Gas struts from Dave

[Brett Proctor]

About 2years ago I ordered new canopy lifting struts from Dave and the pressure in them was just about right for lifting the canopy up so I left them alone. Well those struts I guess had a leak in them because they no longer would hold the canopy open so I ordered new ones.

Well the new ones had way more than enough pressure in them. So much more that I couldn't even come close to closing the canopy.
Gas Strut manual shock springs REDUCE the presure to adjust

The instructions say to let a little bit of the pressure out at a time and check it. 1 hour later and I'm still not close to getting the canopy to close I figured there's got to be a better way.

Here's what I did. I weigh around 185 pounds and I released air in the strut untill my body weight would move the strut about an 1/8" to a 1/4". That put the pressure in the strut real close to being right. The pressure before this was so much that I couldn't budge the rod. Now the canopy opens by its self with no problems and closing is not an issue.
I had to get this right otherwise my wife wouldn't be able to open and close the canopy on her own. She might weigh 110 lbs and she has stated that she wants to drive the car when its done.

Maybe this will help others out there that still have the manual open canopy.

Later
Brett

 

[letterman7]

Good info, Brett. I wonder if the pressure threshold is around 200#'s to be just right for the canopy. Not to take business away from Dave, but do those struts have a manufacturers name and code number on them?

 

[Brett Proctor]

*thumbs up*
Let me know if you can read that. If not I can pull one to get a better view and number.
I'm just burned out from the day and didn't feel like pulling it right now.

 

[letterman7]

Yep. Just wanted to see what Dave was selling... imported wares from his contacts overseas, but at least folks can make an informed decision based on pricing now.

 

[CyCo]

You do know that you can get them regassed, right? I mean, they're just like the ones used to hold up the hatch on a hatchback I assume? Or the 'hood' of your car? I had to get the gas struts regassed on my V6 Camry about 4 years ago. Was cheaper than getting new gas struts, cost me about $70 from memory. That's here in Oz, your dollar would probably go further there in the US.

 

[Brett Proctor]

You do know that you can get them regassed, right?

I have no idea of anyone around here that does that. Anyway its to late for that since I've already bought a new set. I put them under water just to make sure there was no leaks, so these should last longer I hope.

Maybe next time I'll check into doing that.

 

[letterman7]

Actually, there are damn few places that do that in the US. Even with a brief Google search the only place I found was in Canada. Truthfully, it's probably cheaper to purchase new struts, that's why I asked Brett to post those photos. I'm certainly not advocating not purchasing from Dave as I want to see the company survive and profit, but his markup is pretty high on those cylinders.

 

[CyCo]

Hmm, ok. There's a guy who lives about 40 minutes north of me who regasses gas struts, but he doesn't work from home, he's a mobile service, so he comes to you. He mainly does work for industrial applications, and includes the gas strut regassing as part of his list of services.

A quick check on Google, there's a franchise here in Oz, though not the guy I used. Maybe a opportunity over there in the US?

Anyway, I return you to your scheduled posting.

 

[1/3RDOFF]

If I may interject; Just bought new rear hatch struts for the wife's 08 torrent, $27.00 each, about 14" long when closed.

 

[letterman7]

Yeah, that was kind of my point. Regardless of the struts from SSC being adjustable, I think that's a premium price to be paid. I just didn't want to say that out loud. I like Dave immensely... I think some of his pricing needs adjusted.