encantotom
08-14-2011, 06:20 PM
Hi all,
most of you that have bay doors like mine know the gas struts eventually put enough pressure on their brackets to pull them off of the back of the bay doors. in 2007 when i bought mine, we were driving through oklahoma and stopped at the newell factory to have a little work done. i needed a couple of gas struts and they sold me 120 pound force struts to replace the 90pounds ones i had. in a few months, they had ripped the brackets right off the doors. so, i knew i had to eventually re-enforce the brackets (and get lower force struts). a few years ago i was able to buy a case of the right size gas struts for about a dollar apiece. (yea great deal and the source dried up). i got a case for another person on the site too who was glad to get them.
so i ordered some 6061 3"x12' bar stock 1/8" thick and i had the shop i bought it from to cut it into 4" long pieces.
then i measured where i wanted the plate to mount on the doors, made a jig you can see in the pictures to hold the plates while i marked and drilled them.
i used metal screws with lock washers and 5/16" heads to mount them.
since each door had the springs mounted the same, i could reproduce the same measurements on each door except for the engine bay doors.
then i would hold each door up with a 6foot level (cause it was all i had of the right length), take off the old brackets, clean the area up on the door, file or sand down the area on the door that had bumps where the old screws had been pulling out and then clean it real good.
then i marked with a pencil where the plate should be, pre-drilled pilot holes for the 6 main mounting screws.
to be sure, i used jbweld on the back of the plate and then screwed it to the bay door. then i predrilled the holes through the already drilled holes for the gas strut bracket itself and put it on. i got new brackets to use for this.
i let the jbweld cure overnite, put the new struts on and now i never have to worry about them pulling out again. and my head wont get hit with the door coming down....
tom
most of you that have bay doors like mine know the gas struts eventually put enough pressure on their brackets to pull them off of the back of the bay doors. in 2007 when i bought mine, we were driving through oklahoma and stopped at the newell factory to have a little work done. i needed a couple of gas struts and they sold me 120 pound force struts to replace the 90pounds ones i had. in a few months, they had ripped the brackets right off the doors. so, i knew i had to eventually re-enforce the brackets (and get lower force struts). a few years ago i was able to buy a case of the right size gas struts for about a dollar apiece. (yea great deal and the source dried up). i got a case for another person on the site too who was glad to get them.
so i ordered some 6061 3"x12' bar stock 1/8" thick and i had the shop i bought it from to cut it into 4" long pieces.
then i measured where i wanted the plate to mount on the doors, made a jig you can see in the pictures to hold the plates while i marked and drilled them.
i used metal screws with lock washers and 5/16" heads to mount them.
since each door had the springs mounted the same, i could reproduce the same measurements on each door except for the engine bay doors.
then i would hold each door up with a 6foot level (cause it was all i had of the right length), take off the old brackets, clean the area up on the door, file or sand down the area on the door that had bumps where the old screws had been pulling out and then clean it real good.
then i marked with a pencil where the plate should be, pre-drilled pilot holes for the 6 main mounting screws.
to be sure, i used jbweld on the back of the plate and then screwed it to the bay door. then i predrilled the holes through the already drilled holes for the gas strut bracket itself and put it on. i got new brackets to use for this.
i let the jbweld cure overnite, put the new struts on and now i never have to worry about them pulling out again. and my head wont get hit with the door coming down....
tom