Door struts

[Les Huckins <jhuckins@xxxx>]

I think the only thing easier than replacing door struts is putting in
gasoline. If you're really awkward, maybe 10 minutes. No mystique
other than holding the door open while you do it. I use a tip from
Darryl (see his write-up in the tech section for removing door panels),
one of those adjustable truck cargo bars from Harbor Freight. Open the
door and adjust the bar to keep it open. There's a little wire clip on
the spherical joint (each end) just push it sideways and remove it (if
you're not sure about this, practice it before you start the job, it's
just a safety, the strut won't jump off.) it's in a little hole in the
joint, lifts right out (new struts normally come with new wire clips, if
somehow your old clips are rusted or bent or destroyed, no problem).
Now, to get the strut off, pop each end with your fist or a soft head
hammer or most anything, you're going to discard it anyway. Reverse the
procedure with the new one. One caveat, replace the bottom end first,
if you do the top one first you won't be able to move the bottom strut
to the proper position to replace the clip. Other than that, you may
wish to add a little grease to the balls while you're there and you
should be able to remove the bar and hold the door in place by hand (if
not adjust the bar to the proper height) while you pop on the top end of
the strut. If putting in gasoline is harder than this, you probably
need to replace your gas cap (or your front struts).