MR2Heaven Front Hood Strut

MR2Heaven Front Hood Strut

by Richard Pham

 

Thank you for your purchase! Every purchase made helps us create, design and refine our products for everyone in the community. Without your help and support we would not be able to make these projects a reality. 

Parts List:

  • 2x M6” Flat Zinc plated washers
  • 2x M8 Flat Zinc plated washers
  • 2x M6x1.0 Rod Ends
  • 2x M6x1.0/M8x1.25 hybrid Rod Ends
  • 2x Gas hood struts

Some Required Tools:

  • Flat open end wrench to access rod ends
  • Any 10mm or 12mm bolt loosening tool for fender bolt and hood hinge bolt

 

We have implemented different part changes for this product based on availability of parts on the market. Please refer to whether you have V1.0, V1.1 or V2.0 hood struts by referencing the hardware included

Our V2 kit is the easiest to install out of them all!

To identify which kit you have

  • If the shock is from Guden brand, it is V2.
  • If the shock is from Suspa, it is V1 or V1.1

 

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V2.0 Installation Instructions (We started shipping V2 hood strut kits exclusively 10/07/2020 to Present)

 

This section is important, please read

V2 Orientation - Overview, we will be installing the large shock body facing the fender with the short rods/sticks pointing at the hood hindges. It must be installed this way. Any other orientation or method of installing is not guaranteed to fit or work. 

  • Install M6x1.0 Rod End on bottom of the shocks if it has not been preinstalled
  • Install M6x1.0/M8x1.25 Rod End on the thin end of the shock tubes if it has not been preinstalled
  • Remove the 10mm bolt in the middle of the fender on both fenders for the rod ends to go into later (No need to remove the 3rd fender bolt as like previous v1.0 & v1.1 installations). That bolt is the middle of 3 10mm bolts on the fender
  • Remove the top 12mm bolt on both hood hinges
  • Install one side at a time, no rush. Use your shoulder or one hand to lift the hood open while installing. Fully tighten the rod end into the respective locations and walk over to the other side of the hood to install the other side. 
    • Use M6 washers for the fender rod ends and M8 washers for the rod ends going into the hood hinges
    • Use flat wrenches to tighten hardware
  • Slowly check for any fitment issues. DO NOT SLAM THE HOOD on the first try.
  • If no interference detected, push down gently to lock the hood into the latch. Check for interference or anything abnormal
  • Open hood, check for interferences, if none detected, you're good to go. Optional - Slam the hood this time and check again

Enjoy! - This concludes v2.0 instructions

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Old/Archive

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V1.1 Installation Insturctions (Orders 7/20/2020 to around September 2020)

Don't install v1.1. Contact us.

Install in this orientation as shown in picture below

  • Remove existing bolts. No need to remove fender 3rd 10mm bolt like in v1.0
    • Remove corresponding M8 (12mm) bolts on the hood and M6 (10mm) bolts on the fenders to allow for the strut to be installed.
  • Follow strut orientation when installing (V1.1 is unique and different than V1.0)
  • The use of washers from our testing is possible without issues. (However if you have bad tolerances, might want to remove the washer on the M8 fitting/hood end. 
  • Make sure corresponding fitting are in the right place
  • Pro tip -
    • Remove the 2x M8 rod end fittings from hood strut.
    • Install the 2 fittings onto the hood on first.
    • Then install the remainder of the strut onto the M8 fitting and onto the fender. 
  • Don't slam your hood on the first install.. It is a very tight setup. Slowly press your hood in to close for the first time to verify that everything works as intended

 Picture of V1.1 Installed below

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 .This concludes V1.1 hood strut installation 

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V1.0 Installation Instructions (Orders 7/20/2020 and older)

Step 1: Make sure to perform this installation in a safe environment, clear of strong winds, free of obstructions etc. Open the hood and keep it up right with a tool(a stick, oem prop rod etc). Search for (2) 10mm bolts that are on the top side of the fender (Circled in green in picture below). Loosen and remove the 2x 10mm middle bolts and repeat on the other side of the car. (Total of 4x 10mm bolts need to be removed).
 
Step 2: Thread the bottom fitting of both gas struts along with a washer into the middle hole on top of the fender on both sides. Rest the 2 gas struts safely near the hood for easy reach for the next step. DONT FORGET to remove an additional 10mm bolt on the top of the fender as stated in step 1 (closest to the windshield) or you will have interference problems. In the picture below, i'm pointing at it. 
Install the strut orientated EXACTLY AS SHOWN. 
 
Step 3: Grab your 12mm socket/wrench with you. Remove the hood off of any tools/items or prop rods and hold the hood up right with one hand and keep it upright with your shoulder for the next following steps(Insert useful buddy here).
Rotate around to one side of the hood. Loosen and remove the top 12mm bolt on the side of the hood hinge where the other end of the shock would go.
Thread the upper fitting (the rod end) of gas strut into the hood without any washers with your hands initially (To prevent stripping threads). Make sure you get a few threads in before performing this step again on the other side.
The hood should hold itself upright now.
(Twist the hood rod end for both sides of the hood in almost to the end of no return, the deeper the rod end goes into the hood, the better for fitment. Bittersweet i know. Leave about a 2-3mm to retrieve the rod end with wrench when needed to remove. Test fit for fitment, close the hood slowly. 
Step 4: If fitment is good (nothing bulging outwards) Tighten the fitting on the fender lightly/moderately. Remember, don't strip anything. Note: Top 12mm fitting does not need to be fully tightened. Remember, if you tighten too much, you will not have enough space to remove the fitting in the future, but still need to twist the rod end to point of almost no return (2-4mm left to retrieve with wrench if needed) for proper fitment of the shock without interfering with the fender and hood. 
Step 5: That is it! Enjoy!
Note: As there is very little room for this strut system and every MR2 is different in terms of hood alignments, fender alignments etc, you may or may not encounter very slight interference between the fender/strut and the hood. The fenders should not be pushed out more than 2-3 mm outwards nor should the hood be affected by being pushed up more than 2-3mm in any way. If there are any fitment issues, it is often fixed by threading the rod end deeper into the hood. Alternatively, as a second fix, you may have to adjust your hood or fenders slightly to clear the system or minimize interference. 
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We really hope you like our products as much as we do and look forward to bringing you many more new and exciting products!

If for some reason you encounter an issue or problem with any of our products, please don’t hesitate to get in contact with us so we can do our best to help you out.

Email: Sales@mr2heaven.com

 

Thank you again for your business and support

Enjoy!

-MR2 Heaven

 

 

Disclaimer:

MR2 Heaven is not liable for any damages, injury directly or indirectly related to the installation, use or mis-use of these components.

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