Hey I need a quick reply on how to remove the hood and hatch struts.

ty

 

struts have a little clip or bolt on the ends. hood has bolts on the hinge.

 

Prop the hood with a stick; remove the clips and replace the strut, ONE AT A TIME.

Same for the hatch struts. Except, the hood only weighs about 40 or 50 lbs; the hatch weighs a couple of hundred. Don't forget to remove the electric connectors for hatch defog if your car has that. Make sure you prop it up with something substantial. Hint: PVC pipe is inadequate.

 

Do we dare ask how you might know that PVC pipe is inadequate? There's probably a story there somewhere... an expensive story.

As for those ground connections for the defroster and third brake light ('86 models), make sure you orient the connectors on the struts to prevent strain on the wires from opening and closing the hatch. If the wires are strained, they will pull off, making your hatch-mounted devices inoperative. On an '86, if the grounds are loose, the rear defogger will turn on whenever the brakes are applied. That can be a little confusing and disconcerting if you don't understand the circuit grounding.

 

Fortunately, not expensive; but it was painful.

 

Why would I remove the connections for the rear hatch defroster if I'm replacing the struts?

 

If you had one you'd know.

 

well, I have one but never looked at it. I'll go do that right now.