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300te rear hatch pistons

2K views 6 replies 7 participants last post by  jhodg5ck 
#1 ·
1989 300te. As the weather gets cold, the rear hatch will NOT stay open. OUCH...right on my head. I could carry the broomstick around, but would like to have the pistons working. Will replacing the pistons in the rear hatch actually work? I would hate to spend the $$$ to find the hatch lowering on my head by itself.
 
#2 ·
Replace the two gas struts (one at each tailgate hinge). It will be like new again. Bit of a fiddly job though.
 
#4 ·
I had mine changed last week. Bought a pair of OE gas struts for US$28 each, the original were about US$40 each.

Took me about 11/2 hours to replace the first strut and I got faster with the second strut, took me only 1/2 an hour. Need someone to help you hold the tailgate, someone who is at least 5' 6 tall.

The only problem I had was filing and adjusting the bracket of the struts which has a larger gap than the original one. Be careful not to hammer to much or it might break! I think next time I would probably buy the original struts.

Here are some tips:
After opening the plastic cover make sure to pull as much as necessary so that you can see the end of the strut holding pin. Use a masking tape to hold the roof lining up clear for you to work. Your fingers will get greasy so you might want to cover the roof lining with some paper/plastic.

Get into the 3rd row seat and with a long nose plier/flat screwdriver(the type you can hammer) and a very small hammer.

Ask someone to hold the tailgate until you can see the small end of the strut (shinny bit) connecting bracket/pin. Unclip the cirlip using the long nose plier. Use the flat screwdriver / hammer to take the pin out. Use a little force if necessary. MAKE SURE your fingers are not in the way of the strut's piston( shinny bit) and bracket when the pin is released!!!!

You can removed the other pin (big one) now. Ask someone to push the tailgate all the way up. By doing this, the strut piston will stretch to the maximum making removing of the big pin easier. You need the flat screwdriver to peel the small 'thing', make sure you don't break this 'thing'. After that peel the big pin out, and take the strut out.

Ask someone to hold the tailgate just enough so you can see the tailgate hinge and fix the small (shinny end) first. Once this is done. Lift the tailgate all the way up and fix the big pin in.

Good luck!

Rafi
 
#5 ·
i have the sulotion for stop spending money on crap rear hatch pistons:take the pistons out and try to bent them a litle bit. I had an `97 Land Cruiser and the problem was that the pistons always quit doing their job, took them out and bent them a little bit and the problem is solved.good luck
please let me know what you had done.
 
#6 ·
Just a note to thank all members of this forum for their collective tutorial & knowledge. Dug through the archives and followed the tips above on hatch struts replacement. Took me a bit over 2 hours for the first one and half hour the second. Putting the pins back on were certainly no fun, but it is done, thanks again. On a side note, the little wheel(similar to temp control wheel, except smaller) right side of the light switch with markings of 0 - 4 I had always thought it was for dash back lighting control. I realized now it controls headlight beam level (up & down). What a fool I was.
 
#7 ·
My Strong advice for anyone endeavouring down the path in the future, avoid the aftermarkets, even if they are OE. I find they last about 2-3 year normally, where the Factory/Genuine bits last easily 2-3 X that.
 
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