Okay, here's the deal; the left side liftgate strut doesn't make that nice "hiss" it used to when opening; in other words, air isn't coming out, and as a result, the liftgate needs to be propped open (the right side alone isn't strong enough to counter this). My baby's a 2000 4x4 4dr, and the only thing different today was that I wiped some excess grease from the piston shaft of the strut; I think something is clogging it and preventing air from coming out, which explains why it isn't hissing and wants to pull the thing down. Anybody have the same problem? Do you know where the air is supposed to vent from so I can check if it's clogged? Much thanks in advance!

 

I would replace the strut. They go bad after years of use.

 

Exactly. They are a replaceable maintenance item.

 

Replace the pair. The Strong Arm brand has been around for years & Rock Auto has them for around $15.00 each. Part # 4287.

 

+ 1. They are gas struts and are supposed to be sealed. Just like a gas strut or shock on a suspension, when you see greasy residue or oil on the shiny piston shaft of the unit, it means that the cylinder has failed and needs to be replaced.

I also agree on the Strong Arm brand, and that the struts should be replaced as a pair.

 

Okay, thanks all for the tip on the Strong Arm brand! I'll look into that (not much around Hawaii, you guys on the Mainland have all the goodies and at cheaper prices!). It's great to have forums like these!

 

and David, that hiss wasn't air coming out, it was the internal valving letting the fluid pass from chamber to chamber.

and you're right about those guys on the main land, we have the same issue when trying ot order things up from the States.

 

You guys have O'Reilly there, but some of the stores are called Checker. You can go to oreillyauto.com and find your nearest store. They carry the struts.

 

Thanks all, found the last pair of Strong Arm struts at my local O'Reilly; for anyone else who happens upon this thread, prop your gate up and remove the two struts. Attach the new ones at the top first, then hyper extend the gate to get the bottoms into place (so, left top -> right top, then left bottom -> right bottom). If you attach one at a time, you won't be able to push the gate up high enough to get the other one seated, and there is no way that you're going to be able to compress the thing by hand! Not sure if that's what the instructions said-- like most guys, I just threw away the packaging and popped them on. Typical guy thing.

 

The rear prop rods in my 99 4 door Blazer are also on the way out.
I found the Strong Arm gas rods at my Local Advance, but there is already 1 review where they did not last a week.

I check GMpartsdirect for factory gas props, and they are like $35 shipped.

I'll probably go that route, since I have went after market before on a Caravan props and they never lasted more than a year until I bought them from a dealer.