Post by
lmheim »
https://forums.nicoclub.com/lmheim-u232318.html
Mon Mar 31, 2014 7:51 am
If anyone is annoyed by the weak struts on the trunk, there is a sticky on the Freshalloy forum that give some great info about fixing that. I did it this weekend but have a couple thoughts and changes to the original.
First, the original thread suggests the Strongarm 6322 - which is available at Advance for about $25. It is a straight drop-in replacement that does provide much better lift/resistance than the OEM, but it is a couple inches shorter than the original and prevents the trunk lid from coming up a full 90 degrees. I am going to look for one a bit longer.
The better news is that I came up with an installation method that takes about 2 minutes per strut rather than the full back seat disassembly method in the original thread. I apologize if someone else previously posted this - I didn't find it anywhere and wanted to help other folks out by getting this out there.
Step 1: On the new replacement strut, unscrew the black fitting at the end of the chrome rod.
Step 2: Open the trunk and lift the lid all the way. You may need someone to hold it up while you do this. CAUTION - once you disconnect the original strut, the lid cannot stay up on its own.
Step 3: Using a flathead screwdriver, disconnect the original strut from the trunk hinge. If you don't know how to do that, the Freshalloy thread has pics and details.
Step 4: Rather than disconnecting the complete strut as described in Freshalloy, you can unscrew the strut from the black connector that is attached to the connection point behind the seat. You may need pliers to grab the chrome rod and twist the threads loose, but once that is done, you can simply unscrew it by hand.
Step 5: Screw the new strut into the original connector - mine was a 100% straight match. You will probably need a flashlight to see in the dark space, and you may need to stick a hand back there to align things, but once you get the rod threaded, it just screws right on in.
Step 6: Rotate the strut until tight, align the other end connector with the connection point on the hinge and pop that on.
That is it. Seriously, this took about 2 minutes from start to finish. The hardest part was getting my hand in the cavity to align the connector to get the new strut initially threaded into it. I will post the longer strut model number when I find it.
Hope this helps folks.