Trunk strut replacement. What a frustrating experience!!

chickdr · 09-16-2019, 05:10 PM

I ordered a set of replacement struts for my trunk. Got them in an figured it would be a 5 min job from all the videos I watched. Boy was I wrong. How in the heck are the metal stays supposed to be removed correctly? Both of the ones on the new structs popped off on one side and could not be put back into position. One of them was bent out of shape trying to pry it off and so went in the trash bin. I then tried to move the clips from the original strut I removed to the new ones. Fail as well. The final result was one new strut in the trash and one on the car (I am still unsure if the clips are fully in place, but I wasn't about to end up stratching my paint messing with them any longer). I would not try that again on my own. Wasted some $$$. Glad I didn't pay for OEM struts. The videos did not line up with my experience at all.

On the other hand I replaced the OEM HID bulbs with newer, brighter units with nary an issue.

3798j · 09-16-2019, 06:18 PM

The clips aren't supposed to be removed. To take a strut off, you just pry up a bit on the clip with a small flat blade and pull. To install, you just push the socket onto the ball...don't even touch the spring clip.
Here's a good video:

chickdr · 09-16-2019, 09:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 3798j

The clips aren't supposed to be removed. To take a strut off, you just pry up a bit on the clip with a small flat blade and pull. To install, you just push the socket onto the ball...don't even touch the spring clip.

From my experience what you said to do isn't easily possible. Very hard to get even a tiny flat bladed screwdriver under the clip and when I did it get it under it didn't want to budge. When it started to move one side of the clip popped completely off and was impossible to get back on without damaging the clip (this same thing happened multiple times, both with the new struts and the OEM one I removed). The BMW factory instructions I found elsewhere on this site were no help either. All of them say what you just did, to gently pry the clip towards the top of the socket. This wasn't doable by my hands. And I am pretty handy. I have done lots of things on my car. As I said, right after trying this I was able to easily swap the HID bulbs so I am not completely inept. It just seems like a really poor design to me. Why can't the metal band be replaced by a plastic piece that pops out and back in (with a positive and foolproof motion unlike the metal strap) when the socket is over the ball? The thing is, I can easily see the paint being damaged if real care isn't taken with both removal and reinstalling the struts as you are 1-2" from the paintwork when working with the struts/clips so I am loathe to turn it over to a repair shop. Heck the original dealer completely gouged my wiper arms swapping the blades when I had them replaced during the warranty period. They ended up ordering new wiper arms to fix that screw up.

This is the video I watched:

wdb · 09-17-2019, 08:06 AM

Dunno if the hood struts are attached in the same fashion, but I had no issues disconnecting those last winter when I did some work on the car. Could there be some little nuance you're missing?

chickdr · 09-17-2019, 10:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wdb

Dunno if the hood struts are attached in the same fashion, but I had no issues disconnecting those last winter when I did some work on the car. Could there be some little nuance you're missing?

There certainly could be. One discrepancy I see in the videos is the need to pop the clip on the new strut prior to installing them. Some do it some don't. It would be much easier to deal with if they don't need to be loosened before installing.

3002 tii · 09-17-2019, 10:30 PM

Have you seen the Pelican Parts write-up? These guys have a whole library of DIYs for our cars.

gpraceman · 10-02-2019, 04:01 AM

I suspect that my trunk struts are not up to snuff, but I actually like them that way. With another Z4 I test drove recently for someone, I had to push down on the top of the trunk lid to get it to close. With mine, I pull down on the handle in the trunk, grab the bottom edge of the lid and lower it by hand. I let it drop the last few inches to latch. No worries of getting scratches in the paint on the lid. No slamming of the lid that may possibly cause a crack in the 3rd brake light.

SD ///M4 · 10-02-2019, 06:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wdb

Dunno if the hood struts are attached in the same fashion, but I had no issues disconnecting those last winter when I did some work on the car. Could there be some little nuance you're missing?

Same experience here with the hood struts. After one of the hood struts on my wife's prior 2011 335is Coupe failed unexpectedly (at 70,000 miles), I decided to proactively replace the hood struts on our 2006 Z4 M Roadster. With my wife holding up the hood on both cars, I did them each in just a few minutes.

I don't know why the clips on the new struts would have to be popped open as they're designed to just pop onto the small ball joint. I spent more time popping open the clips on the old struts than I did installing the new struts.

FWIW, I used the StrongArm 6258 on the Roadster and Beneges on the 335is, both available on Amazon.

Juggernaught5 · 10-26-2019, 11:39 AM

I jus replaced mine last week. I used a very small jeweler's screwdriver to pry the clip up, and the new ones just popped into place. I imagine tapping the screwdriver with a small hammer would give you enough leverage. Mine only needed a little amount of release to disengage the strut - the clip didn't have to pop the entire way.

My new set are by Magneto Marelli, $35 on Amazon. They shipped from Eastern Europe, so a little wait to arrive.

chickdr · 10-27-2019, 08:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Juggernaught5

I jus replaced mine last week. I used a very small jeweler's screwdriver to pry the clip up, and the new ones just popped into place. I imagine tapping the screwdriver with a small hammer would give you enough leverage. Mine only needed a little amount of release to disengage the strut - the clip didn't have to pop the entire way.

My new set are by Magneto Marelli, $35 on Amazon. They shipped from Eastern Europe, so a little wait to arrive.

Hilarious. Just came back to see the new posts in this thread. I ordered the exact same struts you did to replace the other new set I messed up a couple of weeks ago. I did NOT release the clips on the new units and they went on fine. I much prefer the Marelli's as they are completely black as the OEM units were. The other set I purchased had a black body with a chrome piston.

09-16-2019, 05:10 PM	#1
chickdr Lieutenant Colonel 140 Rep 1,989 Posts Drives: 2006 M Roadster Join Date: May 2009 Location: Buford, GA iTrader: (0)	Trunk strut replacement. What a frustrating experience!! I ordered a set of replacement struts for my trunk. Got them in an figured it would be a 5 min job from all the videos I watched. Boy was I wrong. How in the heck are the metal stays supposed to be removed correctly? Both of the ones on the new structs popped off on one side and could not be put back into position. One of them was bent out of shape trying to pry it off and so went in the trash bin. I then tried to move the clips from the original strut I removed to the new ones. Fail as well. The final result was one new strut in the trash and one on the car (I am still unsure if the clips are fully in place, but I wasn't about to end up stratching my paint messing with them any longer). I would not try that again on my own. Wasted some $$$. Glad I didn't pay for OEM struts. The videos did not line up with my experience at all. On the other hand I replaced the OEM HID bulbs with newer, brighter units with nary an issue.
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09-16-2019, 06:18 PM	#2
3798j Lieutenant Colonel 11351 Rep 1,793 Posts Drives: E86 3.0si Join Date: Oct 2011 Location: Susquehanna Valley iTrader: (0) Garage List '55 Ford F100 [0.00] '08 Z4 3.0SI [8.50] '66 Triumph TR4A [0.00] '85 Corvette [0.00] '64 Corvette [0.00] '68 Triumph GT6 [0.00] '19 VW Golf "R ... [0.00]	The clips aren't supposed to be removed. To take a strut off, you just pry up a bit on the clip with a small flat blade and pull. To install, you just push the socket onto the ball...don't even touch the spring clip. Here's a good video:
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09-17-2019, 08:06 AM	#4
wdb dances with roads 4718 Rep 4,094 Posts Drives: '07 E86, '02 996, '95 Seven Join Date: Jul 2015 Location: the perimeter iTrader: (4)	Dunno if the hood struts are attached in the same fashion, but I had no issues disconnecting those last winter when I did some work on the car. Could there be some little nuance you're missing?
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09-17-2019, 10:30 PM	#6
3002 tii Lieutenant General 2280 Rep 12,565 Posts Drives: Z4 M, X5, GX460 Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: CT iTrader: (99) Garage List F15 X5 xDrive35i [8.75] E86 Z4 M [10.00] F10 550i (Retired) [9.17] F25 X3 xDrive35i (R ... [9.43] E82 135is (Retired) [9.50] E85 Z4 M (Retired) [9.41] E90 328i xDrive (Re ... [9.25] E86 Z4 3.0si (Retired) [9.20]	Have you seen the Pelican Parts write-up? These guys have a whole library of DIYs for our cars. __________________ Follow for latest mods
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10-02-2019, 04:01 AM	#7
gpraceman Second Lieutenant 56 Rep 202 Posts Drives: '06 Z4 ///M Roadster Join Date: Mar 2017 Location: Highlands Ranch, CO iTrader: (0)	I suspect that my trunk struts are not up to snuff, but I actually like them that way. With another Z4 I test drove recently for someone, I had to push down on the top of the trunk lid to get it to close. With mine, I pull down on the handle in the trunk, grab the bottom edge of the lid and lower it by hand. I let it drop the last few inches to latch. No worries of getting scratches in the paint on the lid. No slamming of the lid that may possibly cause a crack in the 3rd brake light. __________________ 2006 Z4 ///M, Interlagos Blue/Beige
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10-26-2019, 11:39 AM	#9
Juggernaught5 Enlisted Member 1 Rep 36 Posts Drives: 2006 BMW Z4 3.0si Roadster Join Date: Feb 2014 Location: Phoenix AZ iTrader: (0)	I jus replaced mine last week. I used a very small jeweler's screwdriver to pry the clip up, and the new ones just popped into place. I imagine tapping the screwdriver with a small hammer would give you enough leverage. Mine only needed a little amount of release to disengage the strut - the clip didn't have to pop the entire way. My new set are by Magneto Marelli, $35 on Amazon. They shipped from Eastern Europe, so a little wait to arrive.
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