There are differences in philosphy in how the struts are manufactured. I recall a discussion that I had with Rob a few years ago where he noted that the ones he sells are admittedly a bit "softer" than some of the others, he felt that this was the way to go to avoid putting extra stress on the lower ball stud that's attached to the fiberglass. (I believe his contention was that his were correct and the other were overcharged, but that's another discussion). I've been using his for several years with no issue, 4-5 years seems to be about the lifespan. I still occasionally run into cars (the SC project car I'm working on comes to mind) that have the original 1981 date-code Lift-O-Mat (now Stabilus) struts in them. The doors on this particular car would rest at about half-mast, even with 23-year-old struts. I replaced them with used Grady struts that were about a year old (thanks Tony!) and did not have to adjust the torsion bar at all. So - if you stick with the same brand and don't screw with the doors in between strut replacement, you should be fine. Anything like this is a tradeoff, if you have softer struts you have to tighten up the torsion bar an extra notch, which can lead to other issues. If you run the harder struts, you are putting more force on the ball studs than they may be designed for. So I guess you pick your poison. Dave Swingle --- In dmcnews@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx, "sgskbm" <SGSKBM@xxxx> wrote: > It has become apparent that there is a significant difference between > the door struts that the vendors offer. It seems to me that no one > seems to have a clear preference on the trunk or engine cover > struts. I find it surprising that there is such a vast difference on > the door struts but the others are seemingly similar. > > That being said, it seems like PJ Grady's offering seems to have a > significantly higher amount of reports of the same symptoms that I > have experienced. Specifically, they do not seem to open the doors > all of the way. > > Since new, mine were weak and needed to be assisted but now they > won't even go up half way. I recognize that three years is a > lifetime and even though I probably opened them less than 75 times on > the driver side and 20 times on the passenger side they have reached > their intended life span. > > Given the confirmation of my findings it would appear that PJ Grady's > version would be best suited for someone with a tweaked torsion bar > or someone who wants the ultimate security of not damaging the door. > In my case, I now understand that there are differences and that it > might make sense to try a different vendor. > > PJ Grady offers wonderful parts, service and advice to the community > and this situation with the door struts is certainly no reflection on > his organization. It might be a good idea for him to look into his > offering and see if he could either change the spec or find a better > vendor. > > Thanks to all that posted as it really did help me decide and also > confirm my thoughts on my struts. > > Scot > 6452 To address comments privately to the moderating team, please address: moderators@xxxxxxxxxxx For more info on the list, tech articles, cars for sale see www.dmcnews.com To search the archives or view files, log in at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/dmcnews Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/dmcnews/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: dmcnews-unsubscribe@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/