Hood Stuts

[GDG]

What is the best brand (and where do you find them) of hood struts to replace the worn out ones on my '94 LS400? Is this an easy repair?

Thanks,

Glenn

[1990LS400]

I have seen several posts from people who had problems related to aftermarket hood struts - such as aftermarket struts not allowing the hood to open fully; struts so stiff that the force required to close the hood caused damage including bending the hood. Some of the aftermarket struts require drilling/modification to reuse a portion of the original struts - you can find information about aftermarket struts by searching the forums. I looked into Mighty Lift struts last year at Autozone but they could not guarantee that they would would fit. Some have found OEM struts on ebay that fit properly.

I bought the last two sets of hood struts (90 LS, 00 LS) over the Internet from Sewell Lexus which has also been reported to do business on ebay. They are listed at $83.54 each for a 94 LS on this web page: http://www.lexus-parts.com/partlist.asp?Su...=113&ModelID=63

Sewell gave me a better price on hood struts for my 00 LS - maybe because I have been a repeat customer.

The two hood struts I bought from Sewell last fall took only about ten minutes to install on my 00 LS - very easy. Sure, they cost more than aftermarket struts but they fit perfectly and are quick and easy to install.

[Unclebob9]

OK the hood struts are really called Gas springs.

I found an EBAY seller: ohopbob@yahoo.com, who sell them for $5.65 Each.

You wnat 20" 100 PSI.

I actually bought a bunch from him for my motorhome (10 for $50 ioncluding shipping), and then on a whim I decided to try using some of the old ones from my motorhome on my 92 LS400.

This is how I made them work:

The ones on the lexus are held onto the ball ends by a clip inside the ball. These are designed not to be removed from the ball ends. So, I put them to the grinder until I was able to get ahold of the clip and pull it out. I then had the ball ends to put back on the Lexus.

The strut end that connects to the hood has a slight bend to it. So, I put the end of the strut in a vice and lightly pulled back on it until it was at the approximate angle of the ones that came off the Lexus. they then smapped right on and worked great.

since I did not know what I was doing, this took me about 1/2 hour. When I do it to my 91 LS400, it sould take no longer than 15 minutes.

Best of luck: Bob (91 & 92 LS400's)

What is the best brand (and where do you find them) of hood struts to replace the worn out ones on my '94 LS400? Is this an easy repair?

Thanks,

Glenn

[Alan D]

I bought some on Ebay for my 99 and a pair cost about $70 shipped. They fit perfectly and were easy to install.

Here's a link to an auction by the same place that I got mine from:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/PAIR-OEM-re...sspagenameZWDVW

[blake918]

What is the best brand (and where do you find them) of hood struts to replace the worn out ones on my '94 LS400?

I found some OEM Toyota struts from my car on ebay a few years ago. I think I paid $60-$70 for the pair. It was a great deal for them being real Toyota parts.

[VBdenny]

<http://www.cureline.net/lex/howtos/gfx/howto_hood_shocks_01.jpg>

First of all you need the right set of shocks. You can find them in AutoZone .

www.autozone.com

MIGHTY-LIFT LIFT - HATCH/HOOD/TRUNK

Unit Price: $15.99

Core Value*: $0.00

Part No.: C95029

Weight: 0.00 lbs.

Warranty: LLT

Availability: Online: Ships within 2 business days

Store: Not Available.

Check your local AutoZone since they might have it in stock (although their computer will tell you they they don't).

I put the hood shocks from Autozone on my car a couple of years ago and they work great. It takes a little doing to adapt them and they are about an inch shorter than they originals but they are cheap and my local Autozone had them in stock. I took pictures, let me see if I can figure out how to post them.