convertible Hatch strut
 

This item is no longer avlible from Mazda. Anybody did some adaptation from an autoparts strut?
Any exact replacement from another automaker?
The useed one ony last 1o 2 months..
Thanks

convertibles dont have hatches :)

^lol you know what he means!


If anyone knows of a replacement strut for the trunk I'd like to know. I could use a set. If I pull the trunk all the way up it will stay up but anything other than like 90% lifted up manually it will just fall back down. :(

Actually, I was thinking the same thing. No hatch in a vert. Lol.

But I get it now.

lol yea ... i need new struts for the TRUNK as well ... maybe discount auto

I was wondering this exact same thing the other week. I took some measurements of the stock ones and headed to Autozone.
The closest I found was Mighty Lift brand Model # 95218. It's about 1" shorter (Stock is ~16" middle of hole to middle of hole) but works great. It's strong enough I only needed one for the trunk.

The only issue I came across was removing the stock one from the hinge bracket attached to the lid. I had to drill out the big pin that holds it to the bracket and replaced the pin that comes with the new one with a bolt and nut.

Trunk I said sorry
 

I went to autozone too today they have one of the same size of cilinder ,but the diameter of the cilinder is smoller than stock so it will make less pressure than the original,they have another a little thiker in diameter that I thinl will be ok but the mounting points are diferent,
Is possible to weeld the botom part without any risk of explosion ?
The tip of the road I think will be no problem since is farther away from the gas cilinders any sugestions
thanks

Just use the one I listed. It has the proper mounts on each end. The only fabbing is connecting the new one to the old bracket.

I started looking at this on my own when I was at Advance Auto Parts on the last friday in September. It must be something in the air that has got everyone working on this.

I bought a Strong arm lift. I think it is a 2644 but I am not sure. The length is the same and so is the diameter. It also comes with 2 ball-head bolts that have the same threads and diameter. Grinding off the back of the pin on the bracket will be necessary then the bolt will need a nut to hold it on.

I was planning to take pictures for a write up but I have not yet got around to this because I am currently changing my power steering hose since it leaks and sprays and this car has a lot of self straightening steering (caster?) which could almost make it dangerous to drive.

I sourced a prototype adaptor for mounting aftermarket struts to Vert trunk lids and took to a local machine shop to have copies made. Cost me about $20 each. It mounts to the trunk lid underside allows a direct mount of aftermarket struts you can get at any Pep Boys, Autozone, etc.

You only need one since the aftermarket ones are so strong. Now when I pop the trunk the lid opens by itself. And that is with the extra weight of a trunk lid spoiler mounted to it now.

I could possibly get a break on the per unit cost on a group buy if enough guys/girls are interested. Anyone interested PM me as work doesn't allow me much time in this forum these days.

Attached are a couple pictures as well as a close up of the adaptor.

These are ONLY for the Vert.

I'm interested in what anyone finds for the 2nd Gen. I spent an afternoon going through the entire stock of the local Pep Boys trying to match up a direct replacement for my TII, and no luck.

There are aftermarket struts for the 1st Gen all day long.

^how many copies of that adaptor do you have? I'll buy 2 off you if you have em.

Didin't read the rest of thread:

If I recall correctly you can refill the stock struts with gas again for a fee... somewhere.

struts for trunk
 

There is a place called Strutwise. Here is the link.

http://www.strutwise.com/prod.php?id=23

They do not show the vert, but the site says they can refill old struts. Have not heard if they are any good or not. My struts are still OK, but getting weaker. If anyone has used them, please let us know.

Juiceh, got your Paypal. I'll have some made up right away.

I've yet to find a better answer to the trunk strut problem, especially if a spoiler is mounted to the trunk lid like I did to mine.

Anyone else want some, let me know (PM) right away as I'll be going to the machine shop to have Juiceh's made soon.

Rubyg?

I installed mine yesterday and it works great. It is funny when you pop the trunk from inside the car, the lid automatically opens. I took some pics but forgot to bring my camera to post them. The Strong Arm number I posted was wrong. I believe it is 4522 though. I have a picture of it I will post. The bracket does need to have a hole drilled in it so that the bolt from the support will fit through the hole, so grinding is not necessary since it can just be drilled.

The overall stroke does appear to be 1/2" to 1" shorter than the original lift. Only one also needs to be installed because it is so strong.

It is Arm Strong 4524! You can see for yourself in the picture. It was $20 at Advance Auto Parts and it is also made in the USA. All you need to do is drill a hole to put the 8mm ball-headed bolt through and an additional nut and washer(optional).

It is all really straight forword and all you need is a drill and 2 different wrenches.

The first picture compares the Arm Strong part to the original lift.
The second photo shows where you will need to drill the hole.
The third photo shows the hole after drilling, the old stud, and the new bolt.
The forth photo shows what it looks like after assembly.

I think this thread is archive worthy since it pretty much covers the 3 options to solve this problem and nothing was available on it before. Refill, modify, or buy a bracket.

Mind if I throw this on my wiki?

Sure, you can add it to your website. It is good to spread useful information like this. I remember when I first looked there was no info available. The dealer or mazdatrix had them but they were expensive. I recall someone posting that somebody had bought the last few lifts that were available and was trying to make money ofrf of them on ebay. I later saw someone talk about the place in Canada that would refill them but what I really wanted was something that was easy to do. Cheap is also a benefit. Even if you can't find Strong Arms available locally, they are available from internet suppliers.

Just bought one from Autozone- ~$20, will install mon when I am off work.

By the way- these are orig. from a 95-99 Nissan Maxima, if you spot any in the j-yard.

i found a scrab piece of wood i use to prop mine up ;)

greetings all

for those of you that have replaced the oem trunk lid supports (gas struts) with either the mighty lift or strong arm models listed above...

how are they working now?

the local parts store didn't have the maxima model (4524) but did have another model (4428) with approximately the same length (compressed and extended)

unfortunately it has a 100 lb lift strength, which is a bit much for these trunk lids, but perfect for the 80s buick regal they fit.

they also had the mighty lift model 95426 which is for a celica hood, i don't know what strength but the dimensions are close.

i can get strong arm model 4524, but it has 75 lbs of lift which is a lot too, especially if 2 are used.

would like to use 2 and considered using ONE of the old/tired ones, but that's not recommended.

a little POP up would be fine but i don't wanna twist the lid or throw it up too firmly either.

found another source, "lift supports depot.com" and they apparently have a NEWLY LISTED, direct replacement with 25 lbs of lift per support.

http://autopartsbylou.com/lift-suppo...=RX7&year=1988

it's not clear if these are the strong arm brand on one of the other brands they carry, but i might just order a set.

not sure if it comes with the ball/studs like the strong arm pictures above, but i've got 2 extra ball studs that fit.

although i really wanted to try these buick struts...

hey i love it when the good stuff is in the archives, including pictures of the bolt/bracket modification,

but this thread might be more useful if the title was changed to "convertible trunk lid struts/support replacements"

thanks, this is a great site

henry

Thanks
 

Thanks posters for recommending the strong arm 4524 to replace the stock lifts. I installed two of them today which I got from Rockauto.com for just 35 bucks! I was a little leery of installing just one since I didn't want the trunk to get twisted from only having pressure on one side.

I just drilled the old ones out of the brackets but needed to go to the hardware store to buy a couple nuts which weren't supplied with the new lifts. The end result is great! Once I pop the trunk it flies up with authority!

However I must warn that these lifts are indeed strong and with two you have to apply some muscle to get the trunk closed again...so if you are under 140 lbs I'd recommend against going this route. I don't think they are strong enough though to put the trunk out of alignment as the trunk lid still appears perfectly flush.