We used to sell Strong Arm lift supports. Good quality, as we had very few come backs for warranty.
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We used to sell Strong Arm lift supports. Good quality, as we had very few come backs for warranty.
Sweet, Sean. I was just researching vendors for lifts. Thanks!
I seriously doubt they will last as long as the OEM units, but for the price difference, they are hard to beat.
Hey Sean,
So I got the lifts last Saturday and began the process. Couple o' things if you haven't looked and assuming they're assembled the same way as my 98 4Runner:
- The bottom bracket has a pin, plastic push-type grommet bushing w/ a flange at both ends, and a snap ring. So yes, those snap rings are a pain to get off without taking off the bracket itself. That's exactly what I did when I realized:
- You need a ladder to keep the hatch up. Or a wife with one arm propped up and a beer in the other hand waiting for you to finish the job :P (j/k) But I think yours is just a window. But perhaps the same effect that a single shock can't hold the weight of the window or hatch in your case can't hold the weight up.
The bottom bracket bushing in my case was about 60% destroyed. Called a few parts dealer with no luck. I ended up buying a flange polymer bushing from igus.com:
Energy Chain Systems® and polymer plain bearings Reference no. W16-5020-1955
Pos. Number Part no. Description Price/Unit Total
1 3 JFM-0608-08 iglide® J, flange bushing (metric) 1.30 USD 3.90 USD
2 3 JFM-0608-10 iglide® J, flange bushing (metric) 1.30 USD 3.90 USD
I'll let you know if it works or not.
On the other top half (piston end), there's a different shaped flange, same type of pin, snap ring, but a large wave washer. No plastic bushing. All parts appear to still be in good shape.
If you can remove the snap rings w/o removing the brackets, I'd say that's the way to go. But I tried for nearly a half hour before I said fuggit and unbolted the 4 loctite'd bolts and finished the rest inside my place. Good thing too because the first snap ring flew off but luckily it hit something that absorbed the impact and it was obvious where it landed. Had I done that street side, this thread would've been a rant!
Hey Sean,
So I got the lifts last Saturday and began the process. Couple o' things if you haven't looked and assuming they're assembled the same way as my 98 4Runner:
- The bottom bracket has a pin, plastic push-type grommet bushing w/ a flange at both ends, and a snap ring. So yes, those snap rings are a pain to get off without taking off the bracket itself. That's exactly what I did when I realized:
- You need a ladder to keep the hatch up. Or a wife with one arm propped up and a beer in the other hand waiting for you to finish the job :P (j/k) But I think yours is just a window. But perhaps the same effect that a single shock can't hold the weight of the window or hatch in your case can't hold the weight up.
The bottom bracket bushing in my case was about 60% destroyed. Called a few parts dealer with no luck. I ended up buying a flange polymer bushing from igus.com:
Energy Chain Systems® and polymer plain bearings Reference no. W16-5020-1955
Pos. Number Part no. Description Price/Unit Total
1 3 JFM-0608-08 iglide® J, flange bushing (metric) 1.30 USD 3.90 USD
2 3 JFM-0608-10 iglide® J, flange bushing (metric) 1.30 USD 3.90 USD
I'll let you know if it works or not.
On the other top half (piston end), there's a different shaped flange, same type of pin, snap ring, but a large wave washer. No plastic bushing. All parts appear to still be in good shape.
If you can remove the snap rings w/o removing the brackets, I'd say that's the way to go. But I tried for nearly a half hour before I said fuggit and unbolted the 4 loctite'd bolts and finished the rest inside my place. Good thing too because the first snap ring flew off but luckily it hit something that absorbed the impact and it was obvious where it landed. Had I done that street side, this thread would've been a rant!
Oh yea, do one side at a time for reference's sake.
Thanks! I will need to be replacing my 4Runner liftgate ones soon and my plastic bushings fell out years ago.
Started planning out my front end service. So far I'm still under 1k, but it is going to be expensive. I will be pulling it apart before I purchase so I can order just what I need. It will be at least a month until I can do that. (Why do I always pick the summer to do major repairs?)
Thanks for the lifty vendor Sean and for the dash cam quick review, and for the tips Bob.
Sean,
Got those lift shocks in. Man, I just got so used to pushing that lift gate up and now I have to watch out that my chin doesn't get whacked when the gate comes up by itself! Ok exaggerating a bit, but it's nice to have the gate come up all by itself.
Some more tips:
- For the 98 4Runner, the e-clips (they're not your traditional c-shaped snap rings) are 5mm
- Buy this tool. A little overkill for 4 clips, right? HA! Wait til you lose 3 out of 4 b/c you're too cheap to buy the right tool for the part! :D Not to mention, making a trip or two to get those metric 5mm e-clips. Tool:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...=ATVPDKIKX0DER
After trying it both ways, I recommend just unbolting both the brackets and removing those clips on a bench. Installing those clips while standing up and NOT using the right tool will all but guarantee a clip or two flying off. Ask me how I know. If you choose not to buy the tool, you'll have better success getting those clips on.
- Bolt the bottom one first, then the top. You can push the gate up even further so that the top bracket will neatly slide underneath and then you can bolt in. I did this by myself, no ladder.
Bob, which lifts did you end up getting? The website shows 2 compatible part numbers for a 98 4Runner...
Sean, this is what I bought:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Be careful getting those e-clips out.