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So my lifters or gas struts showed up today and I thought I could just throw them on. After removing the little wire clip 3 of them came off nicely but the drivers side one on the body broke. So the little ball is gone. Any suggestions? Also that trunk is much heavier that I thought.
As I am sure you have already learned by your search on this Forum for more information about his situation with the struts, first you must be sure that you have the correct struts. The hatch/rear ones are much more powerful than the fronts/hood. Be sure that you have a pair of both kinds and that you are putting them in the right place. A rear strut misplaced on the hood will likely cause you to bend the hood trying to close it.
As to the lost ball, which sounds like it is for the hatch strut, if you will post a picture of the place it broke off of I will tell you what I think it will take for you to replace it without having to weld a new one onto the car and then repaint the burned area. Otherwise I will have to go out and look at one of my cars before I can tell you what I think.
In any case, I think you first task is going to be to source some kind of replacement ball. Start now looking for something like that.
You might want to think that the rear hatch is aluminum, but it is not--it is steel; and that large piece of glass is pretty heavy by itself.
Jerry and you have concluded correctly that the front and rear are different.
Second, you said the ball is "gone " I'm going to guess it is still in your possession, just gone from the strut? You could try JB Weld I suppose, but these are not going to break the bank. I think another purchase is the only course.
I broke it off taking the original one off not while putting the new one on. I do still have the ball it is stuck in the strut which I could cut out if needed. I have seen on other cars they are replaceable. I may wind up cutting off the rest of the broken piece and getting these. If it works I may do the other side as well so they match. That may not be original but to be honest that doesn't bother me.
That is a neat replacement ball set-up. However, if it were me I think I would buy two of them and then cut the bottom angle flange off of them and then drill two 3/16 inch holes through the verticle part, the part the ball is mounted to, and then grind the reminants of the old ball(s) off and locate the new ball/flange and drill the holes through the verticle surface where the original ***** are mounted. Then I would enlarge the two holes enough to locate nut-serts or riv-nuts in them and pull those in. Then I would either mount the new ball with two round head screws or maybe even countersink the holes in the new ball mount flange and use flush 3/16 or 10-32 stainless screws to mount the new *****.
Or, you may even leave the base on the new ball mounts, but bend it slightly to fit the angle where these are mounted and then do both--drill the vertical face as above and then mount these with 4 screws rather than just two.
Marine stores sell a ball with threaded stud on the opposite side. Put a NutSert in the hatch frame, screw in the replacement ball with a drop of LocTite, and you are good to go.
Meanwhile... Your picture shows some rust there in the hatch frame where the stud mounted. It's quite possible the stud won the corrode-to-failure race. If the frame corrosion is significant, you may end up doing a little sculpting of some sheet steel as reinforcement, shaped to sit tight over the existing metal. Clean the existing metal down to bare and rust-free, then use some JBWeld to secure the new metal tightly over the old. Paint, install the new ball using the NutSert through the new metal and what's left of the old, and you'll be good to go again.
There's undoubtedly someone nearby with a NutSert tool. If not, better hardware and home stores sell a similar product. If all else fails, ping me and I'll put mine in a priority-mail box to you. Shipping both ways easily exceeds the cost of buying a single die kit and a bag of the threaded inserts locally though.
Good timing, Lord knows there isn't anything else to do in Eau Claire this time of year....
Except for noon on Sunday.
Yea I asked my wife for a heater for the garage for Christmas. Gets a little chilly out there. I'm actually NY born and SC raised with a 7 year stint in Tucson. Not really a Packer fan but I still root for them. I call them my NFC team.
12-17-2014, 09:02 PM
Trunk and hood lifters
You could try JB Weld I suppose, but these are not going to break the bank. I think another purchase is the only course.
