cynbird

actually, after using a blow dryer to heat up the screw, we were able to finally loosen it. Got the new struts on, and guess what? They still don't hold the trunk lid up!! WTF??? I do have a spoiler, but come on, how many cars have spoilers out there and the trunk stays up just fine for them! Guess I'll have to uninstall these and take them back to O'Reilly (who specifically ordered them for my car make, model and year), and see if they have anything stronger. Very frustrated at this point...

UR2klose

iTrader: (3)

samething happend to me, i bought a set that didnt hold my trunk up. not sure if they gave me the ones for a trunk without a spoiler or they were just crappy supports but i ended up buyin some "strong arm" supports from a different part store and they work great.

2JTsc300

i bought these and my trunk is hard to shut now cause they r so strong

http://www.ebay.com/itm/2-Trunk-Lift...item56418595e9

cynbird

Thanks, UR2klose & 2JTsc300, I'll give those a try - hopefully O'Reilly will give me my money back when I return the crappy struts... Other than the difficult ball screws, the job was pretty easy...

SOARER5

I wanted to thank this thread. I also bought the Strong Arm 4508 ($34 shipped) for my trunk without spoiler. Love it opening up all the way when released. Post #3 is correct, I had to remove the plastic with rubber stop so my trunk would fully extend so ball can match up with hole on shock. It's missing on OP's car, but you can see the hole of where it goes.

Nova

iTrader: (21)

quick question my trunk does NOT have a spoiler but i plan on attaching some sort of wing in the future so i was planning on getting the trunk struts that have w/ spoiler as an option any one else do this before?

vietunit

iTrader: (5)

Yes.. many people use the one with spoiler support just because it's stronger than the one without spoiler regardless if they have a spoiler or not.

SC400DAVE

Thanks for the OP posting up pics on this fix. I just installed mine today. Left side was a breeze, the right, I had to heat up with about 8 wood matches to break the loctite. I bought the Strong Arm 4508 from here. A bit slow to ship. I got them in 8 days.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Two-USA-Made...item1e71cee1ef

Flyinbrick

iTrader: (1)

Hi all,
I just did this in about 30 minutes and wanted to add my insight into this. Picked up the supports from http://www.rockauto.com pn 4508 (strongarm), the pair was $35shipped.

The easiest way I found was to heat up the arm bolts using this:


Faster, safer than the blowtorch. Most of us should have it. I held it there for a short period and then viola, it was easy to turn.

The result is ofcourse I can click from my fob and the trunk not only pops, but opens by itself - I just wished my GS460 would do the same.

BlakOnBlak

Great Thread! I just changed mines in 15 minutes. I went to Advanced Auto and ordered a set. They came in about 3 days. My trunk is hard to close now

brucelee1

iTrader: (2)

I just replaced mine. Use the lighter to loosen the locktitle and it worked liked a charm. Nice to have the trunk stay up. Used the "Strong Arm supports from Auto Zone.

Thanks for the help on this. You guys saved me a ton of time.

davmar

Knowledge is power! I never would have been able to remove the trunk lid struts without the posts above. Thank you.
The essential knowledge was:
1. There are plastic clips with rubber bumpers on the trunk hinge members that must be removed to allow to trunk to open fully such that the struts are fully extended and ready for removal/replacement..
2. Use a flat bladed screwdriver and a hammer to bend the friction clips away from the stud at the piston end of the strut and slide the strut off the stud.
3. The ball stud which attaches to the car is screwed into a hex nut welded to the sheet metal.
4. The stud is retained with high-strength (red) Loctite which must be softened with heat to allow the stud to be unscrewed..
With that info removal is easy. I will add one suggestion that is more in keeping with industrial practice. Instead of trying to heat up a wrench to transfer heat to the ball stud use an electric heat gun. Direct the heat directly on the ball stud until the Loctite is soft (30 seconds). At that point even a small open-end wrench allows the stud to be unscrewed. I recommend coating the threads of the replacement stud with Loctite (I used med-strength blue) before they are replaced. The only slight error I made was to completely remove the retainer clip on the (Monroe) strut ball end. They only need to be pried up with a 3/16" flat blade screwdriver to the end of the ball receptacle. It wasn't that hard to tap them back onto the end of the receptacle and then use the same screwdriver to pry them back into the slot where they will grip the ball when the receptacle is placed over the ball. Now, when the latch is released, the trunk opens fully automatically and smoothly as intended.

Biddles

iTrader: (2)

Did both the hood and trunk supports for my 92 SC 400 just now. Cost $72 shipped for all four supports. Lift Support Depot on ebay is your best friend! Came with all the hardware, and works flawlessly now. Used a 12mm open end wrench and a 7/16's open end wrench for the new hardware. Making progress every weekend.

RedVex

I went down to my local adv auto parts store and got the strongarm w/ spoiler supports x2 for $27 after tax. After i got an adjustable wrench it literally took no more then 10 minutes to replace them both, the strongarm support was strong enough with just one to hold the trunk up as i put the second one on.
May i recommend just calling adv auto and they will tell you which stores have them in stock, i know i couldn't wait to stop banging my head on my trunk for only $30.....


Attachment 500189

Luxor

iTrader: (15)

Update: Purchased a pair new from liftsupportdepot.com using part number 4508/10142 on January 2010 they are already failing having trouble holding my trunk open. Lasting 3-4 years in my opinion is pretty crappy.

I don't think the ones I purchased were Strongarm brand because I do not remember them being in Strongarm packaging. I think they were the website's brand.

Moral of the story, OEM is the way to go.