My trunk struts (manual not electric) seem to be going bad. They don’t raise the hatch all the way up. Rather they stop halfway, requiring me to help it get up to fully open position. The struts have enough strength to hold it up with no problem, just getting fully open is the issue. What part numbers would I need for the two struts and do I need to replace the mounting brackets as well because the actual strut itself looks stuck in the bracket. My vehicle is a 2008 Highlander base.
I bought a pair of Sachs glass and hatch struts from Rock Auto just over 3 years ago and they've been holding up well. You shouldn't have to replace the entire brackets, but just pop the clips out like this.
There was a change in the design for the strut. The cars from 2008-2009 have struts thare are NOT removeable without cutting. Struts from 2010 have the newer design that can be easily removed.
I have never seen in the 50 years I have done work on my cars and trucks where there is only one solution to a repair. If in the future I wind up needing to replace the struts on ours, I'll give it a go on what I originally suggested, take a video and post it on this thread.
The reality is you do have to cut them off. Had to do it on my 2002 Highlander and 2008 RX350, but not on my 2014 RX as it was a NA-made model. Models made in Japan do not have the quick release clips. That’s why 2010+ Highlanders have the easy clips, most of them are not MFR in Japan anymore.
This kind of triangle cut into the strut yielded the quickest and most effective results for me. Unless there’s a pick out there that is small yet strong enough to get that little ring out
If you want to save money. Try this first. Wipe the metal shaft with a rag. Then get some motor oil and spread on the metal shaft. Get it nice and greasy. Move the hatch up and down to get it
spread out. See if there is an improvement. May have to reapply oil/silicon once a year.
Been doing this for 21 years, on my old 2001 Honda Odyssey van hatch.
Got this tip, many, many, many, years ago from a Poster, on the Odyssey forum site.
Give it a try, what do you have to lose. So simple...
The new ones have little retaining clips that can be easily be pressed on by hand onto the factory brackets, or popped off with a flat blade screwdriver. There should be a little ridge in the middle for you to slip the flatblade under which will lift the clip.
Thanks for the help. Any idea why 2010-13 year Highlander lift gate struts say they won‘t work with 2008-2009? I would think they should work unless Toyota decided to change the brackets mounting points for some odd reason. Also, I’m still having difficulty trying to verify that the OEM version struts for my 08 Highlander actually are modified to have a pin for easy install.
I think they should fit fine. I have Nissan Pathfinder ones on my Highlander because I couldn’t find any good ones on Rockauto. As for the brackets, maybe with your VIN I can find the correct ones from Toyota. They’re only a few bucks a piece. The confusing part is that they also have the back door glass strut brackets listed there too which are obviously a different design.
If the new struts don't come with the brackets, and are the same length as the originals, I would use a dremel to carefully cut the old struts off the brackets and reuse the brackets.
I bought struts that come with the brackets already pressed on. Anyone know the torque spec for the bolts connecting them to the body? Or is snug tight enough.
Torque specs are based on the diameter and grade of the bolt, assuming they are threaded into something stronger than aluminum, which these are. Figure out the diameter (M4, M5, etc) and Google it, assuming the lowest grade shown. I personally would just snug them up, but that's based on experience. One person's snug is another's too loose or thread stripping for another.
Alright, just finished the job. Pretty simple. The replacement part that I bought has the mounts already on them. All I needed to do was unbolt the original strut brackets and install the new struts. The only catch was that the lift gate is actually surprisingly heavy so you’d need two people or rig up something to hold it up while your working on it.
Now I can enjoy an easy to open lift gate even with the cold weather.
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