I was putting some things in my trunk, closed the lid and I heard a lound BANG!. I opened it back up thinking what the hell fell, and I saw a metal bar sticking out of the cardboard backing. I looked at it and I see how it goes up there, but are there any tricks to getting it to bend into place.. I tried doing it by hand but that is not easy.
I had to slip a bar over the end of mine to get it on. You are going to need all the leverage you can get.
I had to put mine on the highest setting to hold up my spoiler. keep your hands out of the way when putting them into place(it hurts). and it helps to have someone hold the trunk lid open.
get a friend u dont like very much to do it... just incase it flys off. lol i did mine a few times and its a pain in the ass because its so easy for it to fling off. think i used a piece of pipe and some vice grips.
ditto on the piece of pipe, thin conduit will work fine, if yoiu can wear leather gloves it will save most of the scratches but go in to it looking to have your hands crushed...
scuze me for not knowing what a tension bar is on trunk lid? can anyone tell me what that is...
If you open your trunk there will be two steel rods that cross behind the back seat. They are the springs that hold the trunk open.
I used a vice grip, a metal rod (to hold up the trunk) and the cell phone to call me dad to open the trunk. Oh and a whole lot of swear words!
But it was fun, first thing I fixed on the car!
Daniel
Yeah, that was my tool of choice when fixing it the lid on my car. I propose a new name for the tension bars. How about it bars?
"Almost there... *SPROING!!!* IT! ... Ow, my eye!"
:D
Apparently we're supposed to build a tool from metal cable, rubber hose as a cushion, and a small chunk of water pipe with a hole drilled in it. Set the bar up high against the back of the hinge support (easier angle to put it in the notches), pull the bent end into position with the tool, then while holding that, pry the rest of the bar down until everything snaps into place.
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I took mine out once to get a sub box up in there...like to never got them back in-MasterBlaster's tool woulda helped save the day...I think my hand still hurts from where the Dammit Bar smacked it.
I used a small jack handle, seemed to work, but I did cuss a blue streak.
Also, if you have a power trunk release, it's easy to get out, just pull the cable a bit till it opens, don't ask me how I had to discover this ;)
Thanks for all the info on this!!! I went out and tried it. Had both sides done within 5 minutes... or less. This has to be one of the easier things I've done. True, though much tension. Prior to reading this post I tried it by hand. I'm no weak guy, and there was no way to do it by hand. I can see how some were banged by those dambit bars.
As mentioned above, I utilized a small jack handle. A simple, hollow, 9" piece of metal tube used as a jack handle. Mine was in the lowest position. Standing from the rear of the car, with the trunk propped wide open, I slipped one of the ends of the jack handle onto the bent portion of that tension bar... I bent/propped it into place. I made it to the second setting really easily... if you need the third setting, God help you. This little bar would not have been very safe for the 3rd position. Luckily I adjusted both sides to the second setting and it held my aluminum spoiler with no problem.
Like mentioned above... be careful and go slow!
? If its in the third slot an still not holding truck led open what's a man to do then. Has any one tried mounting rams to help hold the trunk open. Please share
I converted mine to gas struts. This was taken before I detailed the fabbed brackets and cleaned the trunk.....
(http://i216.photobucket.com/albums/cc205/Vinnietbird/988787_10202779717960464_1316448972_n.jpg) (http://s216.photobucket.com/user/Vinnietbird/media/988787_10202779717960464_1316448972_n.jpg.html)
That's awesome what size strut u use cuz I think that will be in the one of my next projects is the trunk I hate having to use the ole broom stick lol
The struts are 24 inches long. The new ones, which are sitting over here on the bar are rated at 40 lbs each. I will see how well they work when I install them. I also have new brackets for them for the floor of the car. Knowing what i know now, I could replicate the whole ordeal from start to finish in about an hour. The struts in the car now are my mock up struts from some foreign SUV at the boneyard.
That sounds really simple thanks for the tips an did u remove the torsion arms Completely
I taped them in the middle with Gorilla tape, cut them half, and tossed those bars into the bin. No need for them anymore. Also, I have replaced both of my trunk hinges due to stripped threads. I used bolts in place of the "pins" that are the hinge pivots. The trunk lid seems more solid and less wiggly now.
? Can the struts be mounted to the outside of the trunk lid arms or is there no clearance just wondering thanks
You may be able to if you use much shorter arms...not really sure.. Mine are where they are to miss the frame rails below, and so they don't bolt into the shock towers as I'm not sure with my shocks there's really much room for fasteners up there (I use air shocks).
So really just trial an error on placement lol thanks for the help
Not really. I know the frame rails are just inboard of the shock towers, so that's no good, unless you want to use self tapping screws. I wanted it bolted in. I knew there was no room inside the shock towers for fasteners with my air shocks, and I didn't think the frame work behind the rear seat was strong enough, so, just a wee bit inboard of the frame rails. No issues, and doesn't hurt the cargo hauling and still looks good. I'll post pics of the new struts and mounts when I am able to get them on. Waiting fr a nice day.
Ok can't wait to see the progress as soon as I get mine running again I will have to look into fixing the trunk led
Hopefully I'll have mine on this weekend with pics to follow. Stay tuned.