Nigel Allen
05-20-2020, 11:51 PM
When I park my car on an upward slope, I found the doors kept swinging shut on my leg. This made entering and exiting the car look awkward, basically because it was. So I purchased some small 100n gas struts and fitted them to the hinge. Perfect! Now the door stays open when needed and as a bonus it now has a more solid feel, rather than flopping around.
128733
Not sure if someone has covered this before, but this is how I did mine:
At the hinge end of the strut: The male thread on the ball was 8mm. Drilling a 8mm hole in the hinge would have weakened it too much. (In my mind the hinges are already too thin). So instead I cut off the male thread off, then drilled the ball and tapped a female 5mm thread.
128734
The manufacturer of the gas struts offers a selection of mounting accessories. I used a right angle plate, with preftitted ball for the strut end fitted to the chassis.
128735
128736
Installation was simple. Probably the easiest job I have done on the car, took around 20 minutes per side. I did need a right angle drill to make the 5mm hole in the hinge. (Didn't feel like taking off the door) 100n was exactly the right amount of force from the strut. Once the door is opened more than ~1/8 of the way, the strut assists slightly, but smoothly. Now when the door is opened, it stays opened all the way, but that is no biggie, as the doors are small anyway.
128737
Close up pics sure show up imperfection and dirt!
Cheers, Nigel in South Oz.
128733
Not sure if someone has covered this before, but this is how I did mine:
At the hinge end of the strut: The male thread on the ball was 8mm. Drilling a 8mm hole in the hinge would have weakened it too much. (In my mind the hinges are already too thin). So instead I cut off the male thread off, then drilled the ball and tapped a female 5mm thread.
128734
The manufacturer of the gas struts offers a selection of mounting accessories. I used a right angle plate, with preftitted ball for the strut end fitted to the chassis.
128735
128736
Installation was simple. Probably the easiest job I have done on the car, took around 20 minutes per side. I did need a right angle drill to make the 5mm hole in the hinge. (Didn't feel like taking off the door) 100n was exactly the right amount of force from the strut. Once the door is opened more than ~1/8 of the way, the strut assists slightly, but smoothly. Now when the door is opened, it stays opened all the way, but that is no biggie, as the doors are small anyway.
128737
Close up pics sure show up imperfection and dirt!
Cheers, Nigel in South Oz.