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Car Forum / BMW Cars / February 2006A silly problem with my 325is engine hood
Does anyone know why my engine hood will no longer stay 'up' .. I know its on some kind of piston affair ..have I lost hydraulic or something..I had the car painted and thot maybe they had removed the hood to paint the car but they said no... it may have been like that before I took it in for paint, don't know...any suggestions? Many t hanks in advance.... > Does anyone know why my engine hood will no longer stay 'up' .. I know > its on some kind of piston affair ..have I lost hydraulic or > something..I had the car painted and thot maybe they had removed the > hood to paint the car but they said no... it may have been like that > before I took it in for paint, don't know...any suggestions? Likely it has gas struts and these have failed - you first notice it in cold weather. Usually easy to change, though.  Signature*It's not hard to meet expenses... they're everywhere. Dave Plowman dave@davenoise.co.uk London SW To e-mail, change noise into sound. Hi Dave, you were so helpful in explaining another problem I ad...could you explain how you think the gas struts work and whether there is some part of the hood 'suspension' I can look at to verify your theory? Also, Jack's suggestion about the weight of the paint was one the body folks raised as well.. if that's the case, will new struts have enough 'oomph'? The struts are very simple. It has a piston at one end and the strut has a gas charge strong enough to hold the bonnet open, and also helps dampen the force when closing. Over time the gas pressure decreases and the charge is not strong enough to do its job. Don't think there is anything much to look at, as long as the joints are free to move just replace the struts and you'll be good as new. New struts will be more than capable. > Hi Dave, you were so helpful in explaining another problem I ad...could > you explain how you think the gas struts work and whether there is some > part of the hood 'suspension' I can look at to verify your theory? They are basically a hydraulic version of a spring. But being hydraulic easier to modify the 'law' of the amount of support effort. Even to provide a constant effort throughout the travel which a simple spring can't. > Also, Jack's suggestion about the weight of the paint was one the body > folks raised as well.. if that's the case, will new struts have enough > 'oomph'? Think he was having a laugh. ;-) Signature*Make it idiot-proof and someone will make a better idiot. Dave Plowman dave@davenoise.co.uk London SW To e-mail, change noise into sound. I suppose they may have put so much new paint on your hood that the air spring is no longer strong enough to hold it up. > Does anyone know why my engine hood will no longer stay 'up' .. I know its > on some kind of piston affair ..have I lost hydraulic or something..I had [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > > Many t hanks in advance.... When your car was painted, it spent time in the oven. My guess is that this heat was too much for the gas struts. Thety were probably old and tired anyway. It is a simple affair to change them out and, yes, the new ones will have all the umph you need for years to come. > Does anyone know why my engine hood will no longer stay 'up' .. I know its > on some kind of piston affair ..have I lost hydraulic or something..I had [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > > The hood is held up by a gas-filled shock absorber, for lack of a better word. You need to raise the hood and either re-attach the shock, or replace it. Take it off and take it to the store and find another one that is the same size. > Does anyone know why my engine hood will no longer stay 'up' .. I know its > on some kind of piston affair ..have I lost hydraulic or something..I had [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > > Many t hanks in advance.... > The hood is held up by a gas-filled shock absorber, for lack of a better > word. They're called gas filled struts. But not US gas. ;-) Signature*I don't suffer from insanity -- I'm a carrier Dave Plowman dave@davenoise.co.uk London SW To e-mail, change noise into sound. >> The hood is held up by a gas-filled shock absorber, for lack of a better >> word. > > They're called gas filled struts. But not US gas. ;-) Strut is the word I was searching for. It does _look_ kinda like a shock though, so he should be able to find it ... |
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