i have no idea what is causing his gaps. i originally purchased the nrg hood dampeners, they were fine for a few years, but the ball cups at the end of the rods started to rust. i could not find new replacement ball cups, so i purchased the sokie techs. after trying many different ways to install them, i still had the gap at the base of the hood. i was able to reuse the nrg hood brackets only, the ball cups are specific to the sokie tech shock. the ball studs are the same size.

 

I did have to bend the mounting brackets. They wouldn't sit flush unless they were cocked slight to the side. It's possible that little adjustment helped my install.

 

Just wanted to bump this up to see if anyone has had the same issues as me.

When I first received the dampers they were super stiff and I could not close the hood. I had to take them back off and break them in for quite some time. The next day I put them back on and they worked good. I know some of you had clearance issues on the base of the hood, my clearance issues are in the middle. The ball stud and cup are touching the hood in the middle and pushing it up. Has anyone else had this problem?

 

Just wanted to update for anyone else who might have the same issue.

The ebay seller was quick to respond back. Took a while to ship, but they sent over some new shorter ball screws. Everything is working good now.

 

We too have the Sokies, Been on the car for 3 years and still work Great.

 

What about the surface finish?
And durability issues?
Rust, flaking coatings?
Are the ball cups loose/wearing out prematurely?
Holding their gas, not decreasing pressure over time?

 

I have not had any issues besides the need for minor adjustment like I mentioned before. Sometimes the dampers are a little slow to lift the hood up but it may have to do with winter and oil viscosity, no big deal. So far so good.

 

Good info

 

So if we buy from them, we should be sure to ask for the shorter ball-head screws.

Thanks for the heads-up!

*finger hovering over "buy it now"*

 

Here is a good question:

Where does the hood rise to in comparison to the hoodprop?

 

^^ I can't give you a clear answer on that one but I'd say they are similar in height, maybe the dampers raise the hood a little higher.

 

I sent them an email. Here's our correspondence:

 

Very cool! I wonder if anything changed from previous versions, or if I just received a wrong bag of hardware.

I am glad he is now including the shorter ball screws, I know I was pretty bummed when I had my initial problems.

 

I know this is a somewhat old thread, but I just received my hood shocks from Sokie tech and have the same problem pito had. I've sent out an email to them to get a new set of shorter ball screws. Just figured it may be worth mentioning to any potential buyers, it can't hurt to shoot them a message to make sure you get the shorter ball screws when your order arrives.

 

To revive, I just put this brand on my FC and they fit just fine. After you lift the hood enough to get the shocks going (50%) they will lift the rest of the way. So far so good!