Hood Strut Replacement Part
06-28-12, 09:03 PM
#16
Bumping this because it is similar to the LS400 strut assembly and will help you guys save a few $ .
This part # is for the LS400 length so verify the length in the LS430 first.
'Mighty Lift' model number 95029.All you have to do is reuse the ball joints from the old hood supports by putting them into the new one. You'll have to grind or drill out the retaining ring to remove the ball joints.
I ground the mount down far enough to pull the retaining ring out with some long nose pliers. The ball joints come out easily and will be reused in the new strut assemblies.
BTW. These are very strong lifts...I only needed to use one and over time they weaken a bit. In my case, this took a couple years and now I have two installed. These are pretty strong lifts and it bowed my hood when closed about 1/4" in the center.
This is what you'll have to grind down to re-used the threaded ball joints.
I'll append additional pics for more detail.
This part # is for the LS400 length so verify the length in the LS430 first.
'Mighty Lift' model number 95029.All you have to do is reuse the ball joints from the old hood supports by putting them into the new one. You'll have to grind or drill out the retaining ring to remove the ball joints.
I ground the mount down far enough to pull the retaining ring out with some long nose pliers. The ball joints come out easily and will be reused in the new strut assemblies.
BTW. These are very strong lifts...I only needed to use one and over time they weaken a bit. In my case, this took a couple years and now I have two installed. These are pretty strong lifts and it bowed my hood when closed about 1/4" in the center.
This is what you'll have to grind down to re-used the threaded ball joints.
I'll append additional pics for more detail.
04-01-17, 09:08 AM
#17
Driver School Candidate
Just wanted to share my experience on this topic and I hope it is helpful. I've been struggling with the hood on my 2006 Lexus IS 250 RWD for a while and finally got the chance to replace the lift support. The local dealer quoted me something like $175. Since the Sewell Lexus website closing, I went on amazon and found these as a perfect fit - $35.99 with prime at the time of writing:
It took me about 10 minutes to replace. I used an adjustable length car wash brush to support the hood during the process. I used a flathead screwdriver to prop the old strut out of the ball connector on each end - there is a lock on the back of the head that you can easily see it pops out. The after market replacement fitted perfectly, right in!
It took me about 10 minutes to replace. I used an adjustable length car wash brush to support the hood during the process. I used a flathead screwdriver to prop the old strut out of the ball connector on each end - there is a lock on the back of the head that you can easily see it pops out. The after market replacement fitted perfectly, right in!
04-27-17, 06:19 PM
#18
Driver School Candidate
I've had pretty good luck with the Sachs (ZF) brand struts on our cars, they have been on Rock Auto for reasonable $$. They list Lexus part numbers as:
Hood: SG329043
Trunk: SG371007
Hood: SG329043
Trunk: SG371007
04-27-17, 07:42 PM
#19
Instructor
My FIGS Engineering trunk struts have outlasted my OEM trunk struts, 9 years and counting, versus less than 7. FIGS also makes hood struts, I imagine they of similar high quality to their trunk struts. You can get the hood struts at http://www.shopfigs.com/v3/by-vehicl.../cat-G3-LS-CAT
Last edited by StanVanDam; 03-30-18 at 02:21 PM. Reason: Updated 404'd FIGS URL
04-28-17, 11:54 AM
#21
Lexus Fanatic
I will try these next time, as I got the ball studs for the hood, with the Monroes. Too bad Stabilus doesn't make them for our cars, I just put a pair on the BMW and they were $17/ea shipped. The OEMs that came out were clearly marked Stabilus, but $62 ea discount. Why pay more than $20 if one doesn't have to....
07-02-17, 09:19 AM
#22
I can't get the ball studs off of the original lifts. I was able to remove the entire assembly from one side (at the wall with an open end wrench). What size ball stud do I need to find for the replacements? The replacements I bought have a clip so this won't be an issue in the future. 2003 LS430.
Thanks.
Thanks.
07-03-17, 05:58 AM
#23
Lexus Fanatic
I can't get the ball studs off of the original lifts. I was able to remove the entire assembly from one side (at the wall with an open end wrench). What size ball stud do I need to find for the replacements? The replacements I bought have a clip so this won't be an issue in the future. 2003 LS430.
Thanks.
Thanks.
01-11-18, 06:55 AM
#24
Thanks
Bumping this because it is similar to the LS400 strut assembly and will help you guys save a few $ .
This part # is for the LS400 length so verify the length in the LS430 first.
'Mighty Lift' model number 95029.All you have to do is reuse the ball joints from the old hood supports by putting them into the new one. You'll have to grind or drill out the retaining ring to remove the ball joints.
I ground the mount down far enough to pull the retaining ring out with some long nose pliers. The ball joints come out easily and will be reused in the new strut assemblies.
BTW. These are very strong lifts...I only needed to use one and over time they weaken a bit. In my case, this took a couple years and now I have two installed. These are pretty strong lifts and it bowed my hood when closed about 1/4" in the center.
This is what you'll have to grind down to re-used the threaded ball joints.
I'll append additional pics for more detail.
This part # is for the LS400 length so verify the length in the LS430 first.
'Mighty Lift' model number 95029.All you have to do is reuse the ball joints from the old hood supports by putting them into the new one. You'll have to grind or drill out the retaining ring to remove the ball joints.
I ground the mount down far enough to pull the retaining ring out with some long nose pliers. The ball joints come out easily and will be reused in the new strut assemblies.
BTW. These are very strong lifts...I only needed to use one and over time they weaken a bit. In my case, this took a couple years and now I have two installed. These are pretty strong lifts and it bowed my hood when closed about 1/4" in the center.
This is what you'll have to grind down to re-used the threaded ball joints.
I'll append additional pics for more detail.
05-17-18, 11:17 PM
#25
Instructor
Yesterday, I replaced my (made in japan) OEM Tokico DK1 hood struts with Strongarm 6236 UPC 845998010286 that I purchased on EBay from liftsupportsdepot.com.
The Tokico's do not have an exposed tension clip for easier removal of the stut from the mounted ball stud like the trunk struts by KYB. Instead you must position an open end 12mm wrench around the hex nut of the ball stud and loosen very carefully so you don't slip and scratch the painted surface. A little tricky but doable with patience and care.
Make sure you have the hood properly supported. I used an expanding painters rod made of aluminum. Put a soft bristle brush head on the end and buttressed that on the underside of the open hood and the other end on a metal support member near the hood latch.
The Strongarms come with seperate ball stud/joints that you first screw into the hood and inner-fender of the engine compartment. Make sure you screw these into position and then attach the struts to the mounted ball studs. Do not attach the ball studs to the shock first. They use a 7/16" wrench for the hex nut and not 11mm or 12mm as I first tried. Had to dig out the old SAE's.
These seem to perform well. Hood stays upright and closes properly unlike the trunk struts which are are a bad match for the OEM's.
The Tokico's do not have an exposed tension clip for easier removal of the stut from the mounted ball stud like the trunk struts by KYB. Instead you must position an open end 12mm wrench around the hex nut of the ball stud and loosen very carefully so you don't slip and scratch the painted surface. A little tricky but doable with patience and care.
Make sure you have the hood properly supported. I used an expanding painters rod made of aluminum. Put a soft bristle brush head on the end and buttressed that on the underside of the open hood and the other end on a metal support member near the hood latch.
The Strongarms come with seperate ball stud/joints that you first screw into the hood and inner-fender of the engine compartment. Make sure you screw these into position and then attach the struts to the mounted ball studs. Do not attach the ball studs to the shock first. They use a 7/16" wrench for the hex nut and not 11mm or 12mm as I first tried. Had to dig out the old SAE's.
These seem to perform well. Hood stays upright and closes properly unlike the trunk struts which are are a bad match for the OEM's.
Thanks grunner58 for the perfect instructions. I performed one additional step - adding grease inside the ball joints before snapping them in. When I snapped the first one in dry, I found there was metal-on-metal resistance and a moderate chance of squeaking, so I took it out and added grease. The Lexus and Toyota dealerships inject grease into the trunk lift ball joints during their "lubrication service" (oil change + lubricate locks/latches/hinges), and since these lifts are no different, I think grease should be added.
The Strongarm 6236 comes with 2 ball studs per lift, and 1 metal washer per ball stud. I ordered from RockAuto and 1 of the 4 washers was several times thicker than the other. I didn't have any substitute washers on hand, so I used this super thick washer on the hood/top ball joint - figured the extra protrusion is in the same direction as the movement so it shouldn't matter, whereas if I installed the thick washer on the lower ball joint, it would skew the lift sideways.
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430, gs350, gx470, hood, lexus, lift, ls, ls430, maintenance, partsavenue, replacement, sc400, strut, struts, support
