'92 Q45 hood support cylinder: maintenance?

[kdkrone]

My hood support cylinders have become increasingly more difficult to open and close. Is there any maintenance that I can perform on them (grease? WD40?) to loosen them up a bit or will that destroy the seals?

ThanksKen Ks

[Q45tech]

Are you sure it's the hood struts not the hinges? Which should have been lubed annually.

[kdkrone]

I am not absolutely certain except that the hinges have been lubed every 6 months or so with grease. The struts are making the sound that a screen door closer does--that sort of rushing sound of air in the last few inches of closing... Hard to explain but that it pretty close.

ThanksKen

[JedCoop]

I am not absolutely certain except that the hinges have been lubed every 6 months or so with grease. The struts are making the sound that a screen door closer does--that sort of rushing sound of air in the last few inches of closing... Hard to explain but that it pretty close.

ThanksKen

I have measured that good ones have a max force of about 85-88 pounds when compressing them. My bad ones, which slowly collapsed after openning the hood had a max force of 60-65 pounds.

I measured this using a bathroom scale... I put one end on the scale, and leaned down on the other. You can now take yours out and find out if they really are too hard to close.

And like q45tech said, be sure the ball hinges are greased. I don't think this is something any dealer would do, either.

[JedCoop]

any maintenance that I can perform on them (grease? WD40?) to loosen them up a bit or will that destroy the seals?

WD40 will destroy the seals, too. It is a chlorinated hydrocarbon product.

[kdkrone]

Actually, if anything, the hinges hood is too difficult to open, not too easy, and the hood does not fall once opened. I will work more on the scissor hinges and see if that makes it easier even though they have been lubed frequently.

I will make some time to remove the struts and test the pressure it takes to compress them.

ThanksKen

[Jehangir]

I suggest replace both the hinges and the struts quickly. I didn't and ended up replacing hood struts only. Subsequently I ended up bending my hood. The hood struts attach to the hood right at a crumple zone. In my opinion a poor design. Infiniti should know stupidos like me would screw up. Anyway, good luck.