rear deck lid latch adjustment

Look out. The hinge that is attached into the decklid is installed in a way that if you increase the pressure then you run the risk of pulling them right out of the decklid itself.

This happened to me and at the time the only way to fix it was to braze them back in. Brazing was used so the brass could be melted and dripped into a very tight area.

I suppose that now you could use panel bonding adhesive...maybe.

The modern replacement for these shocks should be an electric self powered lift like we see on SUV's opening the rear hatch. Not a pressurized cylinder that constantly loads that area of very thin sheet metal on a very expensive to replace deck.

Send Jon Haas at Pantera-electronics a message telling him you want them. He has a set now that works off of an air compressor but that's already obsolete. The self powered electric ones are what is needed.

It's gonna take more then just me to talk him into making them. Maybe if there are a dozen or so folks interested he'll do it?

Don't be shy. Jon responds to market demands.

Suggestion: Remove them NOW. Replace with lower pressure supports. Multiple vendors have the correct ones available. As Doug mentioned, the effects of continued use can be expensive.

Ditto. Take those shocks off and put them on eBay for someone with a winged car or just throw them in your trashcan. There are reasons why vendors offer two different decklid shocks.

Anytime you might again feel like thinking outside the box, please post your questions to this forum ....before.... buying something that may wind up just sucking money out of your wallet. Like those shocks.

Seriously, your move at this point is to buy the proper shocks. The ones the vendors, and all of us here on the forum, would've recommended had you asked.

Larry

I have seen numerous cars with warped decklids for exactly this reason and it is an extremely difficult problem to correct given the double skin of the hood in that area.

As I have posted elsewhere the fulcrum point for the oem decklid shocks is less than ideal (worse with a wing), I recommend and use the IPSCO relocation modification, which also solved my deck lid leading edge catching the roof when opened.

http://ipsco.org/Pantera%20Par...id%20Shock%20Kit.htm

Julian

Ditto what Julian said.

I also gave up on the OEM lifts and installed the IPSCO upgrade.

Over the life of the car, will likely be cheaper than replacing the decklid shocks every three or so years.

Larry

I have ordinary lifters and 400Nm is perfect to lift a normal none wing deck lid without damage.

The 400Nm I got from this forum a while ago and the info was spot on.

Yeah I have dealt with this strut crap for years and the only strut that has worked perfect for me and with the correct pressure so far are the ones I got from Pantera Parts Connection ($84 back on 2/7/15). All the other crap, such as Autozone, Lifto-Crap etc. worked ok at first, but as I recall didn't even last a year before loosing their ability to hold the hood. Plus those labeled as "Detomaso" were way too strong (I think I measured about 160 lbs per strut!). With the ones I have now mentioned above, I pop open the hood and can use one finger to raise or lower the hood, and to me that is the correct pressure to have on the hood. Anyway, 2 years later they are still working just as good as the day I bought them. So if you like the thin type of struts (not like the originals), these are my vote. Or when you get a few hours just read the 19 pages in sticky post #2 above.

There's a fine line between not-quite-enough and way-too-much decklid lift pressure. As Julian said, it can not only screw up the hinges, it can warp the support reinforcement under the roof skin or the decklid itself. I once worked on a Pantera with a double-element fiberglas wing, and it made the decklid assembly so heavy, NO lift cylinder would open the lid, even the dangerously powerful ones. On that car, a simple hold-open clip on a std lift cylinder sold by Pantera Parts Connection worked just fine, and fits in the gadget tray of the console. Don't over-think the problem...

Thanks to all. I'll take the advice and remove them and go back to the standard ones.

The safest thing to do is use a hood prop rod. You should use one for safety anyway.

These also offer very good insurance against a decklid smashing down on your head, or a spectator's head when parked at a car show.

Larry

^^^^Exactly!............

This is easy you don't need a redesign or extra gadgets. Use AutoZone D95004. It is the perfect amount of resistance for a standard deck lid.

If you're trying to protect against a high wind from slamming it down you shouldn't have it up anyway.

quote:

Originally posted by RRS1:
This is easy you don't need a redesign or extra gadgets. Use AutoZone D95004. It is the perfect amount of resistance for a standard deck lid.

If you're trying to protect against a high wind from slamming it down you shouldn't have it up anyway.

Maybe you had better luck on the Autozone struts, but I went through 2 sets within about a year due to them weakening & not holding the hood. And changing the struts without a helper is a pain in the crotch; however using bungees from hood to the garage rafters helps.

quote:

Originally posted by DOES 200:

quote:

Originally posted by RRS1:
This is easy you don't need a redesign or extra gadgets. Use AutoZone D95004. It is the perfect amount of resistance for a standard deck lid.

If you're trying to protect against a high wind from slamming it down you shouldn't have it up anyway.

Maybe you had better luck on the Autozone struts, but I went through 2 sets within about a year due to them weakening & not holding the hood. And changing the struts without a helper is a pain in the crotch; however using bungees from hood to the garage rafters helps.

I have the same experience with the Autozone struts BUT I had gotten that part number off of the set that I bought from Hall Pantera. So as far as I know, those are the only replacement struts available.

There is usually only one or two manufacturers of parts like that and they just get re-packaged to use the brand name of whoever is selling them.

I agree with using a decklid lift support for security, but the screw on clamp is not a good idea IMO as the shocks are fairly delicate gas seals and any marring of the rod by the screw will result in early failure.

Larry Stock is a plastics guy as well as the Pantera Parts and he takes a HDPE tube of the same length as the extended shock rod and cuts roughly a 1/3 out longways just enough that it clips over the cylinder rod, no marring!

Incidentally, from your initial post title, you were asking about adjusting the deck lid latch... is that still of interest? Because aside from whatever lifting cylinders or devices you use to help open or hold the lid, the latching assembly itself is problematic due to flexing of the body. NONE of the several designs available will cure this.