TeamSwift

I got a couple replacement gas struts for my rear hatch at Canadian Tire and cannot for the life of me figure out how to get the old ones off. I've got a 1990 GT. The flanged pin that connects the strut to the hatch looks like it will have to be ground or cut off. My other problem is how to remove the C-pillar end of the strut from the ball connector. I don't see a retaining clip or anything. Has anyone replaced these before? Any help would be appreciated.<br><br>Thanks,<br><br>Matt<br><br>PS. Can we no longer have replies to our posts e-mailed to us? <p></p><i></i>

look between the strut and the pillar and you will see a 7/16 i think im not sure what size it is but you can see the head. on the part that attaches to the hatch you have to remove the plastic cover from the hatch and that end also has the same size bolt but it is conneted to a bracket that has 2 philip head bolts. <p></p><i></i>

It's a 12 mm head bolt. It can easily be unscrewed without having to remove the plastic cover. Push the cover a little where the strut is connected and you'll see the hexagonal eadges. Howerver, to unscrew the 2 phillips screw, you have to remove the hatch cover <!--EZCODE EMOTICON START :| --><img src=http://www.ezboard.com/intl/aenglish/images/emoticons/indifferent.gif ALT=":|"><!--EZCODE EMOTICON END--> <br><br>Jar <p></p><i></i>

Thanks, guys. Unfortunately, this does not help me with the new struts as I have to reuse the plate that I'm taking off the hatch and the ball that's on the pillar. I think it's going to be a bit of a hack job. I'll drill out the pin on the hatch end and replace it with a bolt. I'll probably hacksaw the pillar end to get the ball out. <p></p><i></i>

when i bought replacement supports i had to do some hacking on the mounts on the hatch to fit the bigger bolt on the new supports. just incase you run into that problem also <p></p><i></i>

I ran into the same problem and still used the new struts without damaging any plastic. It took more work than I had planned on but I'm really happy with the result. Look at the picture in my album and read the comments. I hope this helps someone as much as other things on this forum have helped me.

http://www.teamswift.net/album_personal ... er_id=1324

did the parts actually match the old ones? Because a lot of the CDN Tire stuff is not quite what it's supposed 2 be matching.. leading to a long saga of hack jobs and patchwork.

My boss found an exact match through a company called Altrom, they've got a warehouse in Burnaby, B.C.... I dont' know about their other locations.

THe ones I got from CT where perfect match, although I have one of the strut that keep poping out of the ball if I open the hatch too fast.

I have figured out the answer to the problem. It took a lot of grinding and drilling and picture taking and posting things on the forum, but I have solved it.
The next time I go to get a part, if it is not exactly what I want, I should give it back.

lol i got the same problem as jar. but i have the ball pop off while i was under it, and ouch did that ever hurt damn hatches are heavy!!!!

yeah i used to use vise grips on the strut to hold my hatch open, one time the y were on too tight and i was in a hurry, so stupidly i used two hands to pop the vice grips off. and took the hatch to the head. shortly after that i got the strongarms from crappy tire and they were a perfect fit and have had absolutly zero problems with them for the last 1.5yrs