Just wanted to pass along a little info regarding my recent experience replacing the tailgate struts.

A few weeks ago, I installed a Front Runner ladder on the rear hatch and noticed afterwards that my hatch was not really raising on its own anymore. It would still stay up if I pushed it up, but after examining the struts it looked like they were leaking and needed to be replaced anyway.

I thought that with the additional weight of the ladder, it would be in my best interest to look around and see if I could find a slightly more powerful set of gas struts to replace the originals. I called a few different manufacturers, but it seemed that none made any that were more powerful and still had the same length and stroke. However, I finally came across liftsupportsdepot.com and found one that was very similar, but had a force of 552N instead of 489N. I thought this would be perfect, so I ordered a set. (These were part #4510S10-W FYI). Got them in the mail and then realized that they were larger in diameter than the stock shocks. Totally my fault because it does list the diameter on the website (10mm vs. 8mm stock), but I thought I would try them out anyway.

To make a long story somewhat shorter, they did fit, but they rub against the body of the truck every so slightly. They provided more than enough force to lift the tailgate with authority and I considered leaving them on, but ultimately decided to remove them due to the rubbing. It was nothing serious, but I was concerned that over time, it might wear through the thin coat of paint on inside of the hatch area which may lead to rust. (I can take pics of the rubbing area if anybody is interested). Anyway, I ended up ordering a cheapo set of stock replacements off of eBay and even with the stock lifting force, two new struts are plenty powerful to lift the tailgate. Don't know how long these cheapo ones will last, but they work great for now.

So...
1. Lesson learned - if struts are new, factory struts are plenty powerful to lift tailgate w/ladder
2. If anybody wants to buy a set of "upgraded" but slightly wider tailgate struts, I got a set!

 

I put the cheapest hatch struts available at rockauto on mine. I also noticed they were noticeably stronger than the broken factory struts. Later I replaced the front struts for the same "weak" issue.... I got tired of the bonnet falling on my head.

 

This is probably as good time as any to remind everyone to check for a loose ball retainer re the upper right side rear hatch strut - the one that unscrews itself; also the left per the 18 page link below.

Ignore it, and it becomes another one of those LR learning experiences.

DISCO3.CO.UK - View topic - Go and check your tailgate struts now!

Land Rover - making Mechanics out of Drivers since 1948.

 

Yes, I made sure to check mine while replacing the struts. My right side was pretty tight, but the left side had loosened a bit. I attempted to squirt some locktite on those bolts, but I didn't know how much thread I could expose without really screwing things up. Don't know if I got any on the threads at all, but at least it's tight now.

 

Strangely...I've never heard of the left (driver's) side loosening.

 

The left side will loosen but it is rare; I seem to recall that on mine, the left side was not visibly loose as was the right side where I could see threads but I did give the left side a bit of a tighten with my ignition wrench.

Re locktite, rather than attempting to expose more threads, my feeling was if you got some goo on the back side of the ball hex nut that was good enough. The goo would kind of glue to the paint it seems. It is just not worth the potential downside to purposefully unthread in the hopes that it will not be too much. I also recheck a couple of times a year.

Also make certain you know the difference between tighten and undo before you attempt anything. It is not unheard of for the thread to be on the last turn.