OP
OP
The next hoop to jump through is finding gas struts for the boot, which are only about 6 - 8 inches long
Need help tracking down an oil
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Need help tracking down an oil
NitroLift Fiat Punto 1994-1999 Cabriolet Tailgate / Boot Gas Strut
A single tailgate gas strut made in the UK by SGS Engineering complete with new end fixings and instructions. Delivered next day to most of the UK.
www.sgs-engineering.com
The Citroen Pluriel roof was ECU controlled with long gear cables similar to classic mini wiper drives but combined with lots of plastic brittle parts that broke causing bits to jam, loads of sensors and switches etc. The idea was the fabric bit could go back so far then the boot would swing open allowing parts of the mechanism to drop down inside then close up again. Once all out the way it was possible to remove two large heavy bow shaped parts which then had to be left in your garage at home as to large to fit in boot or any where, so if out and it rained you would be totally screwed.
So all in all the Merc SL320 was a king in comparison.
Just reminded me there was four gas struts in the C3 also.
OP
OP
I've ordered 1 as I am not 100% committed to buying two and finding they both don't fit but we will see when it gets here and if all is good I will order a second one.NitroLift Fiat Punto 1994-1999 Cabriolet Tailgate / Boot Gas Strut
A single tailgate gas strut made in the UK by SGS Engineering complete with new end fixings and instructions. Delivered next day to most of the UK.
I have honestly never seen a gas strut that is so small.
I thought I would size it up with the ones on the Golf and even the golf being a cabrio and having a tiny boot hatch has gas struts twice the size of the Punto.
Just found two of the old ones from that C3, don't know about yours but from memory some of these were pull rather than push.
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Turns out I didn’t order it, looks like I got side tracked in updating my address and this morning got an email asking me to complete the purchase. Going through the shopping cart it adds vat and delivery making one tiny gas strut cost over £21.
So I am hoping I can find a cheaper more generic option
Just to highlight how small these struts are, they are 17cm long and have only 4cm of travel. so compressed 13cm
The barrel of the cylinder is only 15mm so super tiny
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Wow! That is small, sounds a bit specialised, they are definitely shot?
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OP
I have 4 as I found two in the boot. I suspect they are older as they have rust inside the ball joints.
I have not tried the other two I found as yet but the ones on the car absolutely do not hold the boot lid up unless the car is parked on a very steep downward incline so that when the boot is open the boot is trying to fall forwards and keeps itself open because of the angle of the car.
on flat ground there is no resistance at all and it just flops down
Does sound a bit model specific.
Is it used by the roof operation or just boot access.
Obviously you want it as original as possible but could a new mounting point be used if slightly longer struts were the only option?
OP
OP
It is just for holding the boot open. The car was designed by Bertone and built in the Bertone factory, so I suspect they would have used an off the shelf part. A little digging and I think it maybe the same gas strut off a mk3/mk3.5 golf cabriolet, with both cars coming out in 1994.
The golf part is 174mm long with 40mm travel, which is almost exactly the same as what I can measure on the one I have in front of me.
If you ignore the increased angular size caused by the viewing angle of the camera, straight on it is exactly 174mm
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Doesn't look like the previous owner was too generous oiling moving parts, looking at the rust in the cups.
When servicing vehicles I always oiled the door lock and hinges, including any swivel points like tailgate struts etc.
I know the argument can be some of these are plastic and self lubricating to a point, but even a little rust there means the joint can't swivel as freely putting strain on the strut seals possible. Though I admit those gas struts are not for longevity.
When servicing vehicles I always oiled the door lock and hinges, including any swivel points like tailgate struts etc.
I know the argument can be some of these are plastic and self lubricating to a point, but even a little rust there means the joint can't swivel as freely putting strain on the strut seals possible. Though I admit those gas struts are not for longevity.
