Rear Hatch Shock Upgrade

[SlowLane]

The age of my rear hatch shocks combined with the weight of a Terzo latter had me using a 2x4 to hold up the hatch.

Bought a cheap set of replacements from China that were more useless than the originals.

Installed a set of 32” 250# shocks from Lifts Support Depot and couldn’t be happier. These things will give a small child a fun ride if they open the rear door up. I went with 32” extended which is probably a few inches over stock. I am 6’1” and it requires me to fully extend to grab the gate. Love the extra clearance, no binding or issues shutting.

Customer service was great, had them swap the ends for 10mm without any question, fast shipping and quick response.

Here is a link to the ones I got

32.00 Inch Lift Supports Depot ST320M250 Lift Support With Ball Socket Long Cup | ST320M250-W

Our Lift Supports Depot ST320M250 fits a wide variety of vehicles and includes a 1 year warranty. $6.99 Express Shipping on qualifying orders $29.00 and over.

www.liftsupportsdepot.com

Does not come with the mounting hardware

 

[Gezman]

That is LIFTED brother nice work, I have been thinking of doing the same, and allowing for weight to be added (still in building progress). So no catching or snagging along the very top of the door where the hinges are then?

 

[SlowLane]

That is LIFTED brother nice work, I have been thinking of doing the same, and allowing for weight to be added (still in building progress). So no catching or snagging along the very top of the door where the hinges are then?

No binding or catching. Definitely not for the vertically challenged, guess the wife can load stuff via the sliding door lol

 

[bikerjosh]

Rear hatch shock envy; is that a thing?

 

[SlowLane]

Rear hatch shock envy; is that a thing?

I had hatch shock disdain so I assume envy is possible too lol. Little things sometimes make a big difference

 

[theimpactsound]

Where did you get the mounting bracket in the second image?

 

[SlowLane]

Where did you get the mounting bracket in the second image?

The cheap Chinese shocks that I initially bought came with that which made them not a total waste. Not sure if any of the mounting hardware from lift support would work; maybe with some slight modifications

Products - Mounting Hardware - 10mm Mounting Hardware - 10MM Metal Brackets - Page 1 - Lift Supports Depot®

www.liftsupportsdepot.com

 

[theimpactsound]

Yeah I though https://www.liftsupportsdepot.com/ef-ball-stud-joint-10mm-3-8-2-hole-mount-l-bracket-black/ looked promising

 

[SlowLane]

Yeah I though https://www.liftsupportsdepot.com/ef-ball-stud-joint-10mm-3-8-2-hole-mount-l-bracket-black/ looked promising

The only measurement I would be really concerned about is the ball drop distance, just to ensure it isn't too big to close the hatch. Other that that, I think you have a lot of leeway with the mounting positions.

 

[thelazygreenfox]

well done. They look great.

 

[themickeyd]

I just talked with them and have a set on the way for mine, it will be great to have the bruise on the top of my head fade away

 

[themickeyd]

Wow! I now have to stretch to close the door. Very happy with this mod. Lift Supports Depot were great to work with and I had my parts in a couple of days. For picture reference, I am 6'3".

 

[SlowLane]

Wow! I now have to stretch to close the door. Very happy with this mod. Lift Supports Depot were great to work with and I had my parts in a couple of days. For picture reference, I am 6'3".

Glad it worked for you! Now you have enough lift strength to get a ladder back there!

 

[CodyHennigan]

Just wanted to link this other convo here: https://delicaforum.com/index.php?threads/heavy-duty-rear-hatch-supports.3197/#post-25778

 

[UtahGuy11]

Wow! I now have to stretch to close the door. Very happy with this mod. Lift Supports Depot were great to work with and I had my parts in a couple of days. For picture reference, I am 6'3".

Did you buy new brackets or were you able to use the stock ones? If so what socket size did you order? Did you get 10mm ends like @SlowLane suggested? Sorry for the 20 questions!! Just excited to get shocks that work! Thanks in advance!

 

[G*S*8*9*2]

I went with the lifts that @SlowLane had recommended & they worked great!

32.00 Inch Lift Supports Depot ST320M250 Lift Support With Ball Socket Long Cup | ST320M250-W

Our Lift Supports Depot ST320M250 fits a wide variety of vehicles and includes a 1 year warranty. $6.99 Express Shipping on qualifying orders $29.00 and over.

www.liftsupportsdepot.com

The bigger challenge for me was the brackets that go on the hatch side, since the OE brackets had a riveted end they were not reusable.

The ones sold by lift support depot stood too proud when installed & would not allow for the hatch to close properly.

13-BG Ball stud 13mm=(1/2") 3 Bolt HD Bracket S304 Stainless

Our Lift Supports Depot cb63s4 fits a wide variety of vehicles and includes a 1 year warranty. $6.99 Express Shipping on qualifying orders $29.00 and over.

www.liftsupportsdepot.com

It took some deep thonks; but I wound up buying some wide angled steel brackets & cutting them down to match the profile of the OE brackets

Everbilt Black Gate Stop 20406 - The Home Depot

The Everbilt Gate Stop is ideal for wood and vinyl gates. It helps to prevent the gate from swinging or hitting the gate latch. The gate stop reduces the damage to the gate, hinge and latch, while helping

www.homedepot.com

Should you choose to follow the same path - you'll also need (2) sets or 4PCS of the 13mm ball studs

13AH Ball Stud 13mm=(1/2") 5/16 X 18 Zinc 4 Pack

Our Lift Supports Depot c-bs13-1z-4 fits a wide variety of vehicles and includes a 1 year warranty. $6.99 Express Shipping on qualifying orders $29.00 and over.

www.liftsupportsdepot.com

+ 2PCS 5/16 locknuts for the bracket side.

 

[Kaylem]

Hi everyone.

For any of you guys in the UK who want to change your tail lift gas struts, I did mine today and just wanted to post the struts I used as I know many struggle to get the correct ones as I did.

I used a company on ebay https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/373907811516?var=644016252810 (AUTORCE) they state a 3 year guarantee which seem very fair. £22 each strut as of today (21.03.24) for future references

My Vehicle: 2002 L400 Delica High Roof SWB (LWB may be different - make sure yours is the correct type?)

The length of the new struts = 800mm

The power / force = 1250N

You need to raise and hold up the tailgate quite high to fit these as they are 50mm longer than the 750mm standard ones. The BIG BONUS with these struts is that they have ball joint heads on each end at M8 Size so just screw right into the lower strut fixing without the need to tap or anything. You still need to grind / prepare the top section as per the guide that it floating about the forums. These struts may seem a little overkill but the next power grade down was 1000N so if you want to just replace damaged or lost pressure standard struts, these will work. The next power up is 1500N which would be near impossible to pull down unless ladders, fuel containers other accessories are on the back tail lift section. The 1250N I bought are very firm to pull down even with Terzo ladders on the back, but I also plan to put 2 10L fuel container on too. I am 6ft and quite athletic and have no problem pulling these new struts down. Different sizes too are offered - next size down 700mm so if you dont want your lift as high the 700mm may do for you.

The struts seem very strong although the piston is slightly thinner, but I put that down to advances in material and manufacturing since 2002 (22 years ago), Cant say what quality over time will be but I'm chuffed with these and I hope this might help someone a bit.

I was gonna post a few pics but got blocked in and dont want to open the tail lift now as its agianst the wall and I dont want to damage the brickwork when I open it! lol. If anyone really wants the pics ill post them here when I can.

Cheers

K.A

 

[UtahGuy11]

I went with the lifts that @SlowLane had recommended & they worked great!

32.00 Inch Lift Supports Depot ST320M250 Lift Support With Ball Socket Long Cup | ST320M250-W

Our Lift Supports Depot ST320M250 fits a wide variety of vehicles and includes a 1 year warranty. $6.99 Express Shipping on qualifying orders $29.00 and over.

www.liftsupportsdepot.com

The bigger challenge for me was the brackets that go on the hatch side, since the OE brackets had a riveted end they were not reusable.

The ones sold by lift support depot stood too proud when installed & would not allow for the hatch to close properly.

13-BG Ball stud 13mm=(1/2") 3 Bolt HD Bracket S304 Stainless

Our Lift Supports Depot cb63s4 fits a wide variety of vehicles and includes a 1 year warranty. $6.99 Express Shipping on qualifying orders $29.00 and over.

www.liftsupportsdepot.com

It took some deep thonks; but I wound up buying some wide angled steel brackets & cutting them down to match the profile of the OE brackets

Everbilt Black Gate Stop 20406 - The Home Depot

The Everbilt Gate Stop is ideal for wood and vinyl gates. It helps to prevent the gate from swinging or hitting the gate latch. The gate stop reduces the damage to the gate, hinge and latch, while helping

www.homedepot.com

Should you choose to follow the same path - you'll also need (2) sets or 4PCS of the 13mm ball studs

13AH Ball Stud 13mm=(1/2") 5/16 X 18 Zinc 4 Pack

Our Lift Supports Depot c-bs13-1z-4 fits a wide variety of vehicles and includes a 1 year warranty. $6.99 Express Shipping on qualifying orders $29.00 and over.

www.liftsupportsdepot.com

+ 2PCS 5/16 locknuts for the bracket side.View attachment 22529View attachment 22530

An even easier method that I did was use the OEM upper strut braces, grind off the spot welds so the pin could come out and just install these from amazon or some ball joints with similar specs. They fit perfectly and don't rub at all!

Amazon.com