Hi,

 

Don't know if anyone has already done this but I just converted my electric tailgate to gas struts; I never really liked waiting for it to open and it always scared our dog.

After intermittently working for a while the tailgate gave up completely and I'd been left fighting against the motors each time I opened the boot. I decided against getting it fault found and fixed at dealer rates, as its something I wouldn't have specified if I'd bought the car new. So I though I'd have a go at converting it to a 'normal' tailgate.

 

I picked up a couple of 2nd hand struts of ebay for £30; Swapping them over was fairly simple, first I removed the fuse for the electric boot, then propped the boot open with a stick; there are wire clips that have to be pulled out at each end of the electric strut to release the ball and socket joint.

On separating the ball from the socket the strut spins round as the spring tension is released, made me jump on doing the first one, but there isn't much energy released.

The powered struts have cables running to them, which cant be disconnected at the strut end; I had to remove the interior trim from the tailgate pillar on each side and disconnect two cables, one has 4 white wires the other a brown and an orange. the connectors were easy to find once the trim was off.

Fitting the new struts was easy just a spring clip that pushes over the existing ball joint, job done. I now have a normal tailgate and a happy dog.

 

I need to find something to replace the grommet holes, currently taped up. The tailgate still beeps three times when opened, but I'm not fussed about that.

 

 

 

Sounds a worthwhile investment!

I'd do the same if I had them on my car

Excellent work, thanks for that. When my electric struts fail again I will be doing this too. Its not worth the huge cost to replace the electric struts IMO. BTW, our dog doesn't mind the electric ones ;o)

You do know there is a service thingy for the electronic boot. I understand they replace both struts. They did this on mine

Yes, but then he would be left with electric struts that annoy the dog....

Yes, but then he would be left with electric struts that annoy the dog....

Wouldnt the dawg just get used to it...?

On 28/11/2015 at 22:13, gillcorner said:

Hi,

 

Don't know if anyone has already done this but I just converted my electric tailgate to gas struts; I never really liked waiting for it to open and it always scared our dog.

After intermittently working for a while the tailgate gave up completely and I'd been left fighting against the motors each time I opened the boot. I decided against getting it fault found and fixed at dealer rates, as its something I wouldn't have specified if I'd bought the car new. So I though I'd have a go at converting it to a 'normal' tailgate.

 

I picked up a couple of 2nd hand struts of ebay for £30; Swapping them over was fairly simple, first I removed the fuse for the electric boot, then propped the boot open with a stick; there are wire clips that have to be pulled out at each end of the electric strut to release the ball and socket joint.

On separating the ball from the socket the strut spins round as the spring tension is released, made me jump on doing the first one, but there isn't much energy released.

The powered struts have cables running to them, which cant be disconnected at the strut end; I had to remove the interior trim from the tailgate pillar on each side and disconnect two cables, one has 4 white wires the other a brown and an orange. the connectors were easy to find once the trim was off.

Fitting the new struts was easy just a spring clip that pushes over the existing ball joint, job done. I now have a normal tailgate and a happy dog.

 

I need to find something to replace the grommet holes, currently taped up. The tailgate still beeps three times when opened, but I'm not fussed about that.

 

 

 

Hey, I've just followed this thanks. I wondered did your boot lock once you had replaced the struts? Did it have a slight jiggle when closed? Cheers. David