decgraham
Albert Park
- Joined
- 17 Sep 2008
- Messages
- 1,664
Easy job today fitting 2 new Stabilus Lift O Mat rear struts. Followed the instructions from various sites of doing the RHS first. Removed the air box completely and it gave plenty of room to work. Supported the lid with a piece of wood, placed an old white towel under where the strut is and then threaded a thin piece of wire through the rear clip, (the one nearest me at the back of the engine) I was not going to lose the clip or the pin and I didn't. Its a little bit fiddly but once the rear is off you need to reach in for the front clip and pin. Once out replace the old strut with the new. I used the clip with the thin piece of wire on for the front pin just in case I dropped it. I put the pin in a pair of vice grips aligned up the strut and feed the pin in, all went OK and then I reached in to fit the clip and remove the wire, no problems. I just used my fingers to put the pin and the clip on the rear fixing of the strut, RHS done
For the LHS which is said to be a bit more difficult I removed the LHS rear electrical box cover, which gave me a bit more space to work, not as much as the RHS though. Again I removed the rear clip and pin first in the same way as the RHS and didn't lose the pin or clip. Once removed I reached in to remove the front clip and pin. Fortunately I have long arms so I was able to crouch to the LHS of the car and reach in. I offered up the strut but couldn't get it in the right position to allow me to get the pin through, as there was nothing to support it. I then clipped a pair of vice grips onto the end of the strut and turned it through 90 degrees so I had more length on the strut and was able to align it better. Got the pin and clip on without drama. I then turned the strut back through 90 degrees and fitted the pin and clip on the rear end of the strut. I Did the job in about an hour so well pleased with that. I greased the pins and the holes in the struts before fitting. The lid no longer bashes me on the head when I go inside the engine bay now :lol: I bought the struts from CarParts4Less and the cost was £19.34 for the pair with a discount code and free post in the UK so a good deal there. (No affiliation)
Happy days
ATB
For the LHS which is said to be a bit more difficult I removed the LHS rear electrical box cover, which gave me a bit more space to work, not as much as the RHS though. Again I removed the rear clip and pin first in the same way as the RHS and didn't lose the pin or clip. Once removed I reached in to remove the front clip and pin. Fortunately I have long arms so I was able to crouch to the LHS of the car and reach in. I offered up the strut but couldn't get it in the right position to allow me to get the pin through, as there was nothing to support it. I then clipped a pair of vice grips onto the end of the strut and turned it through 90 degrees so I had more length on the strut and was able to align it better. Got the pin and clip on without drama. I then turned the strut back through 90 degrees and fitted the pin and clip on the rear end of the strut. I Did the job in about an hour so well pleased with that. I greased the pins and the holes in the struts before fitting. The lid no longer bashes me on the head when I go inside the engine bay now :lol: I bought the struts from CarParts4Less and the cost was £19.34 for the pair with a discount code and free post in the UK so a good deal there. (No affiliation)
Happy days
ATB