinge bracket. On the hinge brackets, has anybody changed them out with something nice like steel or alummmmminnn? I saw Joe S had a nice unit that he made out of 2 pieces of alummmmminnnn welded and shaped nicely.


Tom

I installed two in the front. You can buy the round ball studs with threaded ends. Drill the hole thru the hinge and the inside trunk wall, bolt the studs in and pop on the gas spring. Done
I'm going to buy a heavier gas spring and install it on the drivers side and eliminate the one on the passenger side. It gets in the way when pumping in gas.

Be careful if you choose to use a single heavy duty gas shock. They have a tendancy to exert too much pressure on just one side that could result in warpage or damage to the hood.

At least the early IM cars are done that way. Mine needed relacing and I changed the hood to both sides. Worked like a charm.

What strut did you use? any special length?

Thanks
Tom

Thomas, before going through that trouble, there are ratcheting arms out there you might want to consider first.
To effectively lift the decklid out of your way (not so much the hood), those shocks would have to be mounted a third of the way into the opening of the lid. The hinged surface doesn't have a perch, so you'd be engineering something to put there -- and it might cause more headache than benefit.
Add the nature of the hood shocks, constantly pushing against both ends when compressed, and you might have to go with really weak ones to make them function well. Then you'll need a latch for the decklid, balanced pressures on the lid when it's both up AND down ...
Eek. I'd look into ratcheting hinges with release buttons, if it was me.
The front end, on the other hand, ought to be a champ -- and easy to do. My front end is held in its up position by two 11" shocks with 6" pistons. They carry the load of the entire front of the body with no popping or jerkyness in their travel.
You'll probably want to do your install with a blown one, first, so you can mark the compressed position and then the opened one before drilling holes. It will be easier if you drill the hole or holes in the hood hinges, too, rather than the fiberglass. If you drill the fiberglass and the shock (or shocks) stress the 'glass over time, you'll have holes to fix down the road. It'll also be easier to mount the bolts if you can get to both sides of them.

funny there is this thread. i spent several hours this weekend trying to install gas stuts on both my hood and trunk. (front/rear).

i found the right sized ones, new hardware, correct measurements, installed....


but...

it was too much force against the fiberglass. i could not close the rear hood. the strut was mounted between the hinge and metal bracket. but the force needed to close the hood was enought to tweak the fiberglass when you tried to close it.

so i took it all off and pirated a used set from my wife's honda. these were *much* easier to close, etc. still - too much pressure.

long story short. i think these are too much for the rear. i didnt even bother trying the front as there is no solid mounting point for the front mount of the gas strut. If you even bolted the mounted to a metal braket and mounted the bracket to the fiberglass - i think you'd be surprised at how much force these little guys put out. too much for fiberglass that's for sure. the ones i had and well used ones anyway.

so - back to a hood prop. :(

Want to have a fun hour? Put the lower clip on the gas strut for the driver's side of a 911 hood on a car with power brakes... GAHHHH!! Passener side is easy, driver side is a pain.

Just another idea, on a 911 with a factory tail (the big turbo style), they have two shocks on one side and one on the other - total of three. Point is, if space is an issue, you can put two small ones on one side of a hood or deck lid. Might be easier on the car and on YOU than one big one.

angela

even the small ones are too much for the rear hood (that is made of fiberglass).

i bought the smallest ones i could find. 10" compressed, 19" expanded. same size used on a honda civic sedan trunk.

Although they never note it on the strut display at an Autozone or Advance Auto Parts, those struts not only come in different body and piston lengths, but they also come in different amounts that they lift in the same lengths. For instance, a strut with an 11" body and 19" total length (extended) can be bought in 10-70 lbs of force, usually in increments of 10 lbs. or less.

Try looking here: http://www.easylift.com/contact/buildyourown.aspx

gn

excellent. i had no idea you could get different pressured ones.

http://www.easyliftsprings.com/downloads/2004catalog-new.pdf

Man, I learn something new EVERYTIME I visit this website! COOL!

Yep, they do indeed come in different increments to suit your needs.
I went out and snapped a couple of shots with my phone cam. A bit grainy but you can see how mine are.
http://www1.mscdirect.com/CGI/NNPDFF?PMPAGE=3870&PARTPG=GSDRVSM&PMT4NO=29432904&PMITEM=82026535&PMCTLG=00&PMT4TP=*LTIP

~WB

What is the length of the gas struts you used or a part number? I would like to do the same to my CMC when I get to that point. Do you have them on the engine lid also?

I used this gas spring.
http://www1.mscdirect.com/CGI/NNSRIT?PMCTLG=00&PMAKA=00483743&partnerURL=http://catalogs.shoplocal.com/mscdirect/index.aspx%6Fpagename=shopmain%50circularid=11264%50pagenumber=3866%50mode=
I never put any in the back. I just use the pin to hold the engine lid up.

~WB

Bill... I just looked up the cylinder mfg site. It appears that the unit you bought has ball sockets at each end, but not the mating threaded ball stud. Is this my error? If not, where did you find the matching ball studs?

They are on the next page of the catalog. Besides ballstuds and hardware you need a wire clip lock for each end.
http://www1.mscdirect.com/CGI/NNPDFF?PMPAGE=3871&PMITEM=00483743&PMCTLG=00

~WB

i picked up a set of ball studs at a truck canopy store. $1 each and they had a big selection of ones that had built in brackets, etc

...I think I'm going to install one of them there gas-spring gadgets to my toilet lid! That way it'll always be UP - unless under load (or duress!). Bwaaaa HaaaaaHaaaaa

I think I might try this on the front trunk. Has anyone done the engine lid?

Remember to post some pictures here when the fiberglass cracks.

Anyone remember the story of a woman's spike heel shoe that actually punctured the aluminum floor of a commercial jet? When forces are applied to small areas, stresses go up dramatically. Good luck!

Has anyone done this on a superbeetle? I have the hood hinges removed abd am looking at going with struts...lots of questions, but it is obvious that their origional springs are kaka.

GG

Bill I've been wanting to use gas struts for engine and trunk for a while. The ones you are useing are 30# each. Do you think 20# each would be enough to lift the trunk lid. I'm concerned about the amount of presure required to close trunk. 20# is probobly ok for the engine
lid. What do you think?

I have been using the struts of BMW 3 series, no problem so far

My 86 IM had one gas strut on the front hood, driver's side. The strut was not strong enough to keep the hood up all the time, I got whacked on the head more than once as it came down. However it was strong enough to crack the fiberglass on the hood in that area and cause the lid to sit a bit proud of the body. The lid has since been repaired and I've switched to a solid rod propping it up that I got at the dump off another car there.

I'm thinking the 20# springs would need assistance raising the lid, but would be strong enough to hold it open.

I used 65# each on my hood and they work great ? No extra odinary pressure on hood. You have to remember the pivot point is very short and takes a lot of pressure to lift and hold the hood or trunk . I also would not recommend shocks on the engine compartment.

I have 30-pound struts on the front of my car, but one works and the other is blown. The combination is working ideally; the blown side acts as a keeper for the one which works, and the front end of the car stays up just fine.
I made a metal sandwich out of the front fiberglass and bolted it together; the ball for the strut is also bolted through the sandwich, so no fiberglass fatigue is evident. The other end is attached to the frame of the car; they act forward and up, the reverse of what you would want on your hood.
I would think that an out-of-the-box thinker who didn't really care about 'authenticity' in their car could mount a single shock inside the hood, somewhat centrally, and measure the compressed distance in order to have the shock fold away when the hood is closed. A piece of angle riveted to the inner skin of the hood could be a good attachment point.
Again, one thirty-pounder holds up the entire front end of my car. I suspect a single 20-pound one would work, like Bill said. Maybe even less.

Its likely the cold up here wrecks them cause even on my other cars I'm replacing struts every year. They're useless as far as I'm concerned, for our temps anyway.

There was a company/supplier who had a scissor type of system that was sold to replace the struts once and for all on a 911 hood. I'd like to get one of those eventually. Struts will eventually fail, this unit wouldn't. Can't find it doing a search though...

Brian - what about a VW bus rear decklid prop. it's a compact mechanical setup.