$10 engine lid opening fix, Involving a medium duty cabinet gas shock Options

[john77]

I have a homemade GT-style lid and the factory torsion bars were twisting the hell out of it so I needed an alternative to keep it open. I asked about alt options on here a couple of weeks back and one of replies (I forget who, sorry) involved a gas shock mounted below the relay board and that got my tiny brain whirring. So...

Here's my $10 alt to the factory torsion bars. Requires no modification of the engine bay/firewall as it mounts on the engine lid hinge and engine lid - you will need to drill a couple of holes in the bottom of the engine lid but that's it.

I searched for medium duty kitchen cabinet gas shocks on Amazon and ended up buying a pair of Apexstone 100N/22.5lb gas struts. They come in black or silver - I got the black and used a scotchbrite to take the shitty logo off.

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These are the two mounts that come with the shock:

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Clip these two mounts onto the shock. Hook the long mount over the hook on the engine hinge where the factory torsion bar used to be...

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... open the lid fully, swing the shock up so the top mount (round one) is positioned flat on the engine lid crossmember. Mark the placement temporarily with some tape and then remove the whole engine lid.

With the engine lid removed move the round mount about 5-10mm lower than the tape mark (this will ensure the gas shock is still slightly depressed when the lid is fully open and so will hold it in place. I learned this the hard way by drilling holes first and then had to remove and re drill... you're welcome (IMG:style_emoticons/default/headbang.gif) )

Drill holes. Bolt (or rivet) round mount to engine lid. Paint black if you want it to be slightly more stealth (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

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Reinstall engine lid. Clip free end of shock onto round mount - in order to do this you may have to compress it a bit with you hand, it's stiff but can be done. Anddddd, that's it. The tension of the shock insures the bottom mount stays hooked over the hook.

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Here's a video of it in action:

Gas shock fix

[Mark Henry]

I found one at Home Debit, a lot lighter at 9lbs (3.5kg), but it works just fine. It won't lift the lid, but the lid stays anywhere I put it, so I'm totally happy with it.
It's silver, I may paint it black later, but the colour doesn't really bug me.

I welded in my brackets, not because I think it's better but because the hardware was a bit different. Plus John did the work of figuring out that you need to mount the pivot a little inwards.

Thanks (IMG:style_emoticons/default/cheer.gif)

That's what I was wondering.....stock lid and with BlazeCut underneath it. Is that just one or two?

You said 22.5 lbs of force. My lid is off so I can measure its weight but I figure that there is some additional factor to consider for the position and angle of the strut besides just the weight alone.

Does anyone know the approximate weight of a GT lid? That would be a starting point.

Seeing as my shock is less than half the pounds of the 22lbs shock, I think you'll have no issues with just one shock.