Hood strut kits...anyone get these?

[Teahead]

Chevy / GMC Gen1 ('82-93) Billet Hood Strut Kit - Motocam360.com

MotoCam 360 Inc. is a manufacturer of aftermarket mobile electronic products for a variety of industries including powersports, law enforcement, aviation, commercial vehicle, and everything in between. We design, manufacture and sell products including helmet cameras, in-car video systems, power...

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[Jay92Ty]

Have them on both my trucks. Highly recommended if you ask me.

 

[MotoCam360]

Have them on both my trucks. Highly recommended if you ask me.

Thanks for the recommendation!

 

[MotoCam360]

Yeah we've sold a few of these over the years

 

[Teahead]

Looks good, but I'm thoroughly confused by the instructions:

1. Mentions washers for the bolts for the hood. Kit came with none and even if they did, are they really small to fit in the slot?

2. No mention of removing the retaining clip to install the strut in the round ball.

3. No mention of removing the wiper pan to get measurements to the lower bracket, except on the next page as an alternate way of measuring.

Why must I remove the wiper pan at all? The picture shows measuring from the cowl, which is already exposed.



I'm perplexed and can't move forward. Not going to drill holes in the wrong place.

 

[Teahead]

Pic with wiper pan in place.

Instructions say to measure from the edge of the cowl, right?

 

[Teahead]

Don't understand the Alternate Install Method

 

[gmemony2]

Fyi, I used a nut and bolt rather than the screw right into the sheet metal.

 

[Teahead]

Fyi, I used a nut and bolt rather than the screw right into the sheet metal.

do you remember removing the wiper pan to do the measurement?

 

[MotoCam360]

Looks good, but I'm thoroughly confused by the instructions:

1. Mentions washers for the bolts for the hood. Kit came with none and even if they did, are they really small to fit in the slot?

2. No mention of removing the retaining clip to install the strut in the round ball.

3. No mention of removing the wiper pan to get measurements to the lower bracket, except on the next page as an alternate way of measuring.

4. Why must I remove the wiper pan at all? The picture shows measuring from the cowl, which is already exposed.



I'm perplexed and can't move forward. Not going to drill holes in the wrong place.

1) No washers included or needed for the install.
2)This illustration taken from the instructions clearly shows the retainer clip removed from the strut fitting. Do you see it?

3) No need to remove wiper cowl. Use the supplied measurements to locate fender brackets
4) No need to remove wiper cowl

 

[Teahead]

Thanks.

RE: 2...

The clips were already installed. So it should mention to remove them prior to fitting on the ball, then put them back on once fitted.

 

[MotoCam360]

Thanks.

RE: 2...

The clips were already installed. So it should mention to remove them prior to fitting on the ball, then put them back on once fitted.

The clips have always been installed with the struts for 10 years and 1000 kits

 

[Teahead]

Also would help would be a final picture of it all installed.

I can see how maybe someone might install the lower bracket on the fender lip and not underneath hidden like I assume it's supposed to be.

Also the hood bracket...easy to confuse the left side for the right if you flipped them over. That tiny pic of the bracket, hard to make out which was which.

 

[DaveP's Ghost]

Yeah we've sold a few of these over the years

Odd that I opened this thread for the first time tonight. I want to point out that these struts don't open the hood as far as they are when the OEM support is used. I've owned and been working on S-series and SyTy for 30+ years. I'm accustomed to where the edge of the hood is while working in the engine compartment. With these struts it is about 8-10" lower.

That's me in that pic. I maintain both of those trucks for their owner. (He, his family and I are also good friends.) He's had them for about 5-6 years. Note how I'm taller than the front edge of the hood, and particularly the corners of the open hoods. When working on the two trucks I constantly hit my forehead on the hoods and if I hit a corner, it draws blood. I hate those damn things on his trucks because it becomes fucking annoying bashing my head on the hood. He knows it too. I forget what we were doing but after the second chunk of skin came off, we disconnected the struts and used the OEM support which is still on the core support on Sy. (Its been removed from the Ty, you can in the pic.)

The struts also limit access from the sides if you're trying to work at the rear or sides of the engine. Like distributor, spark plugs, anything from the side that you can't reach from the front.

The struts are nice parts, but they make working under the hood more difficult. We all know no SyTy owner that drives his truck is ever under the hood working on anything.

 

[MotoCam360]

I would have to disagree with you about the lower hood height compared to using the factory pogo stick. The hood height is set by where the user installs the fender brackets. The location of the fender brackets is what determines how high the hood will open. The closer the fender blocks are pushed toward the firewall, the higher the hood lifts. At the max position, the hood is open about 3 inches above the factory pogo stick.

For trucks with a cowl hood, the fender bracket location will be different because the hood opening needs to be reduced so the cowl doesn't touch the windshield

 

[DaveP's Ghost]

I would have to disagree with you about the lower hood height compared to using the factory pogo stick.

You can "disagree" all you want, but look at the pic. The hoods are lower than they are with the factory support.

For trucks with a cowl hood, the fender bracket location will be different because the hood opening needs to be reduced so the cowl doesn't touch the windshield

Both of his trucks do have cowl hoods.

I didn't install his kits, he did. As the fender bracket moves forward, the hood opens further but the shock may 'bottom' before the hood is closed.

You ignored the comment that the kits DO interfere with access from the sides, and that a LOT of under hood work IS performed from the sides.

I don't like the kits because they make under hood access more difficult. (You post a pic of ME, I get to tell what I really think.)