Front hood struts replacement

[JayG]

Originally Posted by TRP

WHAT!? Oh wait... maybe sarcasm?

I ordered mine through one of the suppliers and swapped them out in 2 minutes. The video above is a good approach. I was mildly horrified with how he removed the clips. Maybe his clips were different than mine? My clips slide out towards the ends.

Do one side at a time.

On each end of the strut there is a metal clip which slides up (toward the 'end' of the ball) in a little groove. I put a small thin screwdriver under the edge and wiggled/slid that clip out toward the end of the ball. If you slide the clip too far it will slip off the ball. Not a huge deal, just keep an eye on where it lands.

You will need to move the little clips for both the old ones (that are on the car) and the new ones (that will be in your hand).

Once you slide the clips over a bit then you can pull the strut off of the ball. With one hand, hold up the bonnet / hood with the other pull the end off the ball. Top or bottom first then the other end. You can see how in the video he has to 'whack' the strut a bit. For the struts on my 2000, if you slide the clips off properly you don't need to do that. The struts just come off really easily. Once that's off... put the 'new one' on. This is where it's handy if you've already moved the clips on the new ones. Slip the ends over the ball end and then slide the cover / retainer clip back into the starting position. In the video above, the mechanic just pushes the new ones over the ball end without moving the clips. I don't know if there is anything wrong with that.

Do the other side. Now you're done.

If you go to the dealer for this... :troll:

Yea, what he said
Definitely a DIY. Don't waste your $$ at a dealer on hood struts