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Date:         Wed, 27 Jun 2001 21:29:02 -0400
Reply-To:     The Bus Depot <vanagon@BUSDEPOT.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         The Bus Depot <vanagon@BUSDEPOT.COM>
Subject:      Re: rear hatch struts
In-Reply-To:  <109.1d08852.286b526a@aol.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"

> There were actually three different part numbers for hatch struts. > One weak, one heavy duty for some model years and they would > put one on the left and the other on the right. Then there were > some years that used a middle strength strut for both sides. > These middle strength struts are the ones that I sell. > They are not the weak ones and they are not the stiffest ones > that Ron sells.

Actually, I sell them too, listed on my website as 251 829 331A. (The heavy duty ones are 251 829 332.) You can use a pair of them (as was done on 1980-1981 Vanagons), or use one on the left side with a stronger 332 on the right side (as most Vanagons were equipped from the factory).

But still, my preference (and that of about a thousand of my customers) remains a pair of the heavy duty 332's, which definately will last the longest and hold the hatch up the best. The only drawback to using 332's on both sides is that the hatch will be harder to close (particularly when brand new and still stiff), a condition that will improve as they "wear in." (Put another way, the 332's, as they wear a bit, will simply make the hatch a bit easier to close, whereas the 331's with the same amount of wear will actually start to allow the hatch to sag.)

I have literally sold about a thousand of the heavy duty struts, and a handful of the standard ones (although I do stock both). Of those, I have had maybe 3-4 people complain that the heavy duty ones made the hatch _too_ hard to close; not surprisingly, two of them were petite women. In those cases I simply had them send one back and exchange it for a standard one. But my advice is that if you don't mind excerting a little bit of muscle to close your hatch until the struts break in, your payoff will be greatly improved reliability, plus the prevention of an unexpected head injury down the road. :-)

Oh, another benefit I've noticed is that they will allow the hatch to remain open in any position, which can be convenient for allowing a bit of air into the back of the van when camped/parked without leaving the hatch wide open.

- Ron Salmon The Bus Depot, Inc. www.busdepot.com (215) 234-VWVW


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