My dad replaced the lift supports for my trunk about 3 years ago. He told me he got them at autozone and insisted they were the same but they clearly weren't. I questioned it after I noticed a gap appearing on the right hand side. After two years I replaced them after finally confirming my suspicions, also because of the developing gap.

The left support was rated for a hatch without a spoiler and the right support was rated for one with a spoiler. I'm getting sick of water pooling at the bottom of my trunk.

I'm thinking about taking the old lift supports and installing them opposite to what they were before and hopefully reverse the alignment. My only worry is the excess amount of stress being a threat to the glass hatch. It is a significant gap between the body and the hatch. What do you guys think?

 

Did you try re-aligning the hatch at the hinge bolts? Also does it sit correctly without the hatch lifts on?

 

I've thought about that but I don't want to go that route if I don't have to because I'm not really in the position to removing my hatch entirely.

I did have the lift supports off for a while and during the time I did notice it sat more flush but I don't think it was entirely even.

 

Only way the struts can move the hatch is if the hinge bolts are loose.By itself the strut isn't strong enough to mis-align the hatch.
Also you don't need to remove it, it'll move in the closed position if its not bolted down tight.

 

The hatch struts can and do move the decklid away from the glass and can also help cause a misaligned decklid. With you saying you are getting water in the hatch, that tells me it may need resealed anyway. It takes time to fix but there are a few threads here about how to remove and reseal the components.

 

 

X2...
After you reseal the deck don't put the shocks back on right away or it will move the deck again.
Let it setup for a few days so it can dry.