hood strut failure?

[xurusaibobx]

any technicians in the business have ever encountered a hydraulic hood strut fail while working on a customers car? like out of the blue slam shut. all the cars ive worked on they were either dead and working perfectly fine. and i wasnt about to hood prop every vehicle or risk the changes of forgetting a clamp tool on the strut.

the other day car was up on the lift and the hood came slamming shut causing damage to the hood. it wasnt due to the car being raised because it was already in the air for a while.

then who's fault does the damage caused get blamed to?

the shop? the mechanic? the vehicle owner(if they knew of the problem or not)

 

[Bjkearns]

I think there are some variables that would come into play

How is the customer
How much damage
Are they reasonable

 

[DodgeMech]

There's a reason shops have insurance...and before anyone ******* about lifting it with the hood up...we all know that that gives you a **** ton more light when you're working under the damned thing

 

[Drew_flux]

seen it many times, been hit by a few hoods too. some time they will catch you out, but I do tend to agree most of the time, they are good or fubar.

 

[countryroad82]

I was installing a fender on a car once, hood came down, latched completely down, both my hands were smashed in the hood, nobody around. Oh yeah already had a couple bolts in the fender so I was stuck, had to just man up and rip skin and hands through the opening. Broke my middle finger and all that jazz. These days I snap my vice grips I keep in my pocket on ALL hood struts.

 

[Danglerb]

My car has an aluminum hood that weighs about 5 lbs, so not sure it "could" crash down, but bad struts are so common everybody I know that works on them uses a prop, I have an old broom.

Hoods/hatches usually have two struts, only one working would be a little obvious, and two failing at the same time really odd. Did the struts fail, no strutiness left to them, or did they come loose?

I'd lead off asking the customer about the struts and the hood and any known problems, but I don't see how you get off the hook for fixing the damage. How does a hood get damaged from closing?

 

[xj31]

I was putting a battery in an old 300M. If you don't know, it's mounted in front of the right front tire. Well I was kinda working around the fender, with my hands inside the wheel well when the hood decided to come down on the back of my head, slamming my face into the fender. It split my chin open, put a nice lump on the back of my head and tore up the inside of my bottom lip. I have had a lot of hoods close unexpectedly, but that's the first time one got me.

 

[TheGrooveking]

A big factor is temperature, many cylinders on the edge of failure work only because the temperature is at a point that the gas has enough pressure to hold the load of the hood. I've had a few that were right on the verge and they would not hold or came down when it became colder due to gas pressure contraction due to lower temperature.

I too had a unexpectant drop of the hood on my Ford F250SD while I was pouring a quart of oil into it, I saw it coming down so I pulled my arm out fast, I got out in time but the hood crushed the quard of oil / funnel that was in the valve cover which resulted in the oil container exploding and blasting me and everything under the hood with oil. I lost an excellent coat that day.

TheGrooveking

 

[Milton Shaw]

I would suggest a hood prop not vise grips on the strut. If I saw you damage strut shaft with vise grips you would be buying a new strut. SnapON and everybody else makes a hood prop that works great and prevents a lot of injuries.

 

[s14kev]

These days I snap my vice grips I keep in my pocket on ALL hood struts.

This is an example of why I have never had anything done by a workshop.

 

[ElectroLight]

I've had mine come down unexpectedly, but I knew the cylinders were weak. It put a small dent in the fender because it caught a tool in between. I replaced both cylinders a few years ago and now I have the opposite problem, one of the cylinders doesn't want to extend or retract?? Makes opening the hood a royal PIA.

 

[xj31]

I would suggest a hood prop not vise grips on the strut. If I saw you damage strut shaft with vise grips you would be buying a new strut. SnapON and everybody else makes a hood prop that works great and prevents a lot of injuries.

Most people only use vise grips on a strut that's junk already.

 

[FiendFX]

hood strut fail all the times. i usually test the hood first if needed to be proped.

 

[amlv20]

I've had hoods salm shut and destroy my hood light. If its week I use vise grips, not to tight and it won't damage anything. If I need to go tighter because the hood is heavy I rap the vise grips with electrical tape, no harm no damage done to the hood struts.

 

[txz28]

I am not an auto tech, but I have had it happen on my own car. It would open fine for about half an hour, then bam. Never happened with my head under it.

 

[MartinTech]

After I had a hood drop onto the touch-screen of an Autologic several years ago, I put a clamp on every hood strut I encounter! Better safe than sorry, and if any damage occurs from a falling hood, it's always the tech's fault. No exceptions.

 

[Drew_flux]

I have the vicegrip pipe locks. they can clamp the struts without, although a bit of fuel hose over the jaws will stop the marks on the rods.

 

[countryroad82]

I would suggest a hood prop not vise grips on the strut. If I saw you damage strut shaft with vise grips you would be buying a new strut. SnapON and everybody else makes a hood prop that works great and prevents a lot of injuries.

Although I have the tool you are talking about and I do have it in my go to cart, my 4WR Vise Grips are in my pocket and handy. Most of the time I just use the VGs and if you don't snap them on so tight to cause damage you don't damage the strut.

 

[jamesc]

I only use a prop rod or vise grips on cars with prop rods that are screwed, you guys have me worried now. as far as vise grips on the prop rod shaft, I could care less about marking the shaft once the rod had already failed.

 

[Nanashi]

Wrap the long nose vice grips with rubber if your that co concerned. But honestly no one with common sense is making it that tight that it marks the strut.

Op in the shop i work in, the shop would pay for the repairs to the vehical no questions asked. Its your fault o matter what it doesnt matter if it was an accident.

 

[Applesauce]

I have a family member who got a garage full of tools from a friend of his, a heavy diesel mechanic, who had a truck lid come down on his back and end his career.

 

[WHT]

This is an example of why I have never had anything done by a workshop.

I grew up working on cars and still do all of my maintenance/work now for similar reasons. The few times our cars were sent to dealership they came back with damage for no additional cost.

My wife has a Lexus and takes it for inspections as required by the warranty (and she has three free oil changes). She sits in their European cafe style waiting room sipping a latte and watching one of four big screen TVs or checking email on one of six computers while highly trained professional go over her car. I check her car myself every time because the tires are usually filled to 46 pounds and/or the oil level is incorrect. I marked the oil filter cartridge housing and last time it wasn’t opened and two of the engine cover push pins were missing.

 

[ChevyEFI]

My new question is: Is the surface of the rod that extends out of the hood strut always a sealing surface? Or are some dependent only on an internal piston and the o.d. of the strut body instead?

 

[metalhead212121]

you guys are gonna love this story....

it was me and an old co-worker working side by side in different bays. I was leaning over the fender and out of nowhere the hood slammed down on my back! I was in my early 20's at the time and SHORT FUSED! I pushed the hood up and ran over to my co-worker and shoved him and started yelling at him and wanted to fight.. In my head he slammed the hood down on me because he was having a bad day. Must have looked like something outta a cartoon!

 

[Carguy99]

I search garage sals for camera tripods. I make three props and give them out to friends and techs I see using brooms. LOL
i Saw a tech using a 20# sledge hammer as a prop one day. I walked by and said, " Ya know if it were me Id put the heavy end down." Short time later BOOM... he was ok just a little rattled. I gave him one of my home made props. Been good friends ever since.

 

[Cardude5]

I actually had the same problem last year- working on older cars with failed struts. One time the hood of a car i was working on came cracking down on my head.. didn't feel very good. Now i use a tool called ShockLock for all my cars with failed struts. The tool itself only cost me $40 dollars- i ordered off their website www.shocklock.ca

 

[quattroJoe]

Admittedly I don't use a prop on every car with struts, but I should. I've seen plenty that seem fine and then slam shut anywhere from 5 to 30 minutes after opening. I've got a Lisle prop that I use on any car that looks junky or is more than 3 or 4 years old. I can't say I've ever seen damage caused just from a hood slamming shut though, the only way I could imagine this happening is if you had something large-ish sitting on top of the engine or core support. Even hand tools sitting on the engine ought to be clear of the hood.

 

[greasemonkey44]

It happens; slow or fast. Usually the slow ones will go when it's the most annoying.
I usually prop them; or vice grips.
I like the idea of a camera tripod leg; so easy Id put them on all cars

 

[Wakefield]

Do any new cars still come with quality hood hold open hardware/springs?
The hood struts that are on most newer cars are junk. And on hatches. Junk and when they cause injuries the manufacturer should be liable. I really think this is something that shouldn't have to be tolerated.
I remember when certain cars had doors that tended to come open unexpectedly as when the car was traveling down the highway. And most of those cars did not have seatbelts.I think GM had an advertising campaign about 1965 when they got a safety door latch that not only was unlikely to come open on its own (at least when locked) but resisted coming open in a wreck when tension stress was put on the latch from stretching of the side/door of the car.

 

[rockinacummins]

Yep. Me too. Rams have weak hood struts anyway but mine has a billet grille which adds a fair amount of weight. Sometimes it stays up, sometimes it don't. I usually use a baseball bat to prop it, but one time it stayed up all by itself. So I began installing the new water pump. And all I remember after that is a string of cuss words...

 

[wildstyle]

Yup...was changing a battery out on a 99 explorer at work about 6 years ago. Hood struts let go and the hood came crashing down and latched with both my wrists stuck under it and the fender. The hood bent over my wrists. Had to get the guy in the next bay to pop the release and let me out. No major damage done to me...but it didn't tickle either...

The customer felt pretty ****** that it did that too me and we straightened it out the best we could for him and he was good with it.

 

[BFHtime]

Disclaimer I did not read the entire thread only about the first 5 posts. I am going to be and am tired.

I believe this could happen in this scenario. Let's say the car has been driven for a period of time, to heat up the struts. Then when the car has been sitting for a bit, before it gets pulled in the bay. Then the hood is opened, the hot air is released and the strut begins to cool off. As the strut cools if it is old and maybe has lost some gas. The pressure in the strut decreases (pv=nrt), then slam.

 

[egnorant]

Bamboo stick! I have one that seems to always find a use for a hood or a hatch. Worked on a friends Jeep that both hood and hatch were not lifting properly so I custom cut her a piece for both uses. Had too many crushed work lights, dented hoods and heads or just totally failed cylinders to not include one for my shop.

 

[csargents1546]

When I use a vise grip for the hood strut it has a rag between the jaws and the strut. No damage to the strut.

 

[K-Dog]

I have had quite a few hoods come down on me.
It has never hurt, but it always scares the living **** out of me.

 

[fm2176]

One thing I like about my '06 Sierra is that it has durable hood springs instead of struts. I've had a '78 Blazer and a '78 F-250 as well, both of which had springs that supported their (much heavier) hoods decades after leaving the production line.

I used to use a Matco hood prop at the dealership. It gives peace of mind and doesn't damage anything.

 

[Murphy4570]

Vice grips and get to work. Weak/busted struts get vice grips. New struts are usually in the $20 a pop range, yet I never managed to sell them. Go figure.

 

[MattPersman]

I love it, never takes long before someone posts that the method someone posted (vice grips) that is used by 1000s of people who do this for a living everyday is so wrong and hack like. And are so appalled and a reason why they never bring their old worthless car to a shop that would charge them money to work on it. Maybe if the vice grips were used to proper torque it would be better? Lol

 

[xurusaibobx]

ever since i posted this, i now own 3 lisle hood clamps and 2 prop sticks. i work on a lot of cars at work and i always clamp every vehicle i work on. my last injury happened when i was under a bmw just for 1 second while the hood was up and the hood strut gave out and came crashing down on my spine. i was literally dead center of the engine bay leaning over. i knew that day was going come and i didnt believe it would. from that day on i clamp hood struts all the time

 

[ADSR]

Do any new cars still come with quality hood hold open hardware/springs?

Most GM's do.

They knew the hood would be open most of the time.