Re: [DML] door strut questions (up or down?)

["DMC Joe" <dmcjoe@xxxx>]

Factory procedures require that the struts be installed with the extending
rod facing down. This orientation allows dirt, water, and moisture to move
away from the piston seal.

DMC Joe
DeLorean Help dmchelp@xxxx

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----- Original Message -----
From: "Walter Coe" <Whalt@xxxx>
To: <dmcnews@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Tuesday, January 01, 2002 11:24 PM
Subject: [DML] door strut questions (up or down?)


> We just had a cool New Years Day DeLorean party at my place. Three (and
one
> half) DeLoreans were there. (woo-hoo!)
>
> Questions:
> What is the proper orientation of the door struts? Does the rod belong on
> the top or the bottom or does it matter?
>
> I looked at photos of Rob Grady's green DeLorean, and his has the rods
> pointing down. I suppose that if anyone knows then he would.
>
> My car has the rods pointing down too and are leaking oil. They have been
> leaking ever since I had the car (almost 2 years). I assume that if my
rods
> were pointing up, then the oil would stay in the bottom and not leak out.
> But then instead of leaking oil, I suppose they would loose their charge
> faster. Oil is thicker than the nitrogen charge, so if it is a choice
> between leaking one or the other then it would be better to leak the thick
> oil because it would drain a lot slower than the thin nitrogen.
>
> My struts are also probably over-charged. We took one off today to see
how
> far the door would open without the strut. It didn't. Instead it rested
on
> the latches. Since I hear that there should be about 4" gap between the
> bottom of the door and the door sill, then at least this tells me that my
> torsion bar isn't over-torqued. But with the strut in place, I have to
hold
> on to the door or else goes up with such force that it will bounce at the
> top of travel. I have already determined that I have 'cheap' struts that
do
> not slow down at the end of travel. Better struts have a dampening
> mechanism to stop this. Mine are Lift-o-mat brand. By the way, the
weather
> was cold -- definitely worthy of wearing a coat. In hot Florida weather
the
> door has a greater tendancy to pop open.
>
> The other two guys (Jim Sleeth & Randy Stribling)'s DeLoreans had their
> struts mounted 'upside down' compared to mine such that the rods were
> pointing up. Jim said that his struts are fairly new, but are not as
strong
> as they were when he first put them on. My theory is that his struts lost
> some of their charge due to leaking nitrogen instead of oil.
>
> Does anyone have an official answer?
>
> Walt Tampa, FL
>
>
>
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