I bought the Strong Arm 4709 struts to replace the original struts holding up the rear glass panel. I removed all of the defroster gear from the original struts and hooked them up to the new ones. Once the new struts were in place I tried to bring down the glass panel, but it won't budge. I don't want to put too much force on the glass in fear of breaking it. Is there something wrong with my Strong Arm struts? Is there a seal inside of the strut that must be broken? Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thank You

 

Alright, so I went back into the garage and took one of the strong arm struts and pushed it into the ground. It depressed but it's still too strong for the glass I believe. Do I have to break it in? And how should I do that?

 

should be set from factory at proper pressure for the application

 

it's got to lift that heavy glass... the hatch is pretty thick, how much force are you having to put on it?

 

I'm having to use enough force to feel uncomfortable about it. While the struts are on the car I can't make them move. I know it sounds silly, but there is no way to tell how much force I'm putting on it. All I wanted to know if it is supposed to be stiff, or I needed to break it in. Tomorrow morning I'll take a look at it again.

 

is the glass or the struts twisting when you are trying to depress the hatch glass? should not require that much effort..

 

Hmmm, that's something to look for tomorrow.

 

Did you guys use the original ball joint or the one supplied with the strut?
I started to remove the original one but after I found out that the ball joint supplied fit I just used that one.

 

I cannot remember if my replacement struts are the same brand as yours or not but they are very stiff. It takes considerable force to close the hatch, but I am always carefull to push down in the center so there is no twisting of the hatch and I have never had a problem.

 

Try putting a hand over each of the attachment points for the strut, ie: left hand directly over left side strut and right over the right hand side this way you are directing all of the force directly into the strut and not the center of the glass. if the strut will still not colapse properly I would say that you might have an issue.

kenn

 

Update:
I pulled both struts off and only hooked up the left strut. Last night I spend about 30 minutes breaking in the left strut. The left strut holds up the glass hatch with ease and is easy to move just by it's self.
So it's the right strut that's giving me problems. I'm going to drive it into the ground for about 30 minutes to break it in, and see where that gets me.
Thanks for all the input guys. I really appreciate it.

 

I remember only using only one of those struts,as they were much more powerful than stock.
Two of them would have been too much.

 

I guess they were called "Strong Arm" for a reason.

 

I might up ending just using one. One of the U blades that came with the strong arm struts, the holes don't line up. So I either use just one, or I order a whole new strut. Unless they sell them separately, but I can't find it anywhere.

 

I made the hold for the U blade a bit wider and that fixed my problem. So now I have both struts on with defroster gear and everything. Next up brake booster replacement. >.<

 

No worries, they break in after a few cycles.

 

I had almost the exact same issue with my new glass struts. I ordered from the book at AutoZone. Here's the trick -- they're the wrong ones. I'll bet a lot of parts books list the wrong ones.

I went to the manufactures website, found the product datasheet and the struts I got were rated for something like 44 lbs each.

The manufacturer's application guide listed the correct part numbers, rated at something like 24 lbs each.

I had the same issue, it felt like I was going to break the damn glass. Once I got the right ones on, it feels "right".

I'll grab the right strong-arm number off my struts when I get home tonight and post them here.

--Jason

P.S. The trick is that the wrong ones are the correct length, but wrong rating and the mounting hardware is just a bit off, which is seems like you found. I'd personally be afraid to have a 44 lb lift on one side and a weak one on the other. That's a lot of uneven pressure on the glass.

 

Mine are 4709 -- assuming yours are not mislabeled, they'll be fine. Should have looked at it before posting the above, sorry.

 

can you post the link? i need to order some to and wanna make sure they are the right ones

 

4709 work just fine. There were a couple hick-ups along the way but they were easily fixed.
Touring I actually bought mine off of ebay.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/2-Rear-Hatch...item564185ea96
It's a long link forgive me. I would suggest taking the u blade off and shoving it into the ground to break it in if it's a little too stiff. This method solved my problem.

 

so even if i have a rear wiper these will be fine?

 

Remove the old rear wiper connector carefully and it will fit onto the 4709 lift supports.