Amazon/HD Hood Strut Kit – A DIY Option For Less

Amazon/HD Hood Struts – Another Option

This is just another hood strut thread, applicable to the gen2 MS3. There are other threads and kits, I like this one because it only uses 2 brackets (on the fender side, utilizing two bolt mounts) and the stock hood hinge locations.

What you will need:

1) Cabinet strut kit with hinges/brackets from amazon, $13 shipped (with prime) the only parts you will use form here are the 4 pivot bolts/nuts/washers and 2 of the 4 brackets it comes ones. The shocks this comes with are too weak to prop up the hood but you can use them on some other project:
FASONLA Gas STRUT, 15" Lenght 100N/22.5LB Force Each Gas STRUT Lift Support, 2PCS Set



2) A pair of 15" struts from Amazon, 100lb force each. Currently there is a 20% rebate on these so the $19.99*.8 = $16 shipped (with prime):
15Inch Lift Support Gas Spring 445N/100Lbs Struts Lid


3) 4 stainless metric m6 x 20mm bolts, 4 ss m6 nuts, and 4 SS washers to match the bolts from HD/Lowes/etc. This costs about $5, if that.

Total cost at the time of writing: $13 + $16 + $5 + tax = $34 + tax. Haven’t seen a complete kit anywhere else for this much or less.

Step 1: Bolt a pivot bolt onto the square hole of the hood hinge, with the round part of the pivot bolt facing outwards. Make sure you use 2 of the first kit’s washers for each bolt to avoid messing up the paint on the hinge.


Step 2: Unbolt the 2 fender side bolts and remove the plastic headlight clip, and replace the bolts you took out with the ss m6 bolts while using an ss under each bolt. The bolts will go through the stock welded threaded locations with about 8-10mm sticking out (down). These sticking out portions is what you will bolt the brackets to in the next step:


Step 3: The first strut kit comes with 4 hinges, 2 left and 2 right, you will need one of each, for each side of the car respectively. They actually match, right goes on the drivers side (right) and left goes on the passengers side. Bolt the pivot bolts using washers on both sides to the brackets, then carefully slide the bracket underneath the bolts you ran through the fender bracket, and secure it with 2 stainless nuts, one per bolt. Make sure the bracket is positioned as much towards the inside of the engine bay as possible. It has a few mm’s of movement range, so make sure it’s as much toward the inside as possible. I am showing the driver’s side here, bolted up:


Step 4: Lube up the pivot bolts, take the 100lb struts from the second kit you bought, snap the struts onto the hood pivot bolts, then, removing your hood prop, snap the struts onto the fender side pivot bolts. Make sure the thick part of the strut goes onto the hood side and the skinny rod on the fender side, or you will have clearance issues:


Step 5: Enjoy your hood lifting up easier, and all by itself from about ¾ of the way up. If I could find 120lb 15” or 16” struts, I would use those, but so far no dice.

Also since the cabinet kit comes with 4 brackets and you only use 2, I have 2 left over I can send to anyone for just S&H, and so will anyone who will use this kit. The other person will just need the two 15" 100lb struts and hardware (reducing total cost).

 

Fuccckkkkkk I have to reluctantly admit that I do like how you did that upper mount.

 

Amazon link broken product not found

 

Fixed.

Appreciated. I just always thought the stock hinge could work for this kind of mount.

TBH I'm most excited about the bottom bracket. It's a bracket in the cabinet kit to be used for lifting windows or doors and it happens to perfectly fit our fender bracket bolt pattern and have the offset to properly mount the hinge bolt hole for the strut. I bought it expecting to have to slot some holes or to re-bend it, but it just fit like it was meant to be. It's quite a random thing to happen to work. Since anyone buying this kit will have two of the 4 left over, they can pass them on to fellow speed owners, who will then just need 2 x 15" 100lb struts, 4 pivot bolts and the rest of the hardware I mentioned.

 

It seems they have the kit with 100 and 120 lbs struts now.
Did you have slight warping issues at all?

 

How do you mean? No issues with this setup so far, 120lb would probably work even better, they sort of get slightly less powerful with age, but 15 months later, all is working well.