macd2401
Established Member
OK, I was spoiled with my last 2 cars having gas struts under the bonnet, so I decided to fit some to the ZS.
AliExpress seemed to be a fairly decent price (under £30 if memory serves) for generic ZS struts, so I ponied up the cash, and sat back for a few weeks until they turned up.
Out of the box, there's 2 struts, mounting hardware, and a metal strap with 2 nuts attached. Total time is around 10-15 mins.
The bottom brackets mount on top of part of the headlight assembly. There's plenty of length in the original bolt to hold it down.
The bonnet mounted screws need the 2 corner plastic plugs removed. You then need to thread the strap with the corresponding nut in through the large hole just in front of the mounting point, and catch it with the mounting pin.
In case I want to remove them, I decided to cut the strap, and leave it sticking out. I originally put gaffer tape on it, but I'll be covering it with some shrink wrap once I get a chance.
Top of the strut is a push fit.
Bottom joint has a small pin that needs removed and refitted.
Final install.
Issues.
Replace the passenger side first. If you do the driver side first and make an arse of knocking the original strut out of place, you get an instant headache. Ask me how I know ?
The lower mounting brackets want to twist. Some form of locking washer may be a good idea, otherwise they may move out of place and damage the metalwork underneath... again, ask me how I know ?
It doesn't specify which bracket should go on which side. I mounted them pin forward, but they could be swapped for pin back. They work fine either way.
Now the bonnet lifts well with minimal effort to start it, holds well in the wind, and drops down with a firm push. Definitely worth the effort, and probably the 2nd cheapest mod so far.
AliExpress seemed to be a fairly decent price (under £30 if memory serves) for generic ZS struts, so I ponied up the cash, and sat back for a few weeks until they turned up.
Out of the box, there's 2 struts, mounting hardware, and a metal strap with 2 nuts attached. Total time is around 10-15 mins.
The bottom brackets mount on top of part of the headlight assembly. There's plenty of length in the original bolt to hold it down.
The bonnet mounted screws need the 2 corner plastic plugs removed. You then need to thread the strap with the corresponding nut in through the large hole just in front of the mounting point, and catch it with the mounting pin.
In case I want to remove them, I decided to cut the strap, and leave it sticking out. I originally put gaffer tape on it, but I'll be covering it with some shrink wrap once I get a chance.
Top of the strut is a push fit.
Bottom joint has a small pin that needs removed and refitted.
Final install.
Issues.
Replace the passenger side first. If you do the driver side first and make an arse of knocking the original strut out of place, you get an instant headache. Ask me how I know ?
The lower mounting brackets want to twist. Some form of locking washer may be a good idea, otherwise they may move out of place and damage the metalwork underneath... again, ask me how I know ?
It doesn't specify which bracket should go on which side. I mounted them pin forward, but they could be swapped for pin back. They work fine either way.
Now the bonnet lifts well with minimal effort to start it, holds well in the wind, and drops down with a firm push. Definitely worth the effort, and probably the 2nd cheapest mod so far.
).
