Hey everyone. I recently replaced my trunk spring for gas struts that I found at autozone for about 15 a piece. It works great, I pop the trunk with my remote and it opens all the way up without me helping.
I have a problem though... the strut I found is WAYYYYY TO STRONG. Its so strong that it pushes the trunk up and I can't get a good seal. I had one on each side but I thought it was going to break the latch. With just one on it pushes the lid to one side and causes it to rub. Its so strong that it can easily break 1/8" hardware. I'm using 1/4" hardware with a 3/8" bushing (nylon on one end and steel on the other).
I've seen other people do this and was wondering which struts or "gas springs" that they used. I'm using an arm strong or mighty lift 4417 which was used for an early 80 el Dorado hood. I can't find any specs on it, but I can't compress it by hand. I think a pair of struts in the 20-30 pound range would be about right, but I'm not having any luck finding anything. It would need to be about 8.25" closed from the center of each hole... and about 12" or 12.5" open. I've attached a couple of pics to see what I did.
Thanks for any help or pointers guys.
-Sean
btw that trunk spring was impossible to get out by myself... I ended up using bolt cutters... which was kinda scary.
I've been looking into doing this but I'm still trying to get all the proper measurements (weight especially) before going out and purchasing the gas springs. If yours were made to hold up a hood, then that's definately overkill.
They do sell gas springs that are adjustable (one time). Basically you release the gas that's inside and it will drop the strength, of course if you release too much the you're screwed lol.
What reason did you choose to do this mod anyway? Aftermarket speakers rubbing against old torsion bars?
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The Trapezoid of Death is back.
Speakers were part of it. I'm planing on doing an amp rack mounted to the underside of the rear deck, so it helped with that too. Also its just kinda neat.
So I found this place called spdhardware.com has anyone used them before?
They have exactly what I need, but I'm not totally sure how many pounds of force I need.
http://www.spdhardware.com/catalog/list.asp?id={FD677C08-6417-4A4C-9551-C52741324413}
There's a post on here somewhere where I outlined my setup. From memory (you'll have to find it, I know it's here somewhere, but I can't find it!) my gas struts were 300mm (12 in) long with a 100mm travel, and a pressure of 30kg each.
I fixed the brackets on using pop rivets because it was what I had. Tek screws would work as well, or if you feel particularly crafty a welder would probably be the most permanant way. I've also used some double sided tape between the bracket and car to act as a bit of noise and vibration isolation; probably overkill but oh well.
The strut body is 200mm (about 8 inches) and the extended length is about 300mm (12 inches) and they're charged to 30kg pressure each.
My trunk has the OEM spoiler, and with this setup the lid fires up when I hit the release lever inside, but isn't so stiff that my gf (whose only 4'10'' tall) can't close it by herself.
I also used eye head struts and nuts and bolts because it was what I had access to, a ball stud end would probably work better, and would allow bit better servicability.
Make sure you mount the struts with the body at the engine end of the car, as the hydraulic fluid inside them will drain to the seal at the end of the body naturally when they're compressed, and extend the strut's life.
My setup has been there for nearly two years, and the only problem I've had is that I've broken a couple of rivets and had to re-mount the bracket on the LHS, but other than that, I'm still happy with it. If there's any other questions don't hesitate to ask mate.
I skipped the bracket. The geometry I was limited to means you have to help it fully extend that last inch. It pops up by itself when I release the latch...with a spoiler and amp attached to trunk.
Speakers were part of it. I'm planing on doing an amp rack mounted to the underside of the rear deck, so it helped with that too. Also its just kinda neat.
I did an amp rack like that too, but be careful. The heat sinks aren't designed to be efficient upside down. Mine drives modest 6x9s so no worries for me.
hmm this is something i didnt think about, i have the same problem with the tension bar being in the way of speakers since my lude came with all audo equipment stripped from it and the new speakers dont sit in the holes. i might have to try this and get back to you if i get it to work good.
sounds good, perhaps you guys can make a new DIY thread... I just bought a new prelude and it had no torsion bars, so I got the ones from my old prelude and it didn't work out too well cuz it looks like I have some aftermarket speakers...
This is exactly what I've been looking to do. My bf yanked out the tension bars when we put in my new speakers and I've been having to lift and hold the trunk up every time. Same with the hood. The hood prop was missing when I bought my car. It's been such a pain. Hopefully this stuff doesn't cost too much.
I attempted the gas shock setup like the one pIOUs showed in his post, but I cannot manage to drill a hole in that bracket on the rear deck. Given the location of that bracket, I just can't get a drill on it well enough to get the hole started. Also, I believe that bracket is welded to the rear deck, so there is no removing it, drilling the hole, then putting it back in. Any suggestions? I know it must be possible since pIOUs did it, but I fought with it all night and I am out of ideas.
I attempted the gas shock setup like the one pIOUs showed in his post, but I cannot manage to drill a hole in that bracket on the rear deck. Given the location of that bracket, I just can't get a drill on it well enough to get the hole started. Also, I believe that bracket is welded to the rear deck, so there is no removing it, drilling the hole, then putting it back in. Any suggestions? I know it must be possible since pIOUs did it, but I fought with it all night and I am out of ideas.
Anytime you drill on sheetmetal it's good to hammer a dimple on the spot with one of those finishing nail taps. It keeps the bit from running around. I use a stepping bit now on sheetmetal too after watching one of those quickdent guys make a clean access hole on a body panel. Good luck.
Anytime you drill on sheetmetal it's good to hammer a dimple on the spot with one of those finishing nail taps. It keeps the bit from running around. I use a stepping bit now on sheetmetal too after watching one of those quickdent guys make a clean access hole on a body panel. Good luck.
Yeah I tried to put a dimple in that bracket but to no avail. I now own several flattened nails and a bent nail set. I will however try a stepped drill bit and see if that works. Thanks for the input.
I did finally get the struts mounted, but they are too wimpy. You have listed 2 different lift supports. Is the one with the square islets stonger that the one with the round ones? I used 2 of the 459003 supports (parts store didn't have the other one), but they only open my trunk about 4 inches. If I help the trunk up they seem to barely hold it there, but they do hold. Just wanted to check before ordering a part that may or may not fix my problem and I can't find the specs on either of the supports that you used.
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