Has anyone had their tailgate gas struts re-gassed? Mine are showing poor pressure, not enough to 'pop' the lid up when the catch is released. This also leads to rattling and bumping when driving rough roads. I suspect that this caused my boot latch to snap a few months back. Interested to know if anyone knows the load rating of the stock items, or weight of the hatch, so I can get the appropriate units to suit (or have the suitable gas pressure in the reco nissan struts).
Im guessing you're talking about the gas struts that attach to the hatch. The cheapest option is to talk to UES (united engineering supplies) http://www.uesint.com/ They make gas struts and are cheap as all buggery. For work reasons i use these guys all the time. Good quality, with a quick and speedy turn around. Simply, describe to them your problem. Measure the total length of the strut (fully extended) The rod length (the chrome part) And the body length (black part). They will then match it to one of their already produces items and or quote you the cost to make them. Anything over say 500 newtons will be strong enough to hold the hatch open. The stronger the strut pressure the quicker it will want to open up. But also will increase the effort needed to close the hatch. So choose wisely. There should really be a sticker or embossing on the Nissan struts for you to reference to them. For a strut thats ~55cm long, 23cm stroke, 300 newtons. Im paying between $25 - $28. Food for thought. If you get into trouble, send me the strut info and i can price them here at the Adelaide branch. See if they're BS'ing you. Cheers.
Chris. Get me some. Also, if I were to put on some whizz-bang new struts now, then remove the spoiler at a later stage it shouldn't make too much of a difference, right?
That's what I was thinking, but until there is some data on the weight of the hatch, and the thread pitch and end orientations, a GB would be useless. I'll be the guinea pig though. I will speak to the local guy, get some ideas, then go from there. Then compare with other prices.
I actually looked into it some time ago, i still have the paper work in my desk draw....i think... so if you want i can see what i can get, price wise. We have an account with them so i should get it cheaper... ill take some of my own measurements for reference too. Also, the struts have a ball end? I cant recall. If so, they come standard with the new struts. Bugger it, im checking now. brb.
And remember there is a difference in length between the 2+0 and 2+2. Put 2+2 struts on a 2+0 and it will open comically high (hey Cindy? )
Remember, they are looking for a nice sturdy, well built body with a good rod length. Both too big and too small rods can be issues, so just something a nice length. If your looking, you want to look for one with a nice small black body, with no rod. If it has a rod (sometimes well hidden) then you might want to keep looking. Some prefer a good body with a good rod, thats up to you. gl
And im back... These measurements are from a 2+0. Someone with a 2+2 will have to check and report for me. Total strut length = 69cm Body length = 47cm Rod length = 22 (funny that) Using the bathroom scales, i weighed the clamping force at the rear of the hatch, where the clasp is. I got 9.1kg. Now with that very unorthodox method of measure, i can only assume the total weight will be ~15kg? Surely someone will come out with a more accurate weight. The Nissan struts didnt have any measure of newtons, so i will discuss this with the Adelaide store. Mitch, see what you can score from your local store too.
The hatch is horrendously heavy. At least 45Kg at a guess. Proper measurements would be taken with both struts removed, and the weight of the hatch measured this way.
45kg? Serious. Wow. I lug 45-55Kg drums of oil and dense coolant around at work nearly every day. The hatch isnt light, but wouldnt have thought that. Someone get me some hatch weights. All them members out there, that have sold them. Cough up.
Maybe not that heavy. But in the light 2 seater hatch, when you have no struts, and prop the hatch open with a wooden broom handle, it has an obvious bow... There is a lot of glass and double skin steel in the hatch... 45Kg is still just a guess though.
Agreed, when I had the spoiler off on Silver, I had trouble closing the hatch. With it back on, I have trouble opening it. Love the light boot lid on the convertible
Ive got in my hand a pair of 300nm struts, that im going to test out at lunch time. I will test it on my Brazilian hatch and also on Amandas Hiro winged hatch. These struts are shorter than stock, but it will give me an indication as to how many newtons we will need. I have sourced about 8 different types, half on which require 10mm ball stud ends. I will check to see if we can simple screw them off and use the Nissan ones, or alternatively, get new 10mm studs. They cost bugger all. So far the price ranges are between $15 -$40 each strut. So ill do some more research and let you all know.
a group buy on these would be pretty handy, or even just a good supplier for us to contact if we needed a pair. mine struggle to hold open the hatch, if a bit of wind blows down it comes, although i am getting my waterlogged stock rubber spoiler removed and replaced with a fibreglass copy from ztoy (i think thats his name), which should get rid of a few Kg of weight.
Little update. The pair i was testing at lunch were simply too short to even attempt a rough trial. Ive since worked a few more ideas out and from a supplier I deal with through work. I can get struts that are: 685mm Long - 295mm Stroke - 200Nm - Uses 10mm ball stud with 8mm thread. Stock is: 690mm Long - 220mm Stroke - ?Nm - 10mm stud with 8mm thread. Price is, wait for it, $15.33 inc gst EACH. Issue is, they have only 1 in stock in Aus, the rest is from the UK. The sales rep is getting back to me tomorrow regarding Air Freighting a second from the UK (at no cost) So that i can trial fit them. After which, if all is ok i can order as many as we require. For under $35, thats a bargain i think. Will let you know how it pans out. How many would we be talking also? And! I need someone to give me the measurements for the 2+2 Models!! So far all this is for a 2+0.
There is also a big weight in the hatch that I and probably a few other people have removed, not sure how much difference that would make. I've pulled out that weight and also have a Ztoy fibreglass spoiler being fitted right now which may mean I need softer struts or that my old ones will be OK as they are with the reduced load but if not I'd be in for a pair to suit a 2+2. Sorry, no strut measurements from me as my car is in getting hail damage fixed and the new spoiler at the moment.
