I am guessing this is the best place to put this.
Another DIY Brought to you buy the 859Toaster (aka Stenger)
Today your going to learn how to put on a hood strut so you can ditch the crappy ass prop rod. And your going to do it for WAY LESS than you expected.
Tools you'll need:
* Drill/power screwdriver
* socket (pending size of bolt/nut you use)
Supplies:
*4-6 self tapping screws. (I use hex head because they get a better bit off the cordless screwdriver)
*2 Gas strut brackets
*1 or 2 (up to you) 30# or #40 pound gas lift support struts (12"-15" long should be what your able to work with here)
* 2 Mounts
Where to buy:
*maybe autozone/pep boys/advanced/ORiiley/NAPA/ect.
*I purchased mine at a marine store. (flapps pro outdoor)
Cost:
*$25-$40
SpringLift gas springs
3529MZ 0190N 098/06 B 15
SL34-40-1
No idea which one of those numbers are the part number. My guess is the SL34-40-1 or the 3529MZ as the part number
I also used Kencon mounts. If I remember correctly, they are 3/4" ball mount.
Ok here's your basic install and just about any rookie can knock this out.
First here is everything assembled off the car:
As you can see, the strut is about 13" long extended. Which gives you about close to factory hood lift. Little less, but enough room to work with.
Next you are going to need to line it up. Some tape could come in handy here to give it trail runs. Because if you mount too high on the hood or too low on the hood, it will not close properly, and end up binding. You also need to get it as straight as possible.
Here you can see mine doesn't exactly go straight, but it works. (neither is my d2 adjuster. lol. Yeah, goofed that up an accident. But thats another story) And with mine not being straight I had to shim underneath the bracket to give it a solid mount for the hood side.
Here you can see how its mounted to the fender well.
This install will take you about 20-30 minutes to do. Most of which is finding the sweet spots to mount too.
The struts just pop right onto the ball mounts. And if you need to remove them, just a flat head screwdriver to the back of the strut to release the clip.
Really you can see how to do this mod with just the 3 pictures I provided. I am just typing so that it looks like its a lot of work.... Do you feel like your wasting a lot of time reading all this extra crap? You should.... Because the time spent reading this, you could already be on your way to the store to pick these up, or even installing them..... So get off the computer for 10 minutes (your myspace messages will still be there! haha) and get busy working!
