Boot Struts!

[thom_jones]

Hi guys, gas struts on my celica are shot so need replacing...anyway gone out to do it this morning but I can’t get the old struts off! There’s a ball joint that I don’t seem able to detach it...see pictures below, help and advise more than welcome!

 

 

 

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[Scarlett Arrow]

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=celica+hatch+struts

[Cyker]

There's usually a metal spring-clip holding it in, and a groove where you can jam in a flat head screw driver. You should be able to jam the screw driver into the groove, twist it a bit to free the clip, then the ball joint should slide out quite easily.

Some other ones have a small screw somewhere instead that has a similar function, but the spring clip seems to be the most common fixing method.

 

[Hilltopcruiser]

Any feedback on how you got them off in the end?  

[Tomb3]

There is thread-lock on the ball where it threads into the boot lid if removing you will need to heat them first. They do vary but as said above normally there is a metal clip on the edge of the ball that holds it on but they vary as a lot of cars have had them changed. I had one that was seized so ended up with a hack saw cutting for quite some time


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[digitalscream]

I know this is a bit of a necro-bump, but...got my Celica last Saturday, and whaddya know...boot won't stay up. In total ignorance I bought a pair of struts, thinking it'd be an easy job...

The ball-end bolt simply refused to budge; I tried pretty much everything I could with the tools available. Spanners, mole-grips, rubber band for even more grip, kitchen blowtorch to melt the glue, even tried pushing the ring inside the ball down to release the catch...nothing.

In the end, I just bought a Sabrecut Dremel-alike (side-note: £32 for a cordless one, and it's fantastic) which arrived yesterday. A couple of minutes and the hard bit was done - just cut the ball off the bolt, blowtorch the remaining bolt to melt the glue a bit, and get the socket wrench on there to remove it. Probably had the whole thing finished in 15 minutes (which felt like two hours, because I was out there in the rain out of sheer !Removed!-mindedness).

Sometimes, the brutal approach is indeed the most effective.