Replacing trunk shocks in 4 door sedan
 

I've done a few minor repairs lately so I'm on a roll. I was thinking about replacing the two trunk shocks. Is this an easy or difficult job? Does it require removing the trunk liner? I see that one end of the strut is down in a hole in the back of the trunk. I shined a flashlight in there and I don't see how to remove it. No screws that I can see.

Can someone please explain the procedure or point me to one?
I have a 1994 Volvo 850 sedan, no spoiler.

Thanks in advance.

I did the shocks for my wagon, and I believe they're the same part number. Should be pretty easy to manage on your own. Make sure you use a broom handle or a long 2x4 to hold up the trunk lid or you'll get smacked in the back of the head!

You should be able to easily pull the trunk liner out of the way.

The shocks I got from FCP (apx. 20 bucks each, if I recall) are pretty serious. The old ones were totally shot and the hatch would clobber you, but the new ones actually shake the car when they open the hatch all the way!

Thanks for the tip about the 2x4!

How do you actually remove them? Is there a screw or bolt or something? Is there one on each end? My car has 2 shocks, so I assume if I do one at a time the hood won't fall down on my head?

thanks.

You can do a search for a write-up (I did before I jumped on the project), but it's pretty easy to figure out.

On each end of the strut is a little ball cap that’s pressure-fitted to a round post. You just have to pry it off the post with a long screwdriver. The item from FCP had a little metal pin that helped to keep it securely in place. Remove the pin before installation or you’ll bend it to crap (learned that from experience!). To get the ball cap onto the round post, I used adjustable pliers to gently squeeze the cap onto the ball. The hardest part was removing the plastic trim covering the mount points. Total time was probably 11 minutes for both sides.

If your lid is staying up right now, then you don’t have to change them out. If they are OK during the summer but ‘droop’ during the winter, you could probably get by with changing only one. As I mentioned, I’m pretty sure it’s the same part for trunks and hatches (just don’t hold me to it!). Since the wagon hatch is much heavier than the trunk lid, swapping only one would probably be fine for you.

I did mine four years back with replacement struts from Autozone. If I remember correctly you have to remove cushion under back sit-belts.

I don't mean to hijack the thread, but I didn't think it was worth it to open a brand new one for a similar subject.

Are the trunk struts the same for the models with and without a spoiler?

Mine has no spoiler, but I found an OEM spoiler that I want to put on. I remember vaguely someone telling me that I need different trunk struts. Is this true? And why - what is the problem with the current ones?

There's a retainer clip on the ends of the struts where they meet the trunk lid, remove that and slide the strut off, lift up on the rear of the strut and it comes out.


Just compare part numbers on FCP or something to see if they're different or not. I don't know what the difference would be exactly. I'm guessing the struts w/spoiler are a little stronger for the added weight of the spoiler.

I had to replace the trunk strut on my son's S70. No aftermarket ones immediately available locally, so I ended up just going to the local parts store and purchasing a generic 85lb 19 1/2" strut which of course did not have the needed hook end. I simply unscrewed the hook from the bad strut and as the threads were different, tried to tap the hook with a 1/4-28NF tap which of course will only go in far enough to start the threads. I then heated the threads of the new strut piston with a propane torch and quickly threaded the hook on.

Worked like a charm and the new strut only cost me $12 CDN ($9.30 USD)!