Gas Hood Struts for you Festiva in 15 Minutes

I have mounted gas hood struts on all 3 of my Festivas.  
It is simple and easy and once you get the struts installed, you
will never have to reach for that hood support rod again.

Here is a link to a Video of how it works.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hM2zE...ature=youtu.be 

Here is a link to pictures 
https://picasaweb.google.com/1050521...eat=directlink



What you need:
Two gas struts 15 inches long uncompressed and 9 inches long compressed. 


I used 2 Stabilus Gas Charged Lift Supports Part# SG459031/38431 $17.10 each
(These are 40 pound force struts but 25 lbs or more will work fine.)
I installed 2 struts for safety and also to prevent binding on the hood hinges. 

Four Ball Stud bolts 10mm ball (3/8") M6 x 1.25 long. (Zinc) 
I used 4 AU Ball Stud Part # H93608Z/D-3608Z 2.90 each.
(I installed these initally but have replaced them with ones from Ford Explorers
from the junk yard.  They are better quality.) 


If you can find early 2000's Ford Explorer in a junk yard, get the Hood Support
Ball studs from it. They will be 6mm threads on the stud with a 10 mm ball (with short pin).
The short one will be found mounted horizontally inside the engine compartment and not on the top where the fender is bolted on. 
The studs are on F150's and other year Explorers also; they have 6mm threads but have long pins and are too long.  

To mount:
Remove the top hood hinge bolt and the middle fender bolt on each side.
Install one of the Ball studs where you removed the bolts (You may want to use a washer also
but it probably not absolutely necessary.)


Snap on the Lift supports (with the compression tube attached at the hood and the shaft attached at the fender).
Popular wisdom for this is that the oil will constantly be at the end where the shaft enters the tube and will be lubricated constantly and so
the supports will last longer.


Remove your old manual hood support rod (or leave it on if you wish).


That's all there is to it.


Wish I knew about this 25 years ago. These are now on all three of my Festivas.
Maybe a small luxury but I think the convenience is worth the price.