New Source for Clamshell & Bonnet Gas Struts
- Thread starter nota4re
- Start date
The Grey Ghost
GT Owner
Received mine today. Nice product.
Thanks for the quick service Kendall!
Perfect timing, rain forecasted most of the weekend.
Plan on spending the weekend in the garage doing my spring GT maintenance.
Thanks for the quick service Kendall!
Perfect timing, rain forecasted most of the weekend.
Plan on spending the weekend in the garage doing my spring GT maintenance.
2112
Blue/white 06'
Has Stabilus given any indication of the shelf life of their struts?
If we don't need to install now, should we keep them in the fridge?
.
If we don't need to install now, should we keep them in the fridge?
.
Shark01
GT Owner
GKW05GT
GT Owner
Has Stabilus given any indication of the shelf life of their struts?
If we don't need to install now, should we keep them in the fridge?
.
Well, I have researched and it is hard to get a definitive answer. I would think 5-years is a reasonable minimum expectation and potentially much longer if stored in a cool, dry area. Storing flat or even better, rod side down, will prolong the life. The reason that we took on this project is that more than once we ordered "brand new" clamshell struts. These arrived in sealed wax paper-like packages that clearly had oil from the struts. Putting them on, they were only marginally better than the struts we were replacing. It is our assumption that the replacement clamshell struts from Ford were ALL manufactured in 2005.
So, although rear clamshell struts are still available from Ford, our experience is that many, if not all, are very old stock and are much weaker than spec.
Gary
GT Owner
I'm confused (again). Order and paid for a rear set a while back. understand the issue with the ball knob issue. Surprised to receive a refund on CC. was more than happy to wait for final fix. Now see comments of the struts being shipped? Still want a rear set. What should i do? I was on your original list.
Johntpr
GT Owner
And if we want all 4 is it easier/cheaper for you Kendall to ship all 4 at once upon the rears ones being ready?
I just put my new front struts on. They fit OK and are not difficult to install, as Kendall wrote. I worked them cautiously up and down a few times to make sure all was OK, and it was. However, there are three additions I would make to the instructions: 1) if your original struts are weak, the frunk lid will fall on your head/arm/hand as soon as you release one end of the first strut (don't ask me how I learned that ...). After that, I put a rope through one of the corner brackets and tied it to something heavy in front of the car to prevent it from happening again. 2) At least on my car, I had to install the top of each strut first; when I put the bottom on first, there was not enough lateral clearance at the top to get that (larger) ball over the socket. 3) put a little grease in the socket before you snap the strut in place.
Otherwise, they are great, and well worth the investment. Many thanks to Kendall for doing what Ford didn't.
Otherwise, they are great, and well worth the investment. Many thanks to Kendall for doing what Ford didn't.
Rears are several weeks away. I didn't want to keep people waiting so we shipped fronts to everyone who ordered. Also, for us, it is just piece of mind not to have a debt - so we refunded everyone for the rears. We've kept a list. As soon as rears are available we will send an invoice to you electronically - no need to go back through the website.
Gary
GT Owner
sr71
GT Owner
Thanks, Vincent998, for the prop the trunk hint. Mine definitely would have fallen on me. Quite a difference...once I got one new one on, it would hold the lid up even when I took the second old one off!
The new ones pushed on easier and more positively with a plastic dead blow mallet.
The new ones pushed on easier and more positively with a plastic dead blow mallet.
sr71
GT Owner
2112
Blue/white 06'
Thought I would mention these are extremely nice pieces. I typically like the OEM stuff most but these are the nicest struts I have seen.
I guess I don't shop the cars that get them at the factory.
I guess I don't shop the cars that get them at the factory.
Shark01
GT Owner
Yes, thanks for asking. After an initial surge of orders, we'll get used to a normal sales cadence and also the cadence from the supplier. In doing so, we can always have a "fresh" batch available. Remember, the reason that we started down this path is because we had purchased too many "new" sets from Ford that were almost as weak out of the package as the struts we were replacing.
Both these and the rear struts that we will have soon are coming from Germany. As people have noted, the front gas struts are simple plug and play. The rear struts will require replacement of the lower ball stud to upgrade it from an 8mm ball to a 10mm ball which is the standard when it comes to these heavier duty gas struts. (The rear struts are almost 3X more PSI than the fronts and utilize larger 8mm shafts.) The lower ball stud is easily removed with a 13mm wrench or socket - adding maybe another minute or so to the installation process.