Installed 4 monday night. Does anyone have a cross reference or part # at rock auto on the glove box strut? (or one that will work)
I picked mine up today from the post office. Opened the box and I noticed they gave me a Corvette fridge magnet. Did any of you boys also get one? Does anyone want or collect them, if so let me know and you can have it. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Pics of the front strut clip being removed with a small flat blade screwdriver. VERY easy to do and was a 5 sec job each slip. I also had a loose ball socket on the LHS bottom (in the trunk). 2x 13mm spanners nipped them up tight. The new Sachs struts were around 3/4" longer, have a 'bigger' cylinder/body, but they still fit perfectly and work GREAT! The pop straight on with minmal effort. The old ones looked like the originals that were in the car from new and were stamped 4/10/91. My 348 is a 12/91. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Pics of the clip being removed from the rear struts with the same flat blade screwdriver. Again, even easier to remove than the style of clip on the original front struts. The old ones were replaced at some point by the previous owners with struts from "Struts-R-Us" on the Gold Coast, Australia. They had the same size cylinder/body as the new Sachs struts, but were around 1" longer. The old struts had size-305, dia-8, f-450 stamped on it and a phone number. I called the number just then and gave the details. I was told the strut is still availabe, costing around AU $40 each. The new rear struts are awesome! I had a mate pop the engine cover and the engine cover shot up SO FAST.........I nearly sh*t myself! I popped the engine cover again to show another mate and the bloody thing almost ripped off its hinges!! Man!! Are ALL these struts like that are they? Anyone else's go up that FAST?? Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Here are 2 pics. 1st pic is the old struts in the car. You can see how much higher the engine cover sits because of the longer stuts. 2nd pic is the new struts in the car. You can see the engine cover sits lower now and the bonnet sits slightly higher now. You can see the difference in height by looking at the blocks on the wall in the background. Replacing these was not *really* necessary, but at US $9.83 each......why the hell not! Total billed to my credit card was AU $127 from Rock Auto. Stuts-R-Us would have cost me $160+ (whatever freight would cost) and they were the wrong ones fitted to the car, well to the rear at least. So I made the right choice and am very very happy with them. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Yes, my rear bonnet shoots up fairly quick after I pull the release. The front needs a little boost and it shoots right up also... I got a magnet also, a pic of an old sedan/delivery truck on mine--I think there is a pic of it with the struts pic I posted up around post #24 or so...
Cheers mate. Yes, but is it enough to knock you out if it hits you like mine probably would?? It would probably be the same as Mike Tyson punching you in the face!! Mine goes up fast and I mean bloody FAST man!! The engine cover hits hard as the struts reach the end of their travel and it flexes at the top because its moving so fast. As mentioned, it almost seems as it wants to break off the bloody hinges! The front needs to be lifted around half way, then it will coast up nice and steady. I see I see. You want this one? Ill post it out if you like? Or I will give it someone else if they are collecting them? Otherwise, it will probably end up in the bin.
Pap, My engine bonnet also popped up so fast, I thought it was going to tear off the hinges. However, now I'm able to catch it with my hand before it tops out. I wish my personal tool would do the same but alas, age has advanced to the point, that it's now more like the front bonnet -requiring a little assistance.
Well, Pap, the alternative in trying to catch it on the rise is to have your partner assist with the lift.
The new shocks put a ton of pressure on the mtg. brackets, especially on the rear lid (my lid now pops up like a jack in the box)........anybody worried about them braking?
Two things I have noticed, if you watch how they come up...they stop about one inch before they reach max height, then rise the last inch...as if they have a built in damping or stop. I don't think there is any risk of just letting it fly open. Secondly, they lose most of that extra oomph, after about 6 to 7 months, and work like oem ones. I am around the 2 year mark with mine, and notice when cold they do not self rise at all, and but do stay up fine when I raise the lid up. When the engine is warm, they rise more readily. I will report back when they start to sage and require replacement...but at present I will say they appear to last at least as long as the factory ones, and at considerbly less cost than oem...yet retain an oem appearance, since they are still made by the oem manufacturer Sachs.
I just installed these on my 348 two weeks ago, and am happy with them. One will not even hold up the lid, so I don't feel two put extremely high pressure on the lid. I'm sure they will relax some over time.
Wow, price has gone way up, this forum sold them out and pushed the price up. I had to pay $29.13, including shipping. Up almost $2 a piece, next thing you know they'll be up over $30. In all seriousness thanks to all for this thread, my rear's had failed and was looking to a $200 bill if I hadn't seen these. Thanks.
be careful..we've seen a few instances recently where the brackets have been stressed (slightly bent) Also.when the lid is closed look at the allignment at the rear window..if the lid is pushed up then its stressing.. seen more so on 355's than 348's..
Old, old thread but I bought these and they only lasted about 7 months. That was about four or five drives this year. I think the heat kills them. I am going to look at sending my OEM ones off to Strutwise. I did that with my NSX and they have been going strong for six years.
