Hood Support Struts

[EdBwoy]

Hey all,

Has anyone replaced their hood struts? At 75k, the ones on my 2011 M56 are limp and I wanted to know what aftermarket options people have had success with.

Part #654711MA0A is the left side. No idea why most sites have it listed at a much higher price
Part #654701MA0A is the right side
https://www.infinitipartsnet.com/auto-p ... nents-scat
These are not shared with any other Nissan platforms, but I'm always looking for substitutes.

Googling "M56 hood support struts" landed me on ebay where I see 2 of the aftermarket vendors.
1. Stabilus Lift-o-mat SG371009. stabilus website doesn't list them in any catalog
2. Tuff Support 613494. This one is listed as applicable for our cars on the TS website.
Under 60 bucks for either option, with lifetime warranty? Me likey

It gets even better as entering either OEM number results in this Amazon Tuff Support listing.
Before I pull the trigger, anyone have any bad experiences with any of the listed options to share?

[EdBwoy]

Screw it, at 38 bucks on Amazon instead of potentially spending $250 before tax & shipping for OEM, I'll order them and be the guinea pig.

[Malbec 56 Beast]

I'm my experience I've never had any issues with aftermarket parts. I have ordered shocks from a different vendor for my Maxima and they worked great.

Andy

[pedsemdoc]

I've used the Stabilus brand before - no issues, good quality AND cheaper.

It helps if you know the strut size (compressed), the lifting strength required, and what the ends look like.

I've ordered replacement struts from https://www.liftsupportsdepot.com/ which has a vehicle fitment finder:
https://www.liftsupportsdepot.com/sachs ... t-support/

[EdBwoy]

Ahh, Sachs was the other vendor name I overlooked, and they just sell stabilus struts.
Doc, your link at least acknowledges the Stabilus will work, despite it not being in the official manufacturer website.

I'll keep you guys updated.

[EdBwoy]

My struts arrived and I installed them. I am happy with the result

Here's how they compare to OEM:
Aftermarket part:

• Tuff support 613494 for both left and right sides
• Gas-o-matic, air filled struts

OEM:

• Labelled Stabilus 65471-1MA0A and 65470-1MA0A for the left and right sides, respectively
• Liquid filled. I know this because the left one was leaking (This was most probably due to me using locking pliers on the rod to hold the hood up)
• The upper (hood connection side) socket end has something engraved. 17W on the left one and 30W on the right one. Got anything to do with the price difference?

Both:

• Have cylinders approx. 1.8 centimeters in diameter
• Have rods approx. 0.8 centimeters in diameter
• Measure approx. 15.75 inches center to center of the socket while extended. The OEM ones seemed just a smidgen longer in tip-to-tip

Other observations:

1. The Tuff support are very springy, in that they can't hold the hood in any one position. Lift the hood over 15 degrees and the struts shoot it all the way up. Under that range and the struts push the hood down.
   I am using my verbs a little too liberally here, the hood doesn't jerk in any direction. It just goes in that direction "with conviction".
2. Each individual replacement strut can hold the hood up by itself, of course allowing for natural flexing of such a wide sheet of aluminum.
   Maybe the 17W and 30W on the OEM struts means something and one was deliberately weaker? Again, I have no frame of reference as mine were dead, and in my ignorance I scuffed up the one with the lower number, yet more expensive selling price. But in reality, does it matter? If they were strong and one strut died, shouldn't the other have kept holding the hood up? Oh well. Maybe someone can remove their OEM struts in alternate fashion and see if one is stronger than the other.

Picture dump:
OEM at the top, aftermarket bottom 2














The cylinder/seal area of OEM has a rubber sleeve so I took it off to see what's underneath.




OEM left says 17W, right says 30W



Edited
Both sets have the sockets attached to the cylinder and rod by a screw-in base. Makes sense for varied adaptors

[SwissCheeseHead]

Thanks for posting! I've also used Stabilus and they're perfectly fine. You should be ok!

[EdBwoy]

You're welcome Swiss. I hope this is of some help to someone else.