I have a new problem and I think it is a nuisance rather than a problem. My rear hatch door is making metallic noises. At first I thought it was something loose inside the hatch. I cleaned out everything in the wheel well and I still kept getting these rattling banging sounds like something was loose. After a lot of head scratching and guessing, I took a close look at the upper pivot shafts that hold the gas cylinder for raising the hatch. The assembly appears to be a real heavy duty rivet going through the loop at the end of the piston shaft. Here is the problem. It appears that the grommet broke away (at least partially) and the once close tolerance around the pivot pin has now become very sloppy. Think in terms of a ¼” bolt going through a ½ inch nut. Very sloppy. If I could put a sleeve (grommet) over the ¼” bolt to fill up the excess space, the sloppiness and rattling goes away. But, since the pivot pin, is not removable. It looks like that even tough the gas cylinder works satisfactorily, I am going to have to live with the noise. The pivot shaft cannot be dis-assembled. I could probably take the mounting bracket off, drill out the pin and actually replace it with a short bolt and a couple of nylon type locking nuts. A lot of hassle.

Have any of you encountered this noise problem and if you did, how about a suggestion how to deal with it short of purchasing new gas cylinders? Both sides (sleeves) have partially disintegrated. Temporarily I put chunks of thick cell foam and wedged it around the cylinder. It helps just a little, but is not satisfactory for a long term fix.

Thanks

DrDan

 

Hope you get a fix (I can't visualize the problem), but new lifts are about $23 at Amazon (buy something else for $2 and get free shipping). They were easy to install and work great.

 

Thanks. I was relating to other threads in this forum about how expensive the gas cylinders were. But, $23 is not a problem considering the alternative of around +/- $100.

DrDan

 

I installed a pair by myself (I supported the gate with my head - not recommended). I thought it was pretty easy, and it didn't take long. People have said they're a bit nosier than the OEM, but it doesn't bother me in the slightest. If I had to generate a complaint, it would be that the lifts are a bit too strong. But I'm not complaining after having lived with weak lifts for five years and avoiding the expense of OEM lifts (I heard they were closer to $400).

 

RX 300 rear door gas cylinder replacement made easy

This is the follow up to my previous post about suspecting the gas cylinders (struts) making noise. The grommets or bushings were totally destroyed allowing the strut to slip sideways on the pivot shaft. AutoZone had replacements for about $25 each with a 1 year warranty. Not good enough. I went to O’Reilly’s and opted for the limited lifetime warranty for about $50 each. No shipping. The brand is Stabilus Lift-O-Mat P/N SG229035.

Safety first
Do not try to remove the struts while they are under extension pressure. Even though the door may be at its maximum opening, the strut is still under pressure.

Don’t even entertain the idea that you are strong enough to hand compress the struts to work on them.

Step 1 Get a 6 foot step ladder and wedge it in to support the open hatch.

Step 2 To relieve the pressure on the struts loosen the eight 10mm mounting bolts. DO NOT REMOVE THEM. Just loosen them enough but keep them in place.

Once they are loosened, you can raise the door a little higher by wedging in a small 2 X 4 scrap of wood (or enough equivalent material) between the top of the ladder and the door holding it open in an extended position. (Greater than normal.)

Now, with no stress on the struts you can replace them with the new ones. Pay attention to the orientation of the mounting brackets.

Technique
The strut comes with a separate ball joint bracket/connector at the door end of the strut. With no instructions how to install them, it appears that you can tighten all four mounting brackets first and then snap the ball joints into place. You may have to tweak the opening of the door to make the alignment. They just snap together and are held captive. I chose to snap the joints together first, then reverse the loose bolt method described above. Finally remove the blocks of wood and tighten all of the bolts.

No more noises!

Dr Dan

 

Hi Dan,
I am about to replace the lift supports of my 2001 RX300. Would you kindly show me as how to remove the existing lift supports? Do I have to remove all brackets at both ends holding the lift supports in order to remove them?

 

Ntnha2001, I thought it was going to be a difficult task to compress the struts to be able to remove them. That was the difficult/impossible way.

As you can see in my pics, the mounting bracket and gas cylinder are one inseparable unit, so you have to remove the brackets. The replacement parts came as a fixed unit.

All that is needed is to take the pressure off of the gas cylinders. By loosening the 4 bolts on each strut, I gained a couple of inches in opening the door which was enough to take off all pressure. Then, it is a simple task to remove all of the bolts. "Use your head for thinking, not for holding the door open as you work." My stepladder was just the right size. You will need a 10mm open end wrench (possibly a box style) to tighten the bolt behind the extended shaft. It should not take you more than 30 minutes start to finish.

Just be sure to get all of the bolts started before you remove the ladder, then tighten them and check them again a few days later.

Good luck -- And be careful until the pressure is relieved.

Someone mentioned earlier that the door opens quite quickly in comparison with the old cylinders. I think I could use mine as a pumpkin catapult if I tried.


Dr. Dan