Gas struts on V90 tailgate

[derek vivian]

I am seeking advice how to tight the bolt/nut holding the strut to the body on my V90 (1997). There is a hole in the vertical bit of the body below where the strut bolt goes in to the, presumably, captive nut but a bit too far up for my longest finger. I have tried using a spanner, but it needs one that is bent. Does anyone know how to do this? I have been told the nut should have been captive, but mine has come away and now the tailgate will not remain up and I was also told it could not be spot welded to make it captive again. Any ideas please?

[mhuk]

i used a bike cone spanner to do mine up when it became lose. 940 here

[rwdkev]

Originally Posted by mhuk

i used a bike cone spanner to do mine up when it became lose. 940 here

I like your style as I sometimes use my bike tools on the car. But poor Derek's gone past the point of being able to tighten the hex on the threaded spigot.....

Hi Derek,

Originally Posted by derek vivian

....but mine has come away

I had exactly the same problem on my V90 earlier this year and had to scratch my head for a while!

Originally Posted by derek vivian

There is a hole in the vertical bit of the body below where the strut bolt goes in to the.....

Yes, there's a hole in the D-pillar inner panel

Originally Posted by derek vivian

.....presumably, captive nut

Yes, it's a square nut projection welded to the blind side of the inboard outer panel

Originally Posted by derek vivian

.....a bit too far up for my longest finger.

I had exactly the same problem. You have open out the hole in the upwards direction using a rat tail file or a mini grinder (eg. Dremel) so that you can get your finger further up. Don't forget to remove the sharp edges inside and out otherwise you'll cut your fingers on the resulting burrs!

Originally Posted by derek vivian

I have tried using a spanner, but it needs one that is bent.

That's the first thing I tried but it didn't work for me either, hence resorting to butchering the bodywork (only a small amount!).

I then used a piece of thin, soft steel wire bent into the shape of a shepherd's crook to place the nut up inside the D-pillar - the small bend (nearest the end) stops the nut falling-off too easily and the large bend stops the nut sliding down the long straight portion of the wire.

Originally Posted by derek vivian

Does anyone know how to do this?

Once the nut is up inside hanging on the end of this wire, then put your finger up after it and press the nut against the blind side of the inner panel where it was originally.

The tricky bit is then keeping the finger of one hand on the nut to stop it falling back down and using the other hand to withdraw the wire - the spigot cannot enter the inside if the nut until the wire is out.

I had several attempts at this as I was determined get the nut orientated in exactly its original position so that the profiles of the sheared weld pips all matched up perfectly (a bit like a broken bone!!). I was very lucky at this point as because of this, the nut actually bit in and became semi-captive while I was winding the spigot back in.

Don't forget to tighten it well.....!!

Originally Posted by derek vivian

I have been told the nut should have been captive.....

Yes, but when the spigot works loose from the tailgate going up and down for 20 years, it puts a twisting load on the weld pips - in theory they should not break if the weld is good - but obviously they do.....!!

Originally Posted by derek vivian

.....I was also told it could not be spot welded to make it captive again.

Yes, the nut is welded to the inner panel before that is then welded to the outer panel - it cannot be projection welded afterwards as obviously the is no access from the blind side.

If what I have suggested doesn't work then another option would be to drill-out the hole over-size to accept the OUTER profile of a hex nut which could then be MIG/TIG welded to the panel from the OUTSIDE.

It might not sound nice but once it's repainted and the spigot is back in place, nobody will ever notice!

Let us all know how you get on....!

[Laird Scooby]

Bit late to the party on this one and don't know the thread sizes so this is more or less a general pointer to another method that doesn't need welding.

Use a riv-nut much larger than the thread on the ball-end stud for the strut then fit one of these inside it with some Threadlock on the threads :

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Fitting-R...F/163696674102

With that one i've guessed the ball-end stud has an M6 thread to screw into the original captive nut, purely to illustrate the idea. Once the Threadlock has set, you should then be able to screw the ball-end stud into it.

Rivnuts :

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/RIVNUTS-S...D/401711980593

The Rivnut would replace the captive nut, the reducer gets the thread down to the right size.

[derek vivian]

Thanks guys for those helpful suggestions. How does the rimlocks work then? Are they applied stud side then twisting into hole? Noy a good description I know, but you may see what I mean.
I now have my work cut out for this weekend! Still, I had nothing else to do! Derek Vivian

[Laird Scooby]

Originally Posted by derek vivian

How does the rimlocks work then?

I'm guessing "rimlocks" was an autocorrect from "Rivnuts"? If so, you enlarge the hole so they just slide into the hole (tight sliding fit works best i've found) then officially you use the Rivnut setting tool to "set" the rivet part of the Rivnut, remoe the official tool and it's ready to use.

Unofficially, use the right size bolt and something to spread the load like a large washer (or sometimes you can use the actual item your fitting, wind the bolt in until tight and then keep tightening. This deforms the back half of the rivnut (the rivet part) in the same way a pop-rivet deforms and grips the metal. This YouTube video explains it in video form and thankfully there's no horrible music (until the end) or someone waffling for 20 minutes before you get 2 minutes of useful video!

https://youtu.be/I6H6wr7fJYo

I used them very successfully on my Jeep Cherokee when i had to repair the chassis where the steering box mounted - annoyingly i later found out Jeep would have repaired it FOC as it was subject to a recall for that exact fault!
I know others who have used them to mount LPG reducers and other parts, quite useful little animals!

[derek vivian]

I have now managed to fixed tightly the strut ball post and I managed to screw it into the nut using a washer and split washer to avoid it coming loose (I hope anyway!). I have a pair of new struts (Stabilus OEM) and wonder if you guys know how I fix the 'thin' end to the tailgate? They seems to have the ball fittings like the thick end that fits to the D post ball bolt. My existing struts can be unscrewed from the bracket fixed to the tailgate, but I have not been able to unscrew the new ones from the end bracket. Any ideas? Many thanks all round. Derek Vivian

[Laird Scooby]

Originally Posted by derek vivian

I have now managed to fixed tightly the strut ball post and I managed to screw it into the nut using a washer and split washer to avoid it coming loose (I hope anyway!). I have a pair of new struts (Stabilus OEM) and wonder if you guys know how I fix the 'thin' end to the tailgate? They seems to have the ball fittings like the thick end that fits to the D post ball bolt. My existing struts can be unscrewed from the bracket fixed to the tailgate, but I have not been able to unscrew the new ones from the end bracket. Any ideas? Many thanks all round. Derek Vivian

The new struts should simply push onto the ball-end Derek. There are two types of retaining clip used, one is like a sprung cuff round the end of the strut rod/socket for the ball, this is simply pushed into position and then a decent thump with the ball/palm of your hand secures it.
The other type is a wire pin that is curled round the end of the socket, there is usually a little loop on the end to facilitate pushing the sprung curve of wire round the socket out, then pull the pin. Then just push the socket onto the ball and refit the pin, turning it round the end of the socket to secure it.

If you can't release the previous struts and they have the sprung cuff, slide a narrow flat-bladed screwdriver under to ease the cuff away from the socket. Have a rag over it to catch it in case it pings off, if it does it can be slifd into place again as there are slots for it.

Hope that was what you were asking!

[derek vivian]

YIPEE!

I have done it. Many thanks for your collective help. It does go to show just how useful this Forum is for VOC members.
There is one other advice I seek. Is it necessary or just good practice to smear the strut arm with lubricant? These new struts I received today came in their own boxes, but no installation notes at all. I also looked in the owners manual, but no mention there. Perhaps the metal used for that part of the strut that slides into the other does not require lubricant of any kind. What do you think or know about this?

Derek

[Laird Scooby]

Originally Posted by derek vivian

Perhaps the metal used for that part of the strut that slides into the other does not require lubricant of any kind. What do you think or know about this?

Derek

No lubricant needed Derek as they're lubricated internally, providing of course they are fitted the correct way up.

Main body of the strut on the tailgate and inner piston rod to the D post. This way, when the tailgate is open and the struts are at full stretch, the inner end of the piston rod is at the bottom of the strut body where the lubricant is.
When shut, the inner end of the piston rod is once again at the lower end of the strut body so the end of the piston rod with the seals on is in the lubricant.

This stops the seals drying out and leaking.

Most of the struts are shaped/sized so they can only fit one way but some of the aftermarket ones have a slim enough body that they can be fitted the wrong way round.