Tailgate struts often give up in the colder weather, there are many replacements about and having bought a set from ebay less than a year ago that had now failed i thought it was time to bite the bullet and buy some from volvo...
Having paid £18.00 for a pair i was staggered to find the volvo ones are £36.00.....EACH....
Dont forget to support the tailgate with a length of wood at all times...They are VERY heavy
Stage 1...Identify the bolts to undo...two holding the upper centre roof panel and one holding either side roof panels shown below...you will need a T25 Star bit to remove these bolts....
Stage 2....Remove the top panel diconnecting the wiring to the bootspace light ...
Stage 3....Pull the roof/side panels away from their fittings taking care not to damage the plastic retaining clips..i find it better to start by prising the panel away at the side window area first this will then release the metal fittings on the tailgate side of the panel.....it is clear from the picture below my strutts had blown, leaking the oil all over the insides of the trim....
Stage 4....With the trim removed the strutt can be seen, the strutt cup is secured to the chassis by a rather fiddly retaining clasp shown below....the clasps should be kept...
Stage 5....Undo the safety clasp at both ends and remove the srutt...you may need to wiggle the tailgate a little to free the strutt.....
Stage 6....Replace the old strutt with new ones, remembering to refit the clasps....
Stage 7....Refit the trim panels and reconnect the bootspace light...
cheers
jod