Replaced C4 rear hatch lift supports - Easy 1 hour job.

[TedC]

Hatch on my 1989 would only pop up an inch. Still had the original lift supports. Purchased "Tuff Support" lifts (#610069 right and #610065 left). Only tooling required for this 1 hour job was a small regular screwdriver and a 2x4 board to prop up the rear window. Changed one lift at a time, transferring over the foam bumpers from the old lifts. The lift ball joints were already greased with new mounting clips and the connectors for attaching the defogger wires.

 

[Baldie88]

Thanks for the information. I am sure the ones on my 88 are about ready to give out and now I know what to replace them with.

Ron
"Baldie88"

 

[boomdriver]

Thanks for the information. I am sure the ones on my 88 are about ready to give out and now I know what to replace them with.

Ron
"Baldie88"

Think about your hood lifts also...those little short lifts do a LOT of the work when raising the hood. Its so nice when new ones are installed...one finger to lift the hood up.

 

[TedC]

Think about your hood lifts also...those little short lifts do a LOT of the work when raising the hood. Its so nice when new ones are installed...one finger to lift the hood up.

Boomdriver,
I wonder if the hood lifts are different during the early C4 years. The Tuff Support catalog calls out two different lift parts for the hood, one of which can be ordered with or without a safety stop. I've seen those short lifts before, but they are not on my 1989, and I don't remember them being on my 1988. However, it looks like there are mount pins on each side around the air filter area. Two pins on each side show no signs of ever being used.

 

[djsroknrol]

Changing the hatch struts was the first things I did when I got my '84 back in October....It was one of the easiest jobs I've done on the car. Now, the hatch springs up without any effort. I also changed the hood struts at the same time. It made a world of difference in opening the hood as well.

 

[boomdriver]

Boomdriver,
I wonder if the hood lifts are different during the early C4 years. The Tuff Support catalog calls out two different lift parts for the hood, one of which can be ordered with or without a safety stop. I've seen those short lifts before, but they are not on my 1989, and I don't remember them being on my 1988. However, it looks like there are mount pins on each side around the air filter area. Two pins on each side show no signs of ever being used.

Ted,
thats a really good question...:confused
I've had 3 C4's and they all had the hood lift assist cylinders. Maybe it was an option?
I did have issues with one that kept loosing the cotter pin and the lift cyl would fall off...but safety wire fixed that.
As far as I know, all the C4s had the same lifts, same hood, same basic major structural parts on the front end with different bumper covers and light designs.

I once knew of a guy that was trying to engineer an electric lift to raise his hood with a switch in the cabin...don;t know if he ever succeeded or not but it was a fun idea.

 

[TedC]

I need to dig into this more, but it appears that GM changed the design in 1988. From 1984 to 1987 it looks like two short hood supports. Then in 1988 they changed over to one short lift and one long lift with a safety latch. It seems odd, but it appears they kept the mounting hardware in-place for the short hood supports. The 1989 FSM describes a hood assist rod (shows a picture on passenger side) and a hood support rod (driver side). When I open my hood, it needs to be manually lifted up, then the hood support rod engages the safety when fully opened. The Tuff Support web site seems to indicate that this newer design was used on all C4s, but that is not the case.

 

[Baldie88]

Question for TedC

Where did you get your supports, ordered on-line or a local auto parts store? While my hatch is still pretty good, all the discussion on the hood supports reminded me of how hard my hood is to open. I think those supports need to be replaced so it looks like I added something to my "to do" list. I do know that I have the one with the safety stop.

Thanks,

Ron
"Baldie88"

 

[TedC]

Sorry for the delay, was out of town visiting family. I ordered the hood support rod with safety latch (on driver's side) from lift support depot on ebay. Will replace this hood lift first, and if required I will order either one or two of the shorter hood lift supports. Based on the improvement with the new hatch lifts, I suspect one new hood lift may be sufficient. My objective is to have the ease of a one finger hood lift as Boomdriver described. After a little more reading it appears that GM switched over some time during the 1988 model year, so some early 1988's could have the original design that does not use the driver's side hood support rod. My 1988 which was manufactured in March of 1988 had the new design and was purchased used with only one lift. My 1989 which was also purchased used appears identical with only one lift, yet there are four mounting pins up front for those short lifts.

 

[WhalePirot]

Recommend installing them "upside down" to keep the internal seals wetted for longer service life.

 

[TedC]

Installed new hood lift support with safety latch, Stabilus SG130012. 10 minutes to rope up the hood and another 10 minutes to replace the lift. It now has a solid strong pop when opening the hood. Much easier to open the hood. Money well spent.

 

[TedC]

As stated above, I replaced the driver's side (long) hood support and it really improved the ease of raising the hood. Today, I added the short assist support lift Stabilus SG430011 on the passanger side. This assist lift is really short and was not on my car when purchased, but it is documented in the FSM. To install, I had to disconnect the long support lift first to provide sufficient distance between the pins to install. Lifting the hood is now a cinch. I would like to thank Boomdriver for this great suggestion.

 

[Baldie88]

Well after some delays I'm finally getting around to replacing my hood struts. Looked at it last night I have both the long strut with the safety catch on the driver's side and the short one on the passenger's side. Car is a late 88 model (May 31, 1988 build date). I'll be ordering both the struts mentioned by TedC.

Looks like a fairly easy job. Small strut is held on with a cotter pin and the larger one has some type of clip. If there is anything special I need to know, please respond. With my usual luck I can screw up even the simpliest things.

A tip of the hat to TedC for the information.

Ron
"Baldie88"

 

[TedC]

I did not have the short lift on mine, but decided to add it based on seeing it in the 1989 FSM. The FSM shows a washer on each end as well. Rope up the hood, remove the old long lift first, then the smaller one. Install the new smaller lift first. You need a little extra hood movement that is restricted if the longer lift is installed. For me, this is the year of shock/lift replacements. Rear window, hood and tire shocks all completed over the last two weeks. All great investments.

 

[Baldie88]

Fixed

I got both struts from Lift Support Depot yesterday and put them on. Had the wife help with hood so I didn't have to rope it up. It took me about 5 minutes to replace the large strut.

Had a heck of a time putting on the smaller strut. I couldn't get the cotter pin on. Finally got smart and compared the two struts and noticed the new one had smaller holes, duh. A little drilling and they went on fine.

I can't believe how easy the hood opens now. Really made a world of difference. Now it looks like the hatch struts are on my next to-do list.

Thanks again for everyone's help.

Ron
"Baldie88"

 

[Rome]

Can someone post a direct link to the short (passenger side) support for the '89 Corvette?

I have the long support on the driver's side only, and I'm guessing its well past its prime. My hood is a heavy sucker to lift! I found a replacement for the long support at this link: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1-Ho...ptZMotorsQ5fCarQ5fTruckQ5fPartsQ5fAccessories

No luck on the short support though.

 

[TedC]

Had a heck of a time putting on the smaller strut. I couldn't get the cotter pin on. Finally got smart and compared the two struts and noticed the new one had smaller holes, duh. A little drilling and they went on fine.

Odd, no drilling required to install on my 1989. Can you confirm the part you used was a Stabilus SG430011. Mine mounted on the inside of the mounting pin which does step up in size. Then I installed a smaller diameter washer and new cottor pin (cut the ends short). The longer lift works great by itself, but having both is awesome.

 

[TedC]

Can someone post a direct link to the short (passenger side) support for the '89 Corvette?

I have the long support on the driver's side only, and I'm guessing its well past its prime. My hood is a heavy sucker to lift! I found a replacement for the long support at this link: 1 Hood Lift Support OEM SG130012 Support Strut Prop Rod | eBay

No luck on the short support though.

The longer lift alone will make a big difference. If you want the shorter lift as well, I would contact the company above. Here is there company website. Lift Supports Systems | Hood | Window | Trunk | Hatch | Auto Parts By Lou . Based on what Ron experienced, I would want to verify you get the right part and avoid having to drill out the lift ends to fit.

 

[Baldie88]

Checking back through my notes I ordered SG430012 rather than SG430011. Guess the old eyes aren't want they use to be (and my memory!). :ugh That's probably why I had to drill out the holes. Looks like both are the same size, just the difference in the holes. Oh well, only took me a little longer and it was definitely worth it.

Ron
"Baldie88"