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Is the back part of the car that lifts up to stow the top supposed to stay up on it's own? Mine does not. I have to hold it with one hand while manipulating the top into the trunk. It would be easier if it did stay up on it's own.
Last edited by lunaticfringe007; Apr 15, 2019 at 09:40 AM.
The gas charged struts are not difficult to replace and are available from Amazon or auto parts stores. I did mine on my 2002 last year. There are threads here about how to change them including part numbers. I find the search option here not effective and often use google.
If you are talking about the piece that lifts up to let you store the top, then yes it should stay up. Just search this forum and you'll get a detailed way to replace the shocks. By the way, they aren't very expensive.
I am talking about the part you lift. Not the trunk lid. That stays up. But the part that you lift to stow the trunk does not and I dont see a place for a gas strut.
Last edited by Vetteman Jack; Apr 22, 2019 at 07:38 AM.
I did mine last year. Here is the instructions I followed.
My vert top hatch struts needed replaced as the hatch would no longer stay up by itself. I did a search on changing them, but wasn't satisfied with the results I got. So, here is how I changed them.
1. Open the trunk. Look under the sides and you will see the struts.
2. Pry off both the spring clips with a screwdriver or scratch awl.
3. Close the trunk.
4. Open the top hatch and prop it up in the fully raised position. The strut is now in the fully extended position and not under pressure.
5. Reach down and pull the strut off the ball joints.
6. Close the top hatch.
7. Open the trunk and snap the new strut on the aftermost ball joint, making sure that the rod end is positioned toward the front of the car.
8. Close the trunk.
9. Open the top hatch and snap the rod end on the forward ball joint.
The hatch will now stand up by itself.
10. Repeat for the other side.
Once I figured this method out, it took less than 5 minutes to complete the job. I didn't take any pictures, but when you look under the sides of the trunk, it is all pretty obvious.
I did the shoulder balance for the first few years of ownership. Ended up replacing the shocks a couple years ago. cheap and very easy replacement. I believe I ordered my shocks off Amazon.
1. Open the trunk. Look under the sides and you will see the struts.
2. Pry off both the spring clips with a screwdriver or scratch awl.
3. Close the trunk.
4. Open the top hatch and prop it up in the fully raised position. The strut is now in the fully extended position and not under pressure.
5. Reach down and pull the strut off the ball joints.
6. Close the top hatch.
7. Open the trunk and snap the new strut on the aftermost ball joint, making sure that the rod end is positioned toward the front of the car.
8. Close the trunk.
9. Open the top hatch and snap the rod end on the forward ball joint.
The hatch will now stand up by itself.
10. Repeat for the other side.
I just replaced mine this morning. Followed instructions above. The only difference, mine were so weak they came off without raising hatch and extending them. It went better than I thought.
Ok guys, attempted to do this today. Mine were also weak enough to remove both sides in the trunk. Problem I am having is on my '03, the rear ball is larger than the front. The original shocks have a larger opening in the rear to accommodate that. The replacements have the same size hole, front and back, that appear to only fit the size of the front ball. Anybody else experience this? Tried force, but the smaller size of the replacement shock just seems to not want to fit around the rear ball.
2001 convertible question
