VH Boot spring install

[Lewie]

Hey Guys,

Is there any easy way to install the springs for a VH boot. I damn near skewered myself (twice) removing them from an old VK today. I'd like to avoid that putting them in. Failing any easy options I'll investigate struts maybe.

Any ideas??

Cheers,
Lewie.

[vkberlina]

When I did mine I used a pair of vice grips (quality ones) and twisted them up, got 3/4 way through an extra turn and slipped ened up with a borken left hand 4th metacarpel impacted fracture.
I ened up putting them in standard turns and added coil springs to the hinge to help the with the weight of the spoiler

cheers
scott

[Tom_1569]

When I did mine I used a pair of vice grips (quality ones) and twisted them up, got 3/4 way through an extra turn and slipped ened up with a borken left hand 4th metacarpel impacted fracture.
I ened up putting them in standard turns and added coil springs to the hinge to help the with the weight of the spoiler

cheers
scott

I did the same, vice grips on them and twisted them. BUT I put my friend whos 5' 2" inside the boot with the worklight and closed the lid, caus there easier to get in when the boot is near shut, but if they snapped I imagine who would have been screaming.

As Scott said if you have a spoiler, adding coil springs is the only way to take the weight long term.

[Dayvo]

Make sure that you put them on the proper side as they are not interchangable . Also from memory you have to fit the left one first .

[Lewie]

Has anyone investigated putting struts in to replace the deadly springs. I don't like my chances of getting them in in one piece. Both the springs and I.

[Tom_1569]

Has anyone investigated putting struts in to replace the deadly springs. I don't like my chances of getting them in in one piece. Both the springs and I.

I looked into it, was going to copy the design off the VT which uses struts aswell.
I ended up finding the HDT Springs to solve mine (work with the original springs aswell though) but they are rare as hens teeth.

If your interested I have a set of VT Clubsport (heavier duty) Boot gas struts if your interested, as I wont be needing them now.

[vkwalks39]

Gday, just put gas struts in its easy and safe. My brother and I did it to his vk, And, then my brother broken his finger. it was the quickest trip to the hosy.

[Lewie]

Gday, just put gas struts in its easy and safe. My brother and I did it to his vk, And, then my brother broken his finger. it was the quickest trip to the hosy.

What struts did you use? Where did you mount them? Pics would be great. Did you get them off another car or buy them separatly?

[garvs]

i will be putting some ef falcon ones in my car eventually

the passenger side one snapped when i accidentally leaned on the arm when the boot lid was taken off lol

here is an exampe where another person put his on the drivers side


this is where i will be putting mine (as per another persons boot), tho only going to put it on this one side I broke (passenger side) and see how it goes, if it does not work then I will be trying to work out a way to fit a similar one on the other side

pic below

[Lewie]

I looked into it, was going to copy the design off the VT which uses struts aswell.
I ended up finding the HDT Springs to solve mine (work with the original springs aswell though) but they are rare as hens teeth.

If your interested I have a set of VT Clubsport (heavier duty) Boot gas struts if your interested, as I wont be needing them now.

Tom, if you still have them what do you want for them and how long are they extended (and compressed if known)

Ta.

[Lewie]

Garvs, The smaller of the two pictures seems to have the original springs still attached. Do you think the struts were installed to suplement the springs or replace them? I would have thought that you would be able to replace the springs completely with struts.

[garvs]

Garvs, The smaller of the two pictures seems to have the original springs still attached. Do you think the struts were installed to suplement the springs or replace them? I would have thought that you would be able to replace the springs completely with struts.

the guy used the strut to keep the boot open because of the brock rear spoiler he has on the boot lid, and because of the extra weight it would not stay open... so that's why the original springs / torsion bars are still there

[Tom_1569]

Tom, if you still have them what do you want for them and how long are they extended (and compressed if known)

Ta.

Sorry mate, I forgot about this. Ill find them tomorow and let you know.

[ari666]

this is where i will be putting mine (as per another persons boot)

very good idea mind if i copy you?

lol, well im going to anyway :P

[Lewie]

Hey Tom, any word on those struts??

[Tom_1569]

Hey Tom, any word on those struts??

Sorry mate, my memory is terrible, damn holidays lol.

Uncompressed they measure 340mm from centre of the mounting hole, to centre of the other mounting hole.

I havent got compressed yet, as they are brand new and very tight, Ill fit them to the VT tomorow and compress them that way and make sure there ok, and get you a measurement.

Sorry its taken so long.

[Tom_1569]

Sorry mate, my memory is terrible, damn holidays lol.

Uncompressed they measure 340mm from centre of the mounting hole, to centre of the other mounting hole.

I havent got compressed yet, as they are brand new and very tight, Ill fit them to the VT tomorow and compress them that way and make sure there ok, and get you a measurement.

Sorry its taken so long.

340mm uncompressed, 240mm compressed. Holds the VT boot with spoiler perfectly, and still easy enough to close. A VK boot weighs nothing near a VT boot so they should be more then adequate.
PM me if you want them, I only want what they cost me, which is $25, plus postage.

[Lewie]

GREAT SUCCESS!!!

After I recieved the gas struts from Tom (above posts) and a lot of putting it off and doing other stuff I finally got around to the install.

As in the above posts the struts I used were from a VT Clubsport (heavier duty to accomodate a spoiler also) than what I really needed but the result is exactly what I am after.

What you'll need if you are doing this as per me:

* Struts
* Drill
* Strut mounting pieces to suit. $3 ea from Sprint Auto (basically a ball with a thread in the end)
* Spring washers and nuts to suit
* 8mm drill bit.

This is what I did to put em in!

I wanted to make them as inconspicuous as possible so I spent a bit of time measuring and checking everything out so I could put them in and not have them rub on anything or cause me hassles down the track.

I found holes from the factory already in useable places on both boot arms. These holes aren't visable with the boot completely open so they were a great starting point (right size and all).

I attached the strut mounts into the holes attached the strut and did some more measuring. From here I found that they would fit prefectly up against the vertical panel above the wheel arch. I could drill my hole and reach down the side to thread the nut. Perfect!

I held the strut up against the panel and, with my technical boot holding open device - steel bar) i marked a hole to drill out.

Drilled hole, installed mount and tried it out. With the one strut fitted it was a lot easier to open but I wanted a little my symetry to my work so I did the exact same for the other side. Same place, same holes and everything worked! No issues with the wiring getting in the way or the boot light switch. Even the fuel tank plumbing wasn't in the way.

Finished product as per pics below. Previously I installed a push-button type boot release by a guide another JC member provided. So now, with my latest contribution, with the simple push of a button, my boot gently glides up and stays open. Also it's soft enouth that my 8yo daughter can close it without any issues at all. But not so soft that the wind can close it on my head.

All up after I figured out where they were going it want really quick. Check out the pics and if this works for you please feel free to send me a donation or I'll settle for the knowledge that I was able to help someone else out after the bloody boot springs snapped. Like mine.

Enjoy,

Lewie.

[Tom_1569]

Nice work Lewie, sounds like it works a treat.

How do the struts go fitted on an angle, seems like they would want to fit against themselves?

[Lewie]

Nice work Lewie, sounds like it works a treat.

How do the struts go fitted on an angle, seems like they would want to fit against themselves?

They worked fine! The mounts had a few mil extra between the ball and the threaded shaft so there was about 10-15 degrees of movement available. This allowed for a little extra pivot.

[Tom_1569]

They worked fine! The mounts had a few mil extra between the ball and the threaded shaft so there was about 10-15 degrees of movement available. This allowed for a little extra pivot.

Sweet, that makes sense.
Definitly worth it for anyone with worn springs, or a spoiler.