I thought my loss of a little clip, about the size of a dime, would not be missed. Apparently (as usual) I was mistaken.

The part in question, which I need, is a hood (aka bonnet) strut retaining clip.

When I finally found the proper way to get the bonnet into the much-appreciated 'service' position, upon removal, this little sucker entered light speed, and is probably in my neighbors yard. Now, only one side has the clip.

Several bonnet raising/lowering scenes later, and my strut slips off its ball joint... down one end comes. Thankfully, no damage, and I was very close to the down position when it came loose.

So, can anyone help me find this little bugger? No individual part numbers in the diagrams...probably comes with the strut itself. I may have to call Ken to see if he can find one out in his yard.

 

these clips are pretty much industry standard on all cars,hoods,hatch lids,trunks.if you don't want to buy a new piston,pull a few of a junk car.take off the other side to make a good match.

 

industry standard, that's good to know!

 

You can probably find one in the HELP section of auto parts stores.

 

Matt,

I have junk cylinders in my shop from replacements, I'm sure. I can look to see what I have. It is the horseshoe type, or "C" type, correct?

 

c-type, correct. Very springy if you don't hang onto her when removing.

 

BTW - You don't need to remove those springs to remove the strut. Just pry the strut end off with the spring in place. That is why it is a spring.

 

Figures, I was doing it wrong in the first place! x 10

 

I have always wanted to know. How do you pry these struts off? And if you're going to put the hood in the full up position, should you pry off the hood end or the chassis end? Thanks.

 

I always pop off the strut on the bonnet end. Just twist slightly and pull, and it comes off of a ball joint.

 

I do have one:

 

I was just checking back on this thread, I went to the autoparts store, and looked down the aisle of the HELP stuff (didn't know what you meant by that until the guy referred to as such, and most of the items are marked HELP) <-- great marketing

Anyway, they didn't have anything of the sort, and the cheapest strut I could buy was $16, so I can scavenge the little clip. Any chance you could mail that little clip to me Steve? I don't even need the entire end, just that little c-retainer-thingy. I'll return a plant for you to care for.

PM coming your way with my mailing address.

 

Try a junk yard.

 

Hey Matt,

if you want go to this site http://www.mcmaster.com/#gas-springs/=7tsley

They have an assortment of replacement ends for a couple of bucks, just have to get the measurements on the ball socket and the thread of the shock end. They have a number of locations so there might be one local to you. I use them all the time for the machines I build. They carry just about everything under the sun and might have just the clips.

 

They just may have what you are looking for:

http://www.mcmaster.com/#gas-spring-accessories/=7tzboj

 

good link guys, if steve doesn't mail me his example, i'll have to measure my ball Those quick-release ones are pretty cool, if you get your hood up in the service position often, it might be a good upgrade.

 

Matt, did you ever have any luck with this? I know what you mean by "entered light speed". I made the same mistake as you, removing the clip. Then I read this thread and decided I should put the clips back on. One minute it was there, the next, off in some other dimension I guess.

If you had to order, I was just wondering if you figured out the part number from McMaster.

 

Strange you should ask, as a matter of fact, i went with a missing clip for eons...then I replaced the struts in a friends jeep over the weekend, and removed the clip from the old one, and stuck it on mine. Not a perfect match, but it keeps it from slipping off the ball. If you need a clip to put on there, let me know. I'll have another couple extra this weekend from more hatch struts I'm swapping on it.

 

Once I figured out that there were only 2 options on the page that applied and they were both less than $2, I ordered both of them. I'll let you know how it works out.

 

Wish I had a replacement for you Matt. To get them off just slip a small screwdriver behind the clip, from the top where you can see a slight gap, and pry a little. You don't need to take it completely off; be sure to put your finger over it in case it flys.