Rear Hatch easy mod, no more hitting your head!

Morgonzo

Morgonzo

Active Member
So, since no one's posted this yet (and I have some pics to illustrate the point..:cool:) I thought i'd go ahead and throw this out there. I'm 6-3" and the rear hatch from the factory has only enough clearance for well...Japanese people! Being tall made the 5' something clearance a problem. I found this easy fix on the Canadian forum. Make sure you have a helper with arms that will not give out while your under the hatch swinging the socket. :eek:
So your starting with the hatch closed..IMG_1135.JPGnow open her up and look at the mounts for the struts on either side of the hatch. There should be a L punched into the left one and a R punched in the other..both should be right side up. Now get out your 10mm socket and your helper's fresh arms. Maybe a long piece of 2x4 to help prop the hatch would be good too.
Take off both struts and flip the previously discussed bracket around so that the L and R are upside down..IMG_2931.JPGIMG_2932.JPG Your looking for the L and R that does not have the E/N next to it Ok?;) If the strut doesn't look like it's going to work spin the bracket around and it'll work. Screw the struts back on and now the hatch should look like this...IMG_2930.JPGNow, anyone 6'-5" and under will be able to get out of the rain without stooping!:) Easy Peasy Japanesey!
Hope this helps
Cheers:cool:
 
Thanks for the post!

PSA: don't over-tighten your bolts on a 25+ y/o vehicle. I accidentally broke the head off one of my bolts re-attaching the strut. PITA to extract something that small. :D
 
rdelica said:
Thanks for the post!

PSA: don't over-tighten your bolts on a 25+ y/o vehicle. I accidentally broke the head off one of my bolts re-attaching the strut. PITA to extract something that small. :D
Click to expand...

Ouch! Good point. How did you get it out?
 
Thanks for sharing. I did this today with new struts because my old ones would no longer lift the door. I backed up with the door open to a fence then used blocks to raise the door to the right height. Surprising how much taller it is, hopefully my girlfriend can reach it to close it still.

I bought the struts for my 91 L300 high roof from Lift Supports Depot (model # PM3255L-R) for $70 and free shipping. Pretty affordable for something I'll likely never have to replace. They actually have the Delica L300 low and high roof as a selectable option in the vehicle select drop down menus.

Cheers

Jessey
 
Thanks for the info on new shocks Jessey. Good idea with the fence and blocks. I had my wife help me, we coulda used a piece of wood or two to hold the weight.

M
 
Morgonzo said:
So, since no one's posted this yet (and I have some pics to illustrate the point..:cool:) I thought i'd go ahead and throw this out there. I'm 6-3" and the rear hatch from the factory has only enough clearance for well...Japanese people! Being tall made the 5' something clearance a problem. I found this easy fix on the Canadian forum. Make sure you have a helper with arms that will not give out while your under the hatch swinging the socket. :eek:
So your starting with the hatch closed..View attachment 100now open her up and look at the mounts for the struts on either side of the hatch. There should be a L punched into the left one and a R punched in the other..both should be right side up. Now get out your 10mm socket and your helper's fresh arms. Maybe a long piece of 2x4 to help prop the hatch would be good too.
Take off both struts and flip the previously discussed bracket around so that the L and R are upside down..View attachment 101View attachment 102 Your looking for the L and R that does not have the E/N next to it Ok?;) If the strut doesn't look like it's going to work spin the bracket around and it'll work. Screw the struts back on and now the hatch should look like this...View attachment 103Now, anyone 6'-5" and under will be able to get out of the rain without stooping!:) Easy Peasy Japanesey!
Hope this helps
Cheers:cool:
Click to expand...
I flipped mine today, easy. But now the hatch will not close. removed the rubber bumpers and almost closed, but not entirely. Do the top brackets need to be flipped as well?
 
Hey,it’s been awhile since I did this but i’m pretty sure you have to flip the uppers as well. Sorry for the late reply, i’ve Had computer issues lately
Hope this helps.
 
Morgonzo said:
Hey,it’s been awhile since I did this but i’m pretty sure you have to flip the uppers as well. Sorry for the late reply, i’ve Had computer issues lately
Hope this helps.
Click to expand...
No worries. Our Deli is a 92 super exceed with crystal lite roof, so I thought that may have been an issue, but my helper had to get back to his wife so I didn't have another hand at it. I'll try again this week. Thanks!!
 
rtaylor6753 said:
I flipped mine today, easy. But now the hatch will not close. removed the rubber bumpers and almost closed, but not entirely. Do the top brackets need to be flipped as well?
Click to expand...

I took both struts off and switched the left with the right. Then you flip the bottom. Not sure how the upper brackets were originally, but here is a pic of how it is currenly configured. Works great. Hope this helps!20180806_200130.jpg
 
Morgonzo said:
So, since no one's posted this yet (and I have some pics to illustrate the point..:cool:) I thought i'd go ahead and throw this out there. I'm 6-3" and the rear hatch from the factory has only enough clearance for well...Japanese people! Being tall made the 5' something clearance a problem. I found this easy fix on the Canadian forum. Make sure you have a helper with arms that will not give out while your under the hatch swinging the socket. :eek:
So your starting with the hatch closed..View attachment 100now open her up and look at the mounts for the struts on either side of the hatch. There should be a L punched into the left one and a R punched in the other..both should be right side up. Now get out your 10mm socket and your helper's fresh arms. Maybe a long piece of 2x4 to help prop the hatch would be good too.
Take off both struts and flip the previously discussed bracket around so that the L and R are upside down..View attachment 101View attachment 102 Your looking for the L and R that does not have the E/N next to it Ok?;) If the strut doesn't look like it's going to work spin the bracket around and it'll work. Screw the struts back on and now the hatch should look like this...View attachment 103Now, anyone 6'-5" and under will be able to get out of the rain without stooping!:) Easy Peasy Japanesey!
Hope this helps
Cheers:cool:
Click to expand...
Thanks for this tip! We are new to the Delica world and have been discussing the “caution” around the limited hatch opening. Can’t wait to perform this mod!
 
Just did this over the weekend on my '93 highroof. Premod I had 72" of clearance from lowest point of the hatch to the ground. Postmod is about 78", and is much better for my 6' head height. Excellent and fairly easy, though I didn't have a helper, and discovered that the hatch was very heavy to deal with by myself. Useful and easy to do modification. Thanks.
 
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