anyone replaced liftgate cylinders
 

I tried searching to see how this is to be done, but couldn't find much if any info. My liftgate no longer stays up and i suspect the 8yr old shocks/cylinders/gas struts whatever you call them are to blame. I looked just now in the dim light left in the day, it's not obvious how they come off. it looks like there's a metal band that perhaps needs to get popped up which will then release the shock/cylinder/gas strut thing from the mount points. Can anyone point me in the right direction?

i see it as part 6 on this diagram

Yes, they act just the same as the front hood/bonnet struts
a metal band is lifted up with a small flathead and the balljoint of the strut pulls off.
replace with new ones (not sure of part number, check on www.realoem.com)
probably $40 for a pair from bavauto or autohauz, or e-bay

thanks for the info, I just ordered a pair, it will be nice to have a liftgate that stays open on its own again...

Ok. So after a little bit of frustration and a multiple stab-wounded thumb, I finally figured out the best way to change these out, well for me at least. I practiced what to do with the clips on the new struts, and i quickly found out that prying up on them isn't the best way around it, as one side will come up and basically come loose while the other side of the clip digs further into the ball receptacle. (getting the clip to seat itself properly after this requires a lot of swearing and stabbing your thumb multiple times apparently) so I did a combination, i pried slightly up, but pushed the clip into the two grooves that go up the side of the cup. I pushed them up their equivalent width. Prep all the clips on the new struts this way before you remove the old ones. The picture will show exactly what I mean. it is also very easy to get the clips on the installed struts to this point too. Please lay a protective towel or something around the bodywork in case you slip...


Once the clips are out of the way rock the cups slowly and they will just pop off the ball joints on the body of the X. Replace with the new struts in the same orientation and then just slip the clips back to their center place to lock the joint in.

tools required: a very small tipped screwdriver, I used a 1/16th

http://stevedu.com/FSPics/strutclip.jpg