How difficult is it to change hood shocks?

[Denis54]

My hood shocks and my rear lid shock are dead. How difficult is it to replace them? Is it covered in Wayne's 101 projects books? I cannot access the site right now.

Are the HD shocks worth the extra money?

[ken_xman]

HD shocks are for leck lid with wing.
To change .....lift lid slightly, while removing retention clip......very easy

[ckissick]

Based on my '70...

The rear one is easy, after partially removing the padding.

The front passenger side is a piece of cake. The driver's side is another story. Because of tight access, you can't really get a hand down there to insert the clevis pin. I used needle nose pliers and patience, and was able to get it on. But I must have looked like a bomb defuser in a movie, tongue sticking out, sweat rolling down.

Charlie
Montara, CA
1970 911E
1950 VW

[sdether]

Very easy.. mostly a matter of removing and reinstalling pin clips. Do not get OEM replacement shocks. I bought some and they won't keep my hood up. A local mechanic told me that they haven't made the OEMs in a long time so when you get them they've been sitting on shelves for years and are usually half dead. Get some after market replacement shocks

[DG624]

The rears are harder than the front. here is a method to this. If you have a stick to help hold the lid it is easier. You have to have the lid lifted just to the right height while you remove and replace the pin and then place the flat keeper clip all in dim light. Sounds like an olympic event. You must not drop any of these parts because they are very hard to find. Use only the strong guarenteed replacement shocks "Strasse" has them and I think Pelican. Remember which direction (before you remove) the pin is pointing so ou can replace it the same way otherwise it is too hard to put the keeper clip back on.

[scottb]

Originally posted by DG624
The rears are harder than the front.

You're kidding, right? The rear deck lid shock took about 5 minutes to replace, and that included the time necessary to find the right tools! The front one on the driver's side is a PITA. Someone once told me to attach a piece of string to the clip, so that in case you drop it it doesn't disappear into the bowels of the car.

If you have small hands it'll be easier.

[DG624]

I apparently have big hands. I was killing myself trying to get that little *&%%#$ clip on the pin. Once you do it you see the method. I have had trouble with what I thought should be easy stuff: replacing the door latch and inner door parts, fixing a tail light, or just replacing the oil filter without getting half of the oil on the car. I could go on but usually I try for a replacement without damaging more stuff.

[jthwan22]

That small chip will jump to never never land at least once. Long stick to releive the hood weight helps.

[Denis54]

Just by looking at it, I feel it should not be too difficult to remove the end attached to the rear lid.

How do you remove the other end? It is much farther in the engine bay and looks very difficult to get at.

[72doug2,2S]

You'll have an enormous sense of conquest once the front driver's side is on. When I was finished, I told my wife and she just shrugged her shoulders and walked back in the house.

Thank God for this board.

[BGCarrera32]

Yeah, there very DIY'able, but one of those things that shouldn't take as long as it does...

[Denis54]

Are these special shocks that need to be bought from a specialised shop like Pelican or can they be purchased locally?

[shrouded]

Replacing the shocks was actually the first DIY project I took on after I bought my SC. It wasn't a bad little project, although it could have been very annoying if I had dropped the pins. You should definetly make sure you have a pair or two of long needle-nose pliers, and a magnet-tipped reaching tool before you get started.

Our host carries the shocks; I would be surprised to find them locally.

[shrouded]

Another thought; the process for replacing these is covered well in the 101 Projects book Wayne put together. I would suggest that you order new shocks along with the book. Be careful, though; after you have the book you will get the DIY bug pretty bad. Before purchasing the book I had never even changed my oil. Shortly after replacing the shocks I used the book to upgrade my chain tensioners!

[mike valentine]

I have begun training a very small monkey to do jobs like the hood struts, working on the ventilation systems, and attaching the handbrake cables in the shifter tunnel. He is getting pretty good, although he lacks the patience required.

Loooong needle nose good. Magnetic pickup tool good. Hockey stick to prop up the hood good. Cold beverages critical. Unimpressed ex-wife no longer a factor. Shining, God-like superpowers upon completion of ridiculous little task = immortality.

[Randy Webb]

use a hemostat, not needle nose pliers. I would not trust you guys to do surgery on me if you are having problems with this....

You can put a thread thru the keeper if you don't trust yourself.

[alan911]

Dental floss on the clip. 2 reasons

1. You will not get it in right the fist, second, or third try and you will lose the clips in the abiss and will quickly run out of clips. You will have to buy more and pay $6 shipping for a .75 cent part.

2. When you have to change them again, (and you will), leave the floss on because the next time, all you have to do is pull on the floss and you pull the pin right out. String will rot. Dental floss is forever.

No magnets, needle nose, hemostadts, no inimpressed x-wives.

Mike's monkey would probably help though.

[DG624]

This is why I read this site. Do you use waxed or plain?

[alan911]

Waxed.

But totally your option as to Cinnamin or Peppermint.

[rickeolis]

Well, I used a set of vise-grips and mine went pretty smoothly a couple of weeks ago-

That's when I went from the stock tail to the Turbo-style, I still have to use a stick to prop it though!