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Nov 18, 2012 21:39:45 GMT
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Before I take the plunge and shell out for custom made gas struts, can anyone tell me if there exists a handy cross reference for aftermarket tailgate lifters that lists the specs?
I am looking for something with minimum 10.4"/264mm stroke and roughly 36lbf/160N of force. This is for replacing the worn out, undamped struts in my pop top.
Thanks!
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Nov 19, 2012 21:24:24 GMT
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1992 190E 2.0 - first car, currently being driven by the wife.
1989 500SEC
1968 W115 4.2 V8
2000 CL500
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Nov 19, 2012 21:46:05 GMT
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There's a place in Nottingham who custom make you struts, and they aren't too expensive (£35 a pair ish?)
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Thanks very much for the link khimanimohiki. That's better than I hoped for. Searching the relevant part numbers, it looks like only truck or bus fittings would fit the bill. I half guessed that might be the case.
I marked the old springs at the point they counterbalanced the weight of the roof then measured the force to compress them to the same length when off the van. Then added on 10% to allow for temperature variation. I think that should be the force needed at full extension?
Cobblers, that's a bit cheaper than I've found on line. Do you know the name of the place? Thanks.
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Nov 20, 2012 11:24:54 GMT
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Awesome! Thanks again!
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Dec 10, 2012 18:14:32 GMT
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Got my struts sorted and wanted to share. As I didn't need the full extension, it worked out a fair bit cheaper to get a standard size regassed to the pressure I needed and then extend the back of the rams with bits of thick wall stainless tube threaded internally to take the studs already there. Actually I bonded some nuts onto the tubes after taking the first pic to provide a bit more of a flat face to bear on the cylinder end. They work great. Struts direct worked out cheapest in the end but it took a second go for them to get the pressure to what I asked for. Not sure what the issue was there, but they were all about 40% under when they first turned up. Anyway, I'm pretty happy with how this turned out so a big thank you for the help.
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