Willauflex

I am planning to replace my hood struts on my 2001 LS430 with 121K. I am tired of using a piece of wood to hold up the hood. I have noticed that there are many options available online. Has anyone replaced recently and which brand would you recommend? Thanks.

911LE

I've used the Strong Arm brand on several vehicles. They are low price, high quality, and come with all the required hardware.

Bocatrip

StanVanDam

A few weeks ago, I installed the StrongArm 6236 hood struts on my 2002. Bought them for $10.71 each on RockAuto - check the sponsor forum for a discount code. The 16 year old hood struts did not hold very well during the last 2 frigid Canadian winters (no problems in summer), so it was a safety issue for me. Very easy to swap out - prop the hood open with something strong and/or use a helper to hold the hood, the upper and lower bolts are the same size, either 10 or 12mm, and use the new bolts that come with the Strongarms, since the OEM bolts cannot be detached from the strut.

I packed the ball joints with grease before popping the ball in, because this was recommended by FIGS Engineering for installing the FIGS trunk struts, and it seemed like a good idea. Interesting to note that of the 4 washers across the 2 struts, 1 of my 4 was not like the others, and was significantly thicker. I placed this extra thick washer on the top (hood) side, as using the lower (body) side would have pushed the strut out too much horizontally. Must have been a glitch in Strongarm's quality control.

LS430Lexus

Just curious. While we are at it, how about the trunk struts? My trunk has FIGS trunk struts and they don't seem to pop up a half inch or so like the OEM struts. (No knock on FIGS, they generally make great stuff). Anyone have any better ideas or recommendations?

Willauflex

Thanks everyone. Ordered hood struts, Strong Arm 6236, from Rock Auto. Available for $9.32 each wholesale closeout (30 day warranty) or $10.70 each from regular inventory. Plus shipping. Ordered closeouts, before reading limited warranty info on Rock Auto website. (For an additional $1.48 each, it would be worth having manufacturer lifetime warranty. Next time.)

Willauflex

After installing the new hood struts, when the hood is down it rattles. There is play in the hood, when latched down. After driving down a bumpy road, the hood latch apparently popped up so that it was only held by the release, (like someone had pulled the internal latch release under the dash). There is no back pressure from the new struts, when they are in the down position. One of the struts I replaced provides some back pressure when fully compressed. Should there always be some pressure from the gas struts when the hood is down to take up any slack? I am planning to install the old strut to see if that takes up the slack. Any suggestions?

Willauflex

I spoke with Strong Arm customer service. There should be some back pressure. They are seeding me new struts that they will test first at no charge. I will return faulty struts.

balanced6

There are a couple rubber cylinders near the front of the hood that might need adjusting too. They screw in and out and rest on the rail by the radiator.

jherr

Willauflex

Thank you Balanced 6 in your post above.
I found the rubber nuts on the hood and was able to adjust the hood so the play was gone. What a simple and effective way to take up any play in the hood. The struts work fine now. Will call Strong Arm Monday and stop the return. Strong Arm customer service was responsive. They replied after I left a message and were willing to replace the product. Knowing those Details about the rubber nuts really helped out. Danke.

BCT

I replaced mine with Strong Arm about 1 month or so ago. I have not had them for long in the LS, but for my Land Cruiser both hood and rear door was replaced by Strong Arm about 2 or 3 years ago (maybe more I am not sure tbh) and they still working fine. They are lot cheaper than buying from dealer.