David, the front bonnet struts are more common to go than the rears. I recently replaced the fronts with bits from ebay, they do occasional appear at reasonable price but not seem many rear struts. Might be worth the search :yup:
You can get a strut made to your spec for about £30 delivered. Not particularly cheap but possibly a better option than the broom handle I used to use on my Metro.
Edit: Sourcing them from the US might work out cheaper, if you can avoid import charges. Buying them separately might help.
Next time I would like to try anything other than the oem ones, regrettably it was the oem ones that went on mine, they should have lasted much longer than that when it gave :yup:
When purchasing new tailgate ones bear in mind their are two different types. Some are held on with a bolt on each end and some have a ball and clip at each end, I think the change over was late 2007 but best check what you have first.
So, after lengthy dialogue with those nice chaps at the Custom300cShop and some correspondence with Rock Auto in the US I'm still no nearer to getting the correct struts. It was suggested that I change the ends - put the old end from my existing strut on to the new strut - but I couldn't figure a way to do this without the risk damaging the piston on the new strut.
On top of every thing else, the top - tailgate end - of the strut, the one held on by a bolt [slightly larger than a T40 torque] didn't seem to want to move. I've been soaking it with WD40 every time I open the boot and today it finally moved!
So, the only thing I can think of now is to fit a ball fitting into the bolt hole and use a normal strut. I don't see any reason why this should be a problem apart from obtaining a ball fitting that is...
Does any one have any idea what size I would need? I can remove the existing bolt to get a thread size, is there a standard size for these ball fittings?
Just spoken to Chrysler UK and they tell me that the original struts were discontinued in 2008 and are no longer avaiable...
They tell me that the later struts are a direct replacement but need an additional part - the top ball fitting - which is part number 6508 306AA and is [according to the parts list] STUD, M8x1.25x44.80 - and that they are out of stock...
Well, I ws waiting for the ones from Rock Auto to arrive - they assured me that they were the right fittings...
But, they arrived today and, no, they're not the right fittings.
I've emailed them and will wait to see what they say but your suggestion is exactly what I was thinking, thanks Paul.
The top ones are the right ones - or look like it. However, I've got some coming from those nice people at the custom300cshop - after a bit of research between us they now have a replacement ball stud to swap fro the T40/M8 stud that fixes the originals on.
As for the second set, I have a pair here just like them waiting to be shipped back to Rock Auto...
Doesn't mean they're listed though. Looked when I first realised there were two distinct types and again today and no Strongarms with the right fitting listed. There are some others listed either from Australia or, as KB pointed out, from Germany. The ebay.com solution is to replace the top m8/T40 with an M8 13mm ball stud - plenty of those available on ebay.com. And, that's what I'm planning on.
Well, the parts arrived today at 12:30 - thanks to Paul & Tim - made a cup of tea while I checked them over and assembled the correct tools etc. and by 12:45 everything was done. Fitted and working.
For anyone who has the old type strut, it's a T40 screw/bolt on the top end which needs replacing with a ball stud.