I used aftermarket struts and drilled out the OEM ball stud as it's just riveted into the bracket and replaced it with the one that came with the strut. I believe the hood ball stud just unbolts (car not here)? Toyo parts guy could work this out for you if you need OEM

 

Could you provide more details on drilling out the OEM ball stud and replacing it with the one that came with your strut? Not sure what you mean by that. The StrongArm hood struts I got before didn't come with any ball studs or mounting hardware at all.

I'd prefer not to do any drilling or cutting of metal as I only have basic tools. I did already remove the hood struts from the car as that was fairly straightforward. But it just didn't seem easy to re-use the top ball stud and bottom bracket with ball stud, which are already attached to the hood struts.

I would also prefer to use non-OEM hood strut replacements as it's much cheaper and I think it will perform as well. But I would need to get replacement ball stud and replacement parts, and I'm not sure if part numbers **961-23010 (53440B) and 53481-AA010 (53481A, 53482) will work for my 2001 Japan-built camry.

 

Got mine at Advance Auto where I could actually see what I was buying. If your "basic tools" includes an electric drill then that's all you need. Pick a drill bit size just under the rivet size and drill the flared end off then use a punch to knock out the old ball. You may need to drill the hole a little larger to accept the ball bolt. I'll look at my Camry tonight to confirm what I did.

 

I got these recently for my J-VIN '01:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=230563313147&ru=http%3A%2F%2Fmotors.shop.ebay.com%3A80%2F__%3F_from%3DR40%26_trksid%3Dm39%26_nkw%3D230563313147%26_fvi%3D1&_rdc=1

They fit both the J vin and US model. No drilling and comes with all the brackets. 40 bucks for the PAIR (plus about $7 bucks shipping)

EDIT: Some photos of my old (original) ones after removal. All original hardware is still attached since the new ones came with all new hardware:

My original part numbers are the same as yours (I assume you made a typo in one of them):

Close-up of the ball stud end (note the blue loctite on the threads--it takes some elbow grease to get them removed, as you can see by the semi-stripped hex fitting:

Close-up of the other end:

 

Thanks cf99 for the pointer to that ebay listing. I see that listing is for StrongArm 4547 supports. Strangely, according to Amazon.com, these should only be compatible with certain Lexus ES300 model years (and only the StrongArm 4326 is compatible with 2001 Camry). But I guess both you and the ebay seller are confirming this should work fine in my 2001 Camry as well.

Did you also get the gold-colored ball studs shown in the picture of that ebay listing? Also, the way the bottom brackets are attached to those lift supports seems a little flimsy compared to how the brackets are attached to the OEM lift supports via a ball stud connection. I'm wondering how reliable that attachment will be.

And yes, I made a typo in my original post on the part numbers for my current OEM lift supports. They are 53450-33070 (left support) and 53440-33080 (right support), exactly like the ones in your pictures. (I'll correct my original post.) Strangely, these part numbers don't come up anywhere when doing an internet search on them.

 

Yes, it works just fine. It's stronger on the lift stroke, and also takes a little more effort to get it started in lowering it, than I remember from the original when it was new. The ball studs are included. Can't say for sure about the long term reliability, but it seems initially pretty solid. I had the same problem locating the original part numbers anywhere.

The 2 that you get will be identical (i.e. no separate left and right part) so you have to twist one of the shafts a half turn, which takes a bit of effort. You'll probably figure it all out when you get them, but if you have questions installing them, I'll do my best to answer them. If you're doing it by yourself, tie a rope through the hood latch loop on the hood and then tie the rope to a hook on the ceiling or over a beam or whatever you have handy, to keep the hood propped up while you change them out.

 

Just wanted to follow-up that I bought the StrongArm 4547 lift supports from the ebay seller mentioned by cf99. They came with the ball studs and installed fine in my Camry, although I did have to re-use the bolts from the original supports that hold down the bracket end since the ebay seller didn't include these. Overall though, it does seem to be a pretty good replacement. Thanks again cf99 for pointing me to these. Saved me at least $100 vs buying Toyota OEM supports.

 

Can you post a picture of the new hood lifts installed? Especially where they screw in.

I got inspired by this thread to install hood supports on my 99 US-built Camry, which originally did NOT come with them. I bought the same kit from fleaBay, but the way I installed it, my hood only closes half-way down, so I figured maybe I attached it to the wrong place?

 

They finally have the exact replacement for this.

When I had to do mine, I had to butcher the ball end.
I used a power metal saw to cut a slit and get the ring out so the ball can come out.

IIRC, I found the direction here somewhere.
It is not important now since they made the correct one now.

 

Hood Struts -- removing OEM parts

Just spoke with my favorite/best-friend mechanic; they have a "special" (forky-like) tool to pop off the old struts and make using new/replacement struts easy (my replacements have spring-clip for easy on-and-off connection to the existing ball).

So,,, rather than drill out the old mounting brackets (and ensuing headache finding new hardware) I will just visit my local mechanic and give him $20 for 10-minutes' use of his "forky" tool!

On edit, the guy did grind off the socket-head to protect the ball --- once he did that, all was a-okay! They wouldn't charge me for it, so I just tipped the technician,,, he's happy, I'm happy! (AND, the replacement struts only cost $30 FOR TWO, incl S&H at PartsGeek.com!)

-Don

 

My lift support ball stud broke I have a japan built Camry so the ball head is not easily removable, especially now that it broke in two

Looking on RockAuto, it looks like SACHS Part # SG329017 (There's also UltraPower listing with the same part # too) for the Lexus ES300 may be a perfect fit

The Strong Arm & UltraPower 4547 should fit as well but doesn't have the hardware/ball stud for the hood

SACHS list the SG129032 as the part for the Japan built Camry 00-01 though, which is in an outlying warehouse/not from the same parts as I'm ordering...thoughts?