Hood Prop - Tired Of Struts Failing

[1997XLTRollover]

My rear gate has me gun shy every time I open it, even though I repaired it. Anyone ever had the ball snap off and get popped in the head by the rear gate? It's much heavier than the hood let me tell you...

 

[J_C]

There is a thread on here about this , I remember that the member said a prop rod from a Chevy s10 somehow fit

Hmm, thanks. I did a forum search for S10 and didn't find anything.

I did a web image search and it looks like at least by year 2000, the S10 had a rod that was side-mount but an '87 (as pictured below) through at least mid-'90's has the top mount I was thinking of in the first place

It seems likely that era of vehicle is the best bet for a straight top-mount rod as newer tended to have the rod more integrated to the engine bays, though with a straight rod on top (after looking at mine again) I might have to bend it to fit but that might be the path of least resistance.

1987 Chevy S10

 

[Robman]

My rear gate has me gun shy every time I open it, even though I repaired it. Anyone ever had the ball snap off and get popped in the head by the rear gate? It's much heavier than the hood let me tell you...

One of my shocks, the mount hole elongated and slid off the mount..
Yep they're heavy that's for sure.

 

[lobo411]

I replaced my OEM hood supports at 150k mi with Monroe's from Amazon. $30 total and they still work fine after 4 yrs.

 

[aryork]

Hockey

I have a short hockey stick I keep in the back to hold the hood up. Just happened across this thread and am motivated to go to Amazon and try some new ones.

Intuition tells me it may be a bad design - the struts just look too short to get much leverage and the hood is heavy.

 

[koda2000]

I bought a set of these for my ST. Figured how can you go wrong for $16. The first set they sent be were too weak for the ST. I sent them a message and they expedited me a stronger set and told me to keep the first set, which I put on my Sport and they work fine. The new set they sent me for the ST are much stronger and work great. Great customer service.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Hood-Lift-S.../141637126575?ssPageName=ADME:X:RRNTB:US:1120

I find prop rods always seem to be in the way when you're trying to do something.

 

[delexploder]

Mine work well but I use an extendable handle from a garden tool , it was a cheap twist to lock or unlock weeding tool , I pulled the end off and its now the first thing I grab when I lift the hood on any thing without a prop rod,

 

[429CJ-3X2]

I bought a set of these for my ST. Figured how can you go wrong for $16. The first set they sent be were too weak for the ST. I sent them a message and they expedited me a stronger set and told me to keep the first set, which I put on my Sport and they work fine. The new set they sent me for the ST are much stronger and work great. Great customer service.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Hood-Lift-S.../141637126575?ssPageName=ADME:X:RRNTB:US:1120

I find prop rods always seem to be in the way when you're trying to do something.

I wish you had posted this earlier! I ordered 2 sets of these this afternoon - one set for my son's Mountaineer, and one for my '01 ST. The used ones I picked up at the salvage yard for the Mounty didn't work, although they were holding the hood open at the yard in colder weather than we had this weekend.

I have a piece of PVC and a 1x2 that happen to be about the right length for prop rods.

 

[koda2000]

I wish you had posted this earlier! I ordered 2 sets of these this afternoon - one set for my son's Mountaineer, and one for my '01 ST. The used ones I picked up at the salvage yard for the Mounty didn't work, although they were holding the hood open at the yard in colder weather than we had this weekend.

I have a piece of PVC and a 1x2 that happen to be about the right length for prop rods.

For some reason the ST's hood is quite a bit heavier than the regular Ex's. I forget the number of the first set they send me (126 maybe) and the replacements were something like 147. The compatibility table says they're the same, but they're not, The one's I have on the ST now will open the hood all by themselves once you open it about a foot. You almost have to watch out it doesn't hit you in the chin. I had been using a piece of rebar to hold the hood open before I replaced the struts. The original OE struts crushed my drop light. I need to order another set of the weaker struts for my '01 EB.

 

[toypaseo]

How about using clamps on the hood strut rod, like these for example...

http://www.amazon.com/Lisle-44870-G...8&qid=1456717874&sr=8-15&keywords=lisle+clamp

Image courtesy of http:/ /www.amazon.com

 

[koda2000]

How about using clamps on the hood strut rod, like these for example...

http://www.amazon.com/Lisle-44870-G...8&qid=1456717874&sr=8-15&keywords=lisle+clamp

Image courtesy of http:/ /www.amazon.com

Or just use your vise grips.

 

[jimmyznutz]

I have one of those lift support clamps that I acquired at the lube joint I worked at many years ago. It now resides in my engine bay for that exact purpose. 3 sets of hood struts failed and this is as reliable as it gets.

 

[96Green]

The hood struts were dead on my '96 Sport, and the previous owner put in a hood prop. ... badly, i might add. Sorry, no photos.

 

[429CJ-3X2]

I bought a set of these for my ST. Figured how can you go wrong for $16. The first set they sent be were too weak for the ST. I sent them a message and they expedited me a stronger set and told me to keep the first set, which I put on my Sport and they work fine. The new set they sent me for the ST are much stronger and work great. Great customer service.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Hood-Lift-S.../141637126575?ssPageName=ADME:X:RRNTB:US:1120

I find prop rods always seem to be in the way when you're trying to do something.

Mine came last week but I didn't get around to installing them until today. You are correct - they are too weak for the ST. They work in the Mountaineer, but seem barely adequate. I didn't have much of a chance to test them as my son came out to leave just as I popped the hood on his Mounty. I haven't contacted the seller yet. Fortunately, I don't really need them for the ST.

 

[koda2000]

Mine came last week but I didn't get around to installing them until today. You are correct - they are too weak for the ST. They work in the Mountaineer, but seem barely adequate. I didn't have much of a chance to test them as my son came out to leave just as I popped the hood on his Mounty. I haven't contacted the seller yet. Fortunately, I don't really need them for the ST.

The ones that are too weak have a part number of something like WS126. The ones that work great have a part number of something like WS148. Contact that seller and they'll send you the stronger ones at no charge and probably let you keep the weaker ones for your Mountaineer. The problem is that the vehicle compatibility table is wrong. They sent the replacements for free and had them in my hands w/in 2 days.

To anyone else reading this, be sure to get the stronger supports for an ST (or I imagine a newer style Sport). The weaker ones were actually worse than my worn-out originals. Put in a note to the seller when ordering. I'll verify the correct part number and let you know, but I'm almost positive it's WS148.

Edit: THE CORRECT PART NUMBER IS WGS-148.

It might be a good idea to order the WGS-148's for even your Mountaineer. Being a bit stronger couldn't hurt and they are the exact same physical size. The weaker ones seem to be working okay on my '97 Sport, who's OE's were totally shot.

 

[429CJ-3X2]

The hood struts I ordered were LSC-0147. I raised the hood on the Mounty this morning to confirm the #, and they didn't hold the hood up at all. They were as weak as the old worn out ones. I contacted the seller and they got back to me asking for info I already gave them in my 1st e-mail. Just sent that to them, so we'll see how they resolve it.

So for those reading this before you order hood struts, DO NOT ORDER LSC-0147 for your Explorer, Mountaineer, or Sport Trac. They will not hold your hood up.

 

[koda2000]

That's strange. Were the struts you received W.A.S. brand? The W.A.S. WGS-148's I got for my ST are almost a bit too strong.

 

[429CJ-3X2]

No, mine were LSC - 0147. The link you posted above is for the W.A.S. WGS 147 from the same seller. The cross reference at the bottom of both listings indicates they're the same. The seller is liftsupportcentral (LSC) so maybe the 2 parts are made by the same mfg, but the LSCs are labeled as their "store brand". Actually they're both probably store brands. They're based in Wisconsin, and W.A.S. = Wisconsin Auto Supply. When I worked for a battery wholesaler we had several different brand labels of our own that we put on the batteries depending on who the retailer was. Looks like the same thing here. Or maybe they're both store brands but made by different mfgs.

Too bad they don't show the pounds of pressure ratings on the struts. That would only help if the originals did too, I suppose. Last summer I bought new struts for the aftermarket lid on my '01, and I had to sort through listings to find the correct length and pressure ratings. The pressure ratings are listed on those struts. It was a bit of a pain to sort through a ton of listings, but I knew what I needed by looking on the struts and measuring both minimum and maximum lengths.

 

[429CJ-3X2]

Just got the following response from the seller!

"There must have been a problem with the pressure the manufactuer put into that batch.
I am shipping you 4 new supports today and I assure you that they will work great.
Thank you so much for letting me know about this problem and I am very sorry for this
Below is the tracking number for the supports I am shipping you that will work great!
Please let me know if you have any further questions"
Julie

 

[koda2000]

No, mine were LSC - 0147. The link you posted above is for the W.A.S. WGS 147 from the same seller. The cross reference at the bottom of both listings indicates they're the same. The seller is liftsupportcentral (LSC) so maybe the 2 parts are made by the same mfg, but the LSCs are labeled as their "store brand". Actually they're both probably store brands. They're based in Wisconsin, and W.A.S. = Wisconsin Auto Supply. When I worked for a battery wholesaler we had several different brand labels of our own that we put on the batteries depending on who the retailer was. Looks like the same thing here. Or maybe they're both store brands but made by different mfgs.

Too bad they don't show the pounds of pressure ratings on the struts. That would only help if the originals did too, I suppose. Last summer I bought new struts for the aftermarket lid on my '01, and I had to sort through listings to find the correct length and pressure ratings. The pressure ratings are listed on those struts. It was a bit of a pain to sort through a ton of listings, but I knew what I needed by looking on the struts and measuring both minimum and maximum lengths.

Well, I later warned the compatibility table was wrong for the ST. The W.A.S. WSG-148's were the ones they sent me the second time and they worked great. IDK how/if the part number relates to the strut's strength. Sorry it's not working out for you.

BTW, I had spoken the Julie also. She was super helpful.