Scott1258

Please help!

I just bought a pair of these lift supports. I'm having trouble getting the ball joint to go in the socket. There is a little wire in there - do I need to take it out to get the ball joint to go into the socket? Or do I just need to get a hammer and wack it a couple of times?! How do I get this together?

Anyone that's installed these please let me know as I've got the old ones off and really need to get the new ones on. Thanks all!

Scott

Scott1258

I had emailed Lou and got a response back from him. Here's what he said:

The little wire is a lock, you need to remove it and reinstall it once you
put the unit together, and it just slides off. Do not remove the wire that
is inside of the joint, the ball will slide over it, just takes a little bit
of pressure to get it into there.

Thank You
Lou

I did this and was able to get them installed.

One problem though -- when I open the hatch about half way where the lifts would normally lift the hatch the rest of the way -- it doesn't. The only way to get the hatch all the way up is to push it with the new lifts. It's as if the new lifts don't have enough pressure inside of them to do the job. I have the factory spoiler so I don't know if this makes a difference.

I've email Lou back and we'll see what he has to say. Any of you here have this problem or did the hatch go all the way up after you opened it about half way? Let me know.

Scott1258

Lou sent me a brand new set to replace the first set he sent to me. He also included a prepaid return sticker for the 1st set. Great customer service!

The 2nd set is a little better at lifting the hatch than the 1st set. However, it does not shoot up like some others have experienced. You have to give it a nudge to go all the way up. Perhaps this is due to having the oem spoiler and the hatch is heavier. Regardless, for $75 these are a great deal compared to spending $500 on oem ones. Recommmended.

Benjamin T

iTrader: (2)

just checking to see if there are any more reviews for lou's struts? the oem ones on our 2000 rx are slowly losing pressure and i'm worried about the hatch becoming a guillotine

(i'm still in shock after my dealer quoted me nearly $500 for a new pair installed )

thomas1

well it is winter when they fail the most and lou's are working great, they have been on there almost a year.

salimshah

You are right thomas1 ... if the weather outside does not remind you it is winter, then a post in this thread surely will.


Salim

Viet_LeXus

had the same problem on my rx. havent had tym to exchange the struts but mayb in the summer of 08

HarrierAWD

Woot! Finally did it myself. Took some photo that may be helpful.

Warning: Even though I did this myself alone, I highly recommend that you find a buddy to support the hatch. Two friends are even better so they can take turn to lift the hatch for you. It is very heavy.

Also all parties involved should wear eye protection.

HarrierAWD

Here's Mr. Lou's lift support:

It is made in Turkey. I was expecting either OEM Japan or Chinese-made.

The top one is the OEM. My feeling is that the OEM's build quality is far superior. You can see for yourself.

The ball joint came as separate piece. I had trouble with installing the ball joint. I had to pry the clip away (up and then to the left, it's hard to explain in words.) Insert the ball joint all the way down (push it hard,) then put the clip back in. Be sure not to use too much force or the clip will bend out of the shape. Try pulling the ball joint apart to make sure it is absolutely secure.

Why this joint didn't come pre-installed is beyond me.

HarrierAWD

I used my bike rack for support. At first, it seemed like a clever idea. Later I regretted this. I still had to lift the hatch with one arm whilst trying to line up both lifts and to screw them in. During the process, one screw popped and was nowhere to be found. (This was why I recommend eye protection.) Both of my arms are very sore right now. I can hardly type.

Twisted the lift *hard* so that the screw plates align properly to face the mounting points. Matching them to the OEM lifts proved to be helpful.

Used my head (and bike helmet) to support the hatch, to screw it in, and to take a photo for your benefit. (Can I get a round of applause for my Herculean effort?)

About 45 minutes of hard labor, my effort finally paid off. Though I still have a loose screw somewhere in my garage (or inside the vehicle.) Possibly a loose screw in my head, too.

The new lifts are very strong. Make no noise. And they spring up from half way on their own. The temperature in my garage was about 50F, so the real test will be this weekend when it gets cold outside.

Feel free to reply or PM me if you need help with this.

thomas1

I used a 5 foot step ladder with a cardboard box on top. Did one side at a time so that all of the hatch weight was not on the box. Worked great, done in 15 minutes.

HarrierAWD

Thanks for the good tip (I don't have a ladder.) Hopefully I won't have to do this again.

The temperature was 39F today. The hatch went straight up on its own. Great! If there were a remote hatch release, the hatch would open itself up.

hermanrd

Can you tell where to order them?

hermanrd

Please tell me where to order them? Thanks

bob2200

It was on the bottom of page 3, www.liftsupportdepot.com . Mine are still working fine.