ajmarton

Okay, I have scratched enough skin off my knuckles - so it's time for help. The new Weltmeister Heavy-Duty Front Hood Shock (passenger side) went in with no problem - plenty of room to put the clip back on the bottom pin. Not quite so easy on the left side - I can insert the pin one way (end to take the clip facing outside of the car) but have no room to insert it the other way which would make putting on the clip so much "easier". Any tricks on how to accomplish this? Unfortunately, I have big hands.... I'm embarrased to actually ask my mechanic to finish the job. Andrew

theiceman

i used a pair of large hemostats and gripped the the edge of the clip with the serated area.. no problem .
best tool in my whole tool box....

Amber Gramps

Who you callin' a hemo?

Long needle nose for the clip and if you only have one pair a stick with duct tape with sticky side out will place and hold the pin in place while you insert the clip.

That was by far one of the hardest jobs to date.

ron mcatee

+1 for the hemostat (about 18" long)

dshepp806

Yeap,..hemostat for me....after loosing it twice.


Doyle

Ed Hughes

Or, do this, it really is a nice piece:

http://www.seinesystems.com/Ult-Strut-Home.htm

RShepHorse

hahahahahaha.... was wrestling with this little bastard this past weekend. What seemed to help was a really strong small magnet [initially used when I dropped the pin into a black hole...] and jamming an LED headlamp down there so I could see what I was doing- inserted the pin from the 'outside' so applying the little clip was then relatively easy. The neodymium magnet I had was strong enough to help that pin stick to the plate while I slid it around finding the hole.

I was definitely a little disheartened at how daunting [read: pain in the ***] this 'easy' project ended up being.

ajmarton

Thanks everyone - finally got it in. I used a magnetic "pen" (caftsman pickup tool) that grabbed the shaft of the pin right by the head. My 15 year old son came up with the magnet idea and was able to get the pin slightly inserted but the maget was not strong enough hold the pin while we tried to push it in. So we came up with the tape idea which held it enough to push it through. We taped it into a 90 degree position but using the tape still gave it some "give" to adjust and get into the hole. For some reason it is a lot easier to align the pin with the hole if you do it this way as you have to angle it to fit into the hole. The trick for someone trying to do this job is (1) have someone hold and move the hood up and down for you to line up the holes (this helps alot) and (2) angle whatever device you use to hold the pin so your hand is closer to the firewall while the end with the pin is facing toward the nose of the car as you go down toward the U bracket. Also rest the bottom of the shock toward the fire wall right behind the U bracket. It is stable and will rest there bearing the weight of the lid. (I already had the passenger side all buttoned up and the top of the driver side shock installed.) This gives you a better view of the bracket and the hole that you are aiming for. I also used a flashlight that can sit up on top of the brake booster and be pointed down to throw some light down there for you. Coming straight down with the pin didn't work for me. Once we figured this out the whole process took 5 minutes. Hopes this helps someone else.