Jeep Enthusiast Forums banner

Hood Prop Mod

19K views 63 replies 21 participants last post by  lfhoward 
#1 ·
While pouring oil in my '08 libby, I bumped my head ( I am 6ft1) The hood is very heavy:mad: I noticed on my girlfriend's taurus the hood opened wide and was supported by struts.:idea:

I went to the local salvage yard, found a '95 taurus, removed the hood struts. $30

Installed them on my Libby, now she opens wide as the grand canyon and close gently. Stays open during windy conditions

If you want to do this mod, $30 plus shipping and handling, includes struts, hardware and instructions. If you going rogue and want to buy it yourself, buy heavy duty hood struts and be careful. It is easy check out the pics. Automotive parking light Automotive side marker light Vehicle Grille Car


Vehicle Car Hood Automotive lighting Motor vehicle


Hood Motor vehicle Automotive tire Vehicle Car


Vehicle Hood Motor vehicle Automotive tire Automotive lighting


Plant Vehicle Motor vehicle Hood Car
 
See less See more
5
#2 ·
Nice mod, i think a couple guys on one of the other forums did the same.
 
#3 · (Edited)
Great! To all liberty owners, If you spend time under the hood, I strongly suggest this mod, because after you hit your head on hood, that mod will be welcomed.

I submitted the pics to a local chrysler dealer here and I got no response. I want to suggest it to chrysler and hope they can implement it on ALL JEEPs
 
#5 ·
Nice and wide open when working in the engine bay. surprisingly the hood feels lighter when opening.
 
#6 ·
ELT3198, there were holes already drilled from the factory. Is it possible that chrysler R&D folks wanted to add a hood strut? The hood is quite heavy. I mounted the ball joint in the existing drilled holes and secured the struts, 15 minutes.
 
#8 ·
Interesting, its possible they were going to do it then decided not to, to save money maybe. The KK is VERY heavy compared to a lot of other vehicles Ive opened the hood on.
 
#10 ·
Update: Longer hood struts

My next door neighbor sold his '98 cadillac sevillle to a salvage company. Whilst he was waiting for them to tow it away, I peaked under the hood, and noticed the hood opened wide like a big mouth bass, had an :idea:

I swapped his longer hood struts for my ford taurus hood struts.:2thumbsup: took less than 5 minutes to swap. I got about 5 degrees more hood angle opening.
 

Attachments

#29 ·
My next door neighbor sold his '98 cadillac sevillle to a salvage company. Whilst he was waiting for them to tow it away, I peaked under the hood, and noticed the hood opened wide like a big mouth bass, had an :idea:

I swapped his longer hood struts for my ford taurus hood struts.:2thumbsup: took less than 5 minutes to swap. I got about 5 degrees more hood angle opening.
I original ones were from a '98 ford taurus at the salvage yard. Those in the pics are from a 2000 cadillac eldorado.

The cadillac hood opens wider. Remove it along with the ball pin.
Skipper, can you post pics of the install? I went with the struts off a 2002 cadillac. The hood open wide enough.
I'm a bit confused, what year and model caddy struts fit the best?:dunno:
 
#11 ·
lol nice
 
#13 ·
I purchased a 9"X4" filter ($42) and a 3" ($2.99) breather filter and installed it ..... felt a bit of responsive. I installed the Dynomax thrush turbo muffler, and noticed a huge difference in throttle response
 
#14 ·
the K&N kit was over $200 that included the chrome pipe.... nah, got the filter instead.
Liquid Bottle Purple Fluid Violet
 
#15 ·
Got a post card from satan (http://www.hollywoodchryslerjeep.com/index.htm)for an oil change $19.99. Give the guy my keys and the post card, he told me to go wait in the lounge. Sat there for about 10 minutes before I saw my libby drove into the bay. I walked back there to the bay to see mike the mechanic open the hood and looked for the hood prop.

For a few seconds he was baffled, then he saw the hood prop and released the hood...lol....
 
#17 ·
I original ones were from a '98 ford taurus at the salvage yard. Those in the pics are from a 2000 cadillac eldorado.

The cadillac hood opens wider. Remove it along with the ball pin.
 
#19 ·
Gas Tints and shades Microphone Wood Audio equipment


Gas Tints and shades Microphone Wood Audio equipment


I'm preparing to do my hood mod. I forgot to get some nuts for the struts, so I'll have to go back before I can install. These were bought from autozone and are exactly 19 1/4 inch long, and you can get the model number in the pic too. Both ends have ball joints, and it looks to match up pretty good. Only 1 hole to drill to mount bottom of strut. They seem pretty beefy and were like $19 a piece. Once I get my nuts (lol), I'll post my install pics.
 

Attachments

#20 ·
Oh yeah, autozone struts weren't a great selection, and my choice was based on what would work best with ball joints and i wished they were a bit longer. I think around 22 inches would have pushed the struts back to the factory holes and provide adequate hood angle. But like I said, their selection wasnt great and I was checking to make sure fittings would work.
 
#21 ·
Ok. Finished the mod. Mine could have been better because: actual travel distance of strut was kind of short, thus hood raised a tad under what the rod gave you. I figured it might be an issue when i got them, but not much selection to really pick from and I wanted ball joints. But struts work great and mod was ok besides that one issue. I'm happy.
 
#22 ·
Skipper, can you post pics of the install? I went with the struts off a 2002 cadillac. The hood open wide enough.
 

Attachments

This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top