348 engine cover & bootlid won't stay up

yes, dcepends if there is a substitute, no

 

I got mine from Rock Auto, $24.95 each. www.rockauto.com

 

The factory struts are absolute garbage and horrendously overpriced. It would have been much better for Ferrari to have used a prop rod instead of struts, if they couldn't find a supplier who could provide quality pieces. Obviously, if they go bad, you're just supposed to buy new ones - again, and again, and again....

 

Or use Vicegrips.

 

Why didn't Ferrari use the same locking strut on the boot lid that they used on the bonnet ? That would eliminate the strut problem.

 

wow

 

Before you replace them....where are you located. Here in New England - my struts work fine in the summer, but not the winter. Go figure.

 

I had my stock struts recharged to factory specs. by Stephen Fenner @ LIFT SUPPORT TECHNLOGIES in Canada. He's a good guy with really fast turn-around time (like one Day). www.lstechnologies.ca - (306) 683-5000.
Good luck, Hank

 

That's so getto, I love it. LOL

 

End of the day, it is still just a car.

 

Rock Auto - AND the US distributor for the parts (ZFTNA.com) - are all out of these struts until the fifth week of 2006....and that's only their guess.

ZFTNA's P/N is SG 437007.

Anyone have any ideas?

TIA

Jim

 

I bought the struts direct from the manufacturer Stabilus. They're a german company but had a local sales office (I'm in Detroit and they sell a lot to the american automakers). I can't find the receipt at the moment but I think I paid $45.00 each(but they do not have the Ferrari logo). They were very nice people and explained to me that since they usually sell these a few hundred thousand at a time my order would be low priority and it took 12 weeks to get them.

 

I bought some for my mondial and they work perfect....cheap too.

 

A few ideas.

1. They are in stock here: http://www.hill-engineering.co.uk/ferrari-miscellaneous.htm

2. I still have the old Stabillis 348 hood strut, so I took it to the Audi spare shop again and bought another one. Both ball joint ends including the shaft are chrome while the original are black. The body Cylinder is black. The make is "TRIDON" and the part number is 4B5 827 552D for the rear bonnet of the Audi A6 (C5) . It cost me another $33. Be warned that it is slightly fatter than OEM 348 and extra strong even with just one. If you change both, you might bend the bonnet trying to close it! Even with just one on the rear, I have to put a hand on the cover before I pull the level as it will spring up.

3. Also, the Sachs part number for the 355/348 engine lid and front hood struts is SG437007. rockauto.com has them at $26.79 each...plus $4.01 each for shipping.

One more idea: turn them upside down. Sometimes your existing hood struts will start working again if you flip them.

 

Balsingh:

The barrel diameter and the shaft extension distance are not the only parts of this equation.... The gas pressure inside can be of different values from one to the next. This can make a huge difference in the amount of force required to compress the strut.

The deck lid is lightweight aluminum. If you get a strut that has too much pressure inside, I see a large risk of bending the lid. This would be an expensive event.

Same thing goes about replacing only one side.... If one side is fully charged and the other is ten years old, and has lost 25-50% of its charge, then the lid is facing unequal resistance from one side to another.

Hill Engineering said in an email to me that their product is OEM for this application. I have no reason to disbelieve their statement.

These things are not expensive. I would not try to push my luck.

I have not bought the replacements out of the UK because I have no idea what my import duty/customs broker fees will be. Several phone calls to our government have produced nothing more than the typical government "I-don't-know-the-answer.....why don't you call someone-else-at-a-different-number."

Someone please restrain me before I suggest that we have another Boston Tea Party.

You are in the UK - you can get them now for a fair price. I'm in the US - I will wait until February and hope that they are available as advertised.

 

Balsingh:

The barrel diameter and the shaft extension distance are not the only parts of this equation.... The gas pressure inside can be of different values from one to the next. This can make a huge difference in the amount of force required to compress the strut.

The deck lid is lightweight aluminum. If you get a strut that has too much pressure inside, I see a large risk of bending the lid. This would be an expensive event.

Same thing goes about replacing only one side.... If one side is fully charged and the other is ten years old, and has lost 25-50% of its charge, then the lid is facing unequal resistance from one side to another.

Hill Engineering said in an email to me that their product is OEM for this application. I have no reason to disbelieve their statement.

These things are not expensive. I would not try to push my luck.

I have not bought the replacements out of the UK because I have no idea what my import duty/customs broker fees will be. Several phone calls to our government have produced nothing more than the typical government "I-don't-know-the-answer.....why don't you call someone-else-at-a-different-number."

Someone please restrain me before I suggest that we have another Boston Tea Party.

You are in the UK - you can get them now for a fair price. I'm in the US - I will wait until February and hope that they are available as advertised.

 

Balsingh:

The barrel diameter and the shaft extension distance are not the only parts of this equation.... The gas pressure inside can be of different values from one to the next. This can make a huge difference in the amount of force required to compress the strut.

The deck lid is lightweight aluminum. If you get a strut that has too much pressure inside, I see a large risk of bending the lid. This would be an expensive event.

Same thing goes about replacing only one side.... If one side is fully charged and the other is ten years old, and has lost 25-50% of its charge, then the lid is facing unequal resistance from one side to another.

Hill Engineering said in an email to me that their product is OEM for this application. I have no reason to disbelieve their statement.

These things are not expensive. I would not try to push my luck.

I have not bought the replacements out of the UK because I have no idea what my import duty/customs broker fees will be. Several phone calls to our government have produced nothing more than the typical government "I-don't-know-the-answer.....why don't you call someone-else-at-a-different-number."

Someone please restrain me before I suggest that we have another Boston Tea Party.

You are in the UK - you can get them now for a fair price. I'm in the US - I will wait until February and hope that they are available as advertised.

 

Jim, Hill Engineering parts can typically be purchased in the U.S. via Ricambi America (an Fchat sponsor).

 

Great advice No Doubt!