arbeitm

My rear hood shocks need to be replaced. The hood does not stay open. It won't even pop up when I pull the release lever. I have to pull the lever and pull up the hood at the same time. Kind of annoying.

My car has a rear wing (see my avatar) which I think was added later. I have two struts on the driver side hinge and nothing on the passenger side.

My question is, I've seen the heavy duty shocks, but I've also read old posts where people have used them and then it is too much they can't even close their hoods or it pops up while driving.

So should I just use two standard struts, or one heavy duty and one standard, or, one heavy duty, or...........

Also, how do you get your hand back there to disconnect the struts from the firewall? Do I have to remove the heater fan? The bentley manual makes it seem like you simply disconnect each side, replace, and you're done. But access seems to be an issue.

Peter Zimmermann

Matt: A good rule to follow is to "Remove whatever will prevent a job from being done correctly." I had a mechanic who, I swear, had an extra joint between his wrist and elbow. He could get to things that no one else in the shop could, so there is no real answer.

Regarding the hood supports, we tried every combo available, and ended up using two, standard issue supports bought from the Porsche dealer - not the aftermarket. We didn't like doing it, because we felt it put too much torque on the left hinge (but we knew that one support wouldn't do the job on a 3.3 tail) - in thinking back we never saw one break or tweak a factory lid.
Pete

Droops83

I agree with Pete, take some stuff out and it will be easier. I do em all the time on SCs w/out taking anything out, but that's cuz I do em all the time! Heater blower motor is easy to take out, and removing the airbox lid gives you a tiny bit of extra breathing room as well. It helps to have one of those telescoping magnets, and stick the end of it on the retaining clips while you pry em off---it's a bummer when those things fall back behind the engine and you have to fish for it. It's also nice to have a helper hold the lid while you find the spot where you can pop the pins out easily.

We use the Weltmeister "lifetime" struts from Performance Products. They do not seem to be any better than the factory ones ("lifetime" means the life of the strut, not the car!), but they have a lifetime warranty so you can keep getting free ones forever.

Pete I have sort of an extra elbow as well, I've managed to get the topside #6 spark plug out of 964s/993s before from the top, but I practically dislocated my shoulder so I don't even try anymore!

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Chris Andropoulos
Schneider Autohaus
Santa Barbara, CA

Corrales911

I had the same problem when I got my car, but it only had one shock and a tail. I just got one additional new shock and added it to the other (had to make a little spacer) and it works well. You might be able to just replace one of yours and that would be sufficient to keep the hood up but not enough to torque the brace or hood.

Peter Zimmermann

Chris: LOL! Yeah, I can replace the hood shocks with everything in there, also, and do it the same way as you recommend - a magnet on the clip as you pop it loose. All it takes is one clip behind the cruise control and under a charcoal cannister hose! My hood-holder helper is one of those SnapOn expandable units, of course, all you have to do is knock it loose one time, and have the upper latch stick in the back of your head as the lid crashes down - if a human is available use him. Now, #6 plug, that's another deal entirely!
Pete

arbeitm

Yeah I was worried about the hood falling on my head. My first idea is to find a helper. If none are available it will have to be a broomstick or something similar. Maybe two for safety. If that hood falls on your head it'll knock you out easily. That wing is heavy!

rbuswell

I'm pretty sure the winged version of your car would come with two hood struts from the factory. If there's only one strut and it's is OEM, it could be you may only need to put in another one and you'd be OK. If the wing was put on after it was built, there may not be any mounts for the other strut, can't say for sure. I put in two Welty (Weltmeister) struts and it was too much lift (the decklid would actually fly up in traffic) so you may try one of those. The rear struts are much easier to install than the front ones and I didn't need to remove too much stuff as I recall but the clips can still be easily dropped so a trusty Craftsman telescoping magnet wand (about $8) is a godsend. Hope it goes well.

arbeitm

I have two struts...but they are both on the same side (driver side). I don't think I have a mount on the other side. The wing was probably added later on. Even though it's a factory wing.

I'll get one of those magnets...probabably good to have anyway.