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Date:         Sat, 9 Apr 1994 21:19:00 -0600
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From:         jgladu@bcm.tmc.edu (John Gladu)
Subject:      Re: blue coolant?

At 8:02 PM 4/9/94 -0500, Alan Laird wrote: >> check the rear hatch struts. they go bad and cost a lot ... $50 each. use >> that to knock down the price. > >Does anyone know of a less expensive source for these?

This reply is patched together from several other similar requests/responses...

>>I picked up a new strut for our Vanagon's rear hatch at a local parts house >>today and they said that the right and left struts are different parts. He >>said that only the right strut comes with the "lock" that helps hold the >>hatch all the way up. Is this true? (I paid about $28US for it - lots >>better than the $66 that the dealer wanted).

I got the locking-side model at Apec, here in Houston. I just called him about this - he didn't even understand what "mail-order" meant, but upon explanation he said he could do that. He only stocks the "locking" model. Our local dealer was asking about $65 for this strut, and I Jorg has it for under $30.

Apec Foreign Parts Inc. 727 Yale Houston, TX 77007

(713) 880-0988 The guy who works the counter's name is Jorg (pronounced "Yorg" - he'll take your order in German, if you'd like :-).

> The first time I replaced one, the parts guy asked me > if it was right or left side! They appear identical, > so I pulled both off and held the tailgate up with my > head while I "tested" each strut to identify the > weaker one (at that price I didn't want to replace both > since the gate was just sagging slowly).

The left and right struts are different. The right strut has a "locking" feature in its valve mechanism. Apparently, that is some kind of mechanical lock that you can defeat by pulling down on the hatch, but strong enough to hold the hatch up -> while taking the load off the pressurized part of the strut.

bcnu - G (John Gladu) .Opinions are just that. Systems Support Center -- Baylor College of Medicine INTERNET: jgladu@bcm.tmc.edu | VOICE: (713)798-7370 US MAIL: One Baylor Plaza, Houston, Texas 77030 rolk v. failure of a vending machine to deliver a product rolkio v. what you do to the vending machine after being rolked


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