My trunk struts are dead (trunk won't stay open).

Has anyone here bought these trunk struts from Ebay?
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/TRUNK...spagenameZWDVW

Is that the cheapest option ($55)? Do pepboys or autozone sell them?

Can I just match up the length and diameter when shopping around for them, or is it possible that a strut with the same length or diameter has a different resistance. thanks in advance

Edit: Sorry, wrong section.

And I thought I had the only avatar which moved.

I bought them and they work great. Took 5 minutes to install.

I got those too. They were a little noisy for the first week or so but once they broke in they were just fine.

I got mine here and they're working fine.
http://www.autopartsbylou.com/

I just purchased a set from them for my 97'SC300. But from what i have shopped around for, they are the cheapest option. Mine costs $42 in the end... damn shipping and tax!

I bought some as well and took 5 min to install .. they work great

Never try to match up lift supports as they may appear the same on the outside the resistance may be off and possibly cause damage. When I sold parts years back I always had someone come in screaming that they bent their hood or snapped off their camper door and wanted reimbursement. Don't let the door hit you while you leave.

Found new struts for my 03 SC430 on Ebay for $55 delivered. Installed in minutes. Saved over $200 vs dealer. I owe it to this forum. Thanks all...

quick question for those who replaced the struts, was your trunk working the other way when putting the convertible top down? mine seems to work fine when putting the top down, it would hold the trunk up for the top to go into the trunk but when opening the trunk the normal way it would sometimes stay up and sometimes goes down slowly. thanks

When folding down your top and the trunk opens backwards, the car is using a motor to lift it.... when you use the trunk normally, there's no motor, just the struts we're talking about in this thread.... and they tend to wear out after a couple/three years or so, depending on frequency of use.

I want to add that now that I've had the ebay struts installed for months, there's quite a bit more resistance when opening the trunk compared to OEM struts.... so take Lee/Pearlpower's warning (above) to heart. I make sure I open the trunk from the middle to avoid any uneven force while lifting. They do close normally, however. This isn't a huge deal as long as you're careful.

intdiamond, thank you for the clarifications. i will get the struts and install them.

Looks like they are a great deal at about $40 for a pair. Do you have the specifics for the set you ordered? They come in various strengths from 20 to 120 pounds of force.

I just typed in the car make, model, & year, and got this p/n: 10745.