Touring tailgate bending struts

[mattdrink73]

Hi all,

New to the forum and picked up my first BMW at the weekend - an E34 525 touring. Few little niggles I'm trying to sort so I can daily it.

I'm going to take it to a specialist next week for a few rust patch ups and a couple of other bits but the most annoying problem I have at the moment is that when I open the full tailgate it gets stuck open and if you try to close it the boot struts start to bend unless you hold them both in whilst closing it gently. Is this a common issue? Any idea on how to fix?

Thanks, Matt

[atl530i]

Welcome to the forums!

Fairly common if they are the Stabilus struts. I've already bent a set and now I'm careful when I close the hatch with the new set.

[mattdrink73]

Thanks! One was bent when I bought the car and I swapped it to a new one the seller provided. I can actually shut it now but it's basically a two man job as you need to hold both struts whilst closing to stop them bending. Is there a fix for this or another brand of strut that are better? Fortunately the glass hatch works okay but would be nice to be able to use the full boot when I need it!

[eddycooper]

I've got the same problem! I don't know what's changed, but I'm only finding this with the Stabilus struts that I've purchased in the past few years. I'm also interested in a fix! I buy the Stabilus struts because they're the OEM - but have they changed their design or something?

[mattdrink73]

I've got these ones I believe: https://www.sgs-engineering.com/nl1163-bmw-5-series-tailgate-strut

I was sure I saw a post a while ago about some kind of threshold screw or something that stops the boot opening too far but I can't find it for the life of me

[eddycooper]

I don't believe there is anything that limits how far the tailgate can open. I've never seen anything on the hinge mechanism. But I agree - it does seem like the struts are allowing the tailgate to open just a little bit too far.

[moroza]

Stabilus used to be made in Germany. Last I checked, they still are, but only for genuine BMW struts. Non-BMW branded Stabilus struts are made in Mexico. I've broken two of them if memory serves. Genuine ones are worth it: mine have seen three years of regular use, have not broken, and have the correct two-stage force curve that aftermarket usually do not. I previously broke Magneti Marelli ones, and tried Tuff Strut but found the force curve wrong.

[dannyzabolotny]

Yeah unfortunately the OE BMW-branded Stabilus trunk struts are the only good ones left. Most dealers retail them for over $100 each, but you can buy em for less than that online from the many online BMW dealer stores. It seems like the left side one has been discontinued, but the only thing that is side-specific is the attachment arm which unscrews, so you could swap that over from an old one.

[mattdrink73]

Nice one thanks all! I'll seek out some Stabilus ones and swap them over and let you know how I get on

[cornershop]

I too had the aftermarket stabilus ones bend one me, and the 400N rated SGS ones would not hold the tailgate open just above the closing height, so go rid of those too.

When I bought my genuine ones last year, one side was NLA. However the struts are the same both sides, its just the mounting bracket which is sided.

Do not throw yours out with the old ones.

[m735is]

When I recently changed out mine for some after market struts, I noticed that one side wants to bend if I were to just pull the hatch down. I looked at the mounting point and I see that the screw is striped just enought to not hold the bracket in place. It moves a little bit. The other side works fine. I'm sure if you loosen the mount screw on the hatch and move the bracket a little bit, then thighten it, it won't bend. Maybe not, though. I can't test my theory.