EmpPenguin

The trunk on my '95 LS 400 closes very violently. When fully opened, just a little push of the trunk and it will slam shut. Obviously this is because the trunk is very heavy, but my concern is that I may inadvertently chop off fingers or decapitate babies' heads if I am not careful. First question: do all the LS400s' trunks close this way. Second: is there any way to make the trunk close more carefully?

Dawa

iTrader: (5)

you can install a damper/dampener somewhere (like you see on some hoods and rear hatches)

usoff89

iTrader: (2)

Because of my custom sub box I had to remove my rear bar for the trunk lid. I mad a couple brackets and mounted some hood struts to the deck and it works great. It will almost open itself too....

Sc0pe

iTrader: (1)

A wild guess, but check if there's any sound deadening behind those carpet panels. Sound deadening tends to reduce the rattle in the trunk if you have an aftermarket subwoofer system but in turn, weighs it down to a degree. On my 2.5LS, the trunk closes gently if it's in a "free fall" (basically, I tap the trunk) movement. It won't latch up though unless I put a bit of pressure on it. So if yours is closing violently, check if there's any weight on it.

Legender

Have you guys tried replacing the trunk struts? I have replaced them with ebay parts with very good results... I think you're struts are shot and don't allow the trunk to close correctly as it did when it was new.
er... I can't remember... maybe the 95 does not have the struts.... oops.

PureDrifter

iTrader: (10)

yeah sounds like shot trunk supports.

timmy0tool

iTrader: (7)

yep the trunk supports are gas shocks just like the hood. replace them.

LScowboyLS

yes, something is amiss, my trunk will not slam shut ever, yet, if I want to close it, I can do it with a single finger, perfectly balanced and everything is stock!

YoshiMan

+1 on the shocks. They are there, but hidden behind the trunk trim. My 95 does the same thing and they need to be replaced.

EmpPenguin

Thanks, guys. Remember that I inherited this car from my late father, so I am not the original owner. I will do a quick eBay search of "trunk shocks" or "trunk supports" to get started. I am indeed very concerned because sometimes when I change shoes at the golf course I support myself with my hand inside the trunk as I put on my golf shoes. I fear that a little carelessness or even some wind can cause amputation, which would be detrimental to my golf game.

EmpPenguin

OK, guys, I just bought the trunk supports for $78 and I look forward to replacing them. Has anyone replaced them and are they easy to replace? If not, I can just take them to a mechanic and pay him to do it.

LScowboyLS

I have done a ton of different lift supports, but never 95-97 LS400 rear, but all of the other ones I have ever done were like less than 5 minutes per side - crazy easy - hopefully yours will be too!

I would personally recommend wearing a headlamp, like this one that is great!

Legender

Should be pretty straight forward. And the new struts should come with instructions. One thing you might have to do, is swap out the support ball mounts on both the lid and the trunk frame. Usually it won't fit on the existing ones. Should just pop off a clip and slip the strut off the ball mount. Then possibly replace the ball mounts and press the new one in place and pop on the new clip.
If they are similar to other model years.

EmpPenguin

I just picked my car up from the shop and the new trunk supports work perfectly. However, the trunk supports I bought from eBay did not come with "clips." This is what the invoice read:

Note: trunk supports did not come with new clips.
Re-used old clip is on one side
other one is broken

OK, so the trunk appears to work perfectly well on one clip, but what will happen if the existing old clip breaks, too? Will the trunk slam like a guillotine again?

What should I enter on my next eBay search to find these new clips?