Hood struts upside down?

[Guest Richard D]

I was buying some fuel today (my loan was approved) and the gentleman next to me said my hood struts were mounted upside down. He said he was a retired Buick mechanic and my struts have the cylinder section mounted to the fenders/cowl and the chrome ram mounted to the hood. That is the way I bought it and they have worked fine. He told me they will fail quickly if mounted this way. To me I do not think they will fit the other way. Anybody ever heard of this?:confused:

[Guest Kingsley]

I just installed new Delco (OE until my money runs out) struts just exacly as you describe and, to the extent that it means anything, that is the way they are shown in the GM Reatta parts book. I think you are correct.

My attention recently was called to the fact that you should take a good look at the exact position of the old struts, particularly the hood bracket tab to which they fasten, before you take them off and put the new ones on identically. To do otherwise can make you very unhappy as you head to the body shop for hood repair.

[Ronnie]

There was a thread on here not long ago debating this issue. I don't remember the verdict about how they should be installed. Doing a search might answer questions about the right way to install the struts.

[wws944]

I was buying some fuel today (my loan was approved) and the gentleman next to me said my hood struts were mounted upside down. He said he was a retired Buick mechanic and my struts have the cylinder section mounted to the fenders/cowl and the chrome ram mounted to the hood. That is the way I bought it and they have worked fine. He told me they will fail quickly if mounted this way. To me I do not think they will fit the other way. Anybody ever heard of this?:confused:

My Reatta has the original factory lifts in it. The hood has them mounted as you state - with the black housing next to the fender and the chrome rod attached to the hood.

He may have been thinking of the trunk lid. It is just the opposite - housing attached to the lid, and rod attached to the car body.

Edited January 29, 2010 by wws944 (see edit history)

[Guest mhuffy]

Both of mine are original and in the position where the black is on the bottom when opened. I have wondered about it, but when both were that way - i must assume they are correct.

[rjfranken]

The short of it is that the fluid is encouraged to run out in the upside down position: rod on top. Your replacement may have been somewhat universal. Suspension struts aren't mounted that way...

Bob

[johnemac]

You are supposed to invert them at the same intervals you rotate your tires.

[2seater]

The following is what I found on a gas spring/strut website. I originally thought that one of the reasons the rod would be down is to keep as grit or contamination from building up in the area where the rod enters the body. They are primarily a high pressure gas but apparently there must be a small amount of lubricant for the seal. In our particular application the strut is normally horizontal, and retracted, so I doubt that it makes a lot of difference. My car is in storage but I believe it is cylinder down and I am not certain if it will even fit the other way. I formerly worked in an industry that used lots of gas struts and we always mounted them rod down where packaging permitted it.

DO'S

• Do use standard gas springs rod down.

• If springs are to be stored prior to use, the spring should be stored rod down to lubricate the seal.

• Do try to use ball joints to help avoid side load forces.

If eye (clevises) are used ensure a sloppy fit to allow lateral movement.

• Do ensure that the end fittings are in line so that side load forces are not applied as a result of misalignment.

• Do try to use shorter springs close to the hinge rather than long stroke springs away from the hinge.

• Do provide physical stops to limit the spring’s extremes.

i.e. ensure that undue force is not applied to over compress or over extend the spring.

• Ensure the gas spring’s end fittings are fully screwed tight.

• Where ball joints are used ensure the ball stud is flush with the surface and tightened.

DON'Ts

• Do not scratch, dent, chip, bend or paint the rod.

• Do not puncture or incinerate. IGS provides a disposal service at minimal cost.

• Do not lubricate the gas spring.

• Do not cycle more than 15 times per minute.

• Under no circumstances attempt to regas a spring. This is an extremely hazardous

[Guest Richard D]

Thank You All, I am going to leave it as is. I am going to look for a Buick sales brochure and see if they show them in a picture. Plus the members who still have the originals show them cylinder down.. I don't think it makes a whole lot of difference.

Regards,

Richard.

[jonlabree]

Me thinks the gentlenan has pulleth you leg!

[DAVES89]

I concur w/Jon, I hope you don't have too bad a limp from your leg being pulled...

[Guest Kingsley]

Further - for whatever faith that you want to put in it, in addition to the GM parts list, the FSM shows them cylinder to the fender, rod to the hood.

[wws944]

FWIW, the original lifts were made by the "Gas Spring Company" of Colmar, Pa. Googling around a bit, it seems this was the U.S. beachhead for the Stabilus division of Sachs. Looks like they shut down Colmar and moved to N. Carolina, and Mexico, about 12 years ago.

[Guest Richard D]

I concur w/Jon, I hope you don't have too bad a limp from your leg being pulled...

That explains why my left shoulder is higher than my right;) He sure seemed the serious type. BTW he was driving a Lucerne, nice looking car up close.

[ThierryOs]

Hello everyone,

 

I am a mechanical engineer and I can confirm you that even if car manufacturers often mount gas struts cylinder down, it is incorrect. The proper way to mount a gas strut is always rod down. There are 2 main reasons to mount gas struts rod down : protection of the cylinder seal and smoothness of operation. At the end of the cylinder, there is a seal to prevent gas and oil from leaking. If your strut is mounted rod down (the correct way), gravity will pull the oil towards the seal, keeping it lubricated. If your strut is mounted cylinder down, gravity will pull the oil toward the end of the cylinder, therefore keeping the seal on top of it dry. A dry seal will eventually crack and cause a gas leak, therefore decreasing the efficiency and lifetime of the strut. Further more, if your strut is mounted cylinder down, the end of opening will not be damped by the oil, so the door will spring once opened instead of smoothly opening to the end position. Here is a link to a video explaining and showing these concepts in case you are still skeptical : 

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QRY53mvTTFM&t=2s

 

best regards.