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Thread: Me again (I feel so needy) Tonneau Struts

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Feb 2011
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    Ridgeway, VA
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    1995 BMW 318iC

    Me again (I feel so needy) Tonneau Struts

    Ordered and received my new tonneau struts, got one of the old ones out and have a couple of questions:

    First, the ends of the new ones are different, as in they do not have the additional clip the old one has. I discovered the old clip comes off and am assuming it needs to be put on the new strut, but want to make sure ...

    Second, is there some trick to installing these? I began putting in the new one easily enough by attaching it to the lower ball ... but now I cannot get the upper end to compress enough to "reach" the upper attachment point. Is there some method I haven't thought of? Is it easier to start with the upper attachment point?

    Thanks in advance, I look forward to all suggestions/help

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Oct 2006
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    Greenville, NC
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    1997 328i convertible
    I do not remember exactly how I did it, but it was not easy.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    May 2004
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    Florida Panhandle/ Ohio
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    14 JGC/13 E88 128i
    Taking the tonneau cover off is the best way. Be sure to use masking tape around the tonneau cover to mark exactly where the top was mounted. It makes reinstalling it so much easier since no tweaks are required. Unless you have long thin arms this is the best way...

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Aug 2006
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    Tidewater, VA
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    '99 M3 Vert 5spd blk/blk
    I just did mine a couple weeks ago. I got BMW replacement struts, and they did come with the clips on the end. I actually ordered the wrong struts at first; I bought part number 54318135313 struts instead, and they did not come with the clips on the end, but they were almost the right length.

    When I replaced the tonneau cover struts, I connected the bottom of the struts to the mounting balls first. I reached through the opening from the top storage compartment while a friend help open the tonneau cover for me.

    I pushed down on the top of the strut while I lined it up with the pin it mates to on the tonneau linkage (by feel), and it mated up. It wasn't easy, lol. The passenger side was much easier and only took a couple tries. I had to contort myself so I could use my right hand on the driver's side, as my left hand wasn't strong enough to hold the strut and push it down at the same time. You only need to compress the struts maybe 1/2" or so with the tonneau fully upright, maybe less.

    I'm 6'-3" (but not bulky) and managed to get my hand in there to replace the struts, so most people should be able to get their hand in there, but it is very tight.

    I was almost at the point where I was going to remove the tonneau cover, but I was concerned about getting everything lined back up just right, so I held off.

    Mike

    '99 M3 5-spd w/ RC304's and clear corners, otherwise bone stock w/ 53K miles, '91 300ZX TwinTurbo w/ twin GT2860RS's, '02 Jag XJR, '63 Austin Healey 3000 BJ7

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Feb 2011
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    Ridgeway, VA
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    1995 BMW 318iC
    Thanks for the advice (so far). I ordered mine from Pelican Parts and sprang for the "cheapies" ... mainly because I'm broke, not cheap. The ends, which I actually learned are called the "safty clips" come off and fit on the replacement struts, but I will admit I am not strong enough to push the end down. I have a friend coming next weekend that I hope will be able to compress the upper end enough to get it in and attached.

    So, what you are saying is that I do, indeed, need the safety clips, that answers question number one. Do you know of a trick to get the strut to compress? I can't move it at all.

    Thanks again

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Aug 2006
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    Tidewater, VA
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    '99 M3 Vert 5spd blk/blk
    I'm not sure if you "need" the safety clips, but they will make it easier to get the strut off again if you need to. Also, I think the safety clips mate to a groove on the pin attached to the tonneau linkage to stop the top of the strut coming loose accidentally.

    I think after the struts were installed at the bottom I reached in and grabbed the shaft of the strut and pulled/pushed it into the strut body. I used a finger to feel where the pin the strut fits onto was at the same time, and as I let the strut extend again I tried to get the strut over the pin.

    Not too easy, and as you noticed the struts are pretty strong, so I had to take a break after several tries to rest my hand. Have you tried compressing the shut outside of the car? Once it starts moving it gets a bit easier.

    I tried using a small nylon ratchet strap/tie down strap to hold the strut compressed and then put it on the pin, but it turned out to just be more trouble that way, as there wasn't enough room to get a hand in there to let the strap out and feel for the pin at the same time, etc.

    Mike

    '99 M3 5-spd w/ RC304's and clear corners, otherwise bone stock w/ 53K miles, '91 300ZX TwinTurbo w/ twin GT2860RS's, '02 Jag XJR, '63 Austin Healey 3000 BJ7

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Feb 2011
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    1995 BMW 318iC
    Thanks again, will try "working" the struts tomorrow to see if they loosen up some. The one I worked with yesterday ... well ... forget it, I couldn't budge it while attached to the bottom pin.

    That's an excellent suggesstion though, now I wish it wasn't raining (I'd go out and check them now, car's garaged, but in a detached garage ... sigh, been rainnig all day)

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Jan 2013
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    Orange County, CA
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    2
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    1999 323is Convertible

    Simple Trick for Driver Side Strut

    I replaced the tonneau cover gas struts on my '99 323i vert this weekend and followed the good advice in this thread. I would like to add the following suggestions:

    1. I bought the struts online at Pelican. I bought the $18.50 model instead of the $46.75 model. Ask me in 5 years if that was the right decision.

    2. As recommended, I removed the tonneau cover from the lift arms. I marked the location of the arm brackets on the cover with masking tape. I was not able to see pencil marks on my green paint. Even with the location marked, I still had to line it up. I did this by tightening the bolts but leaving a little play. I then closed the lid, being careful to line it up the hold down bars with the two latches inside the cover well. With cover all the way down, I was able to move it into place. I then raised the lid and tightened the bolts. The trick was to tighten the bolts just enough to keep it from moving when it was lowering and opening but still be able to move it from side to side. It took two tries before I got it right.

    3. I did not go through the trunk openings at all. I have small hands and was just barely able to get them inside the cover lift arm openings. The trick to releasing the lower mount connection was to force a long, small flat blade screwdriver into the slot on the ball and release the clip. (If I would have read lseguy's original 2007 post on this topic more carefully, I would have known this.) I had to bang a couple times on the screw driver handle to force the blade under the clip. I originally tried to just pull the ball joint connector off but once I released the clip, it just came off. Pull the retaining clip from the top connector of the strut and reuse it.

    4. Passenger Side: I removed the round rubber bumper from the cover arm and this gave me the room to put the passenger side strut in place with no problem. You do not need to compress the strut to get in on. Simply lift up on the cover arm and you should have enough play to connect the strut. The hardest part was pushing the lower connection on the ball joint.

    5. Driver's Side: I was forewarned that the driver's side was difficult but I decided to do it anyway. It turned out to be really hard until I figured it out. I read everything I could on this subject and I did not see this method described so I thought I would share it. (I didn't actually do it in this sequence but now I know better.) First, remove the strut but leave it in the well. Next, disconnect the tonneau cover drive arm from the lift arm. There is a small brass retaining clip that holds the drive arm in place. BE CAREFUL. While it is easy to remove by using a flathead screw driver to lift the retaining clip, it is small and you don't want to lose it in the well. Once you remove the clip, pull the drive arm inboard off the lift arm. Remove the round rubber bumper from the lift arm and the arm moves up and down freely, just like the passenger arm. The clearances inside the arm well are tighter due to the drive arm mechanism and cabling. The hardest part was maneuvering the old strut out of the arm hole and getting the new strut into the well. I actually dropped the strut several times into the wheel well. The positioning of the new strut is complicated by two cables that you have to place inboard of the strut. The trick was to lower the bottom of the strut into the trunk access hole. This was not as easy as it sounds so all I can say is take your time and be patient. I mounted the lower ball joint mount first and then was able to raise the lift arm high enough for the top mount to go on easily. I did not have to compress the strut at all and I had room to spare. Don't confuse the drive arm connection (points inboard) with the strut lift arm connection (points outboard). Reconnect the drive arm. You will need to apply slight downward pressure on the lift arm to compress the piston but this is easily done. Again, be careful handling the retaining clip. I can see why everyone complains about the driver side being too hard. I would never have been able to compress the piston enough to connect it without releasing the lift arm from the drive arm.

    I have raised and lowered the top about twenty times and there is no thumping. Yeah!!

    I also used the VelStretch strap fix described in the Tension Strap DIY to prevent the tonneau cover from striking the top on its upward swing. Lowe's still sells them and they are $5.95 for two.

    Thanks to all who contributed to this thread. I would not have attempted this without their shared experience.

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Feb 2006
    Location
    Denver, CO
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    25
    My Cars
    1995 325i Convertible Boston Green
    The hardest part is getting the driver's side strut back in. I took the lid off, and this helped a lot. The whole procedure is awkward, however. Even with taking the lid off, I would recommend pulling back the trunk lining to see what's going on. It may be easier for some to undo the clip that holds the bottom part of each strut in from the trunk side. To disconnect the top part of the strut (attached with a tab washer), make sure you rotate the lever outwards. This will lift the tab washer slightly off the groove on the pin on the hinge bracket, and the strut will come off the pin pretty easily.

    While installing the new struts, I had trouble getting one of the tab washers to attach securely, as the lip bent out and wouldn't clip back into the groove on the hinge bracket pin. I had to take it out, and squeeze it a little bit with pliers to get it to set.

    The strut I bought may have been 1/4 in too long, as it wouldn't go without some compression, even with the rubber bumper removed from the driver's side hinge bracket. Like mikesalmon wrote above, ^#8^, or the driver's side strut, I had to unhook the short metal bar (a lever in the parts catalog) that comes from the motor, so that I could move the driver's side hinge bracket freely. With the hinge bracket in the down setting, I attached the top part of the strut, the raised the hinge bracket up manually. To attach the bottom part of the strut, I took some small wood shims, and compressed the strut slightly from the bottom. I then used a small socket to press up on the shims from the hole by the bottom pin, and compress it more until I could push the strut on to the bottom pin with the other hand. Unfortunately, the motor is still grinding. Time to pull it.

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Aug 2010
    Location
    San Carlos, CA
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    7
    My Cars
    1999 BMW 328ic (E36)

    Tried for 3 hours, put it back the way it was. Tonneau top repair

    Refreshed topic:

    With great expectations, I attempted this at 10pm the evening before I was going to do a small tow and wanted the top down for the trip. The top was working, but the tonneau was struggling, and I had already added a c-clamp to it.
    It did not go well, and in the end, 3 hours later, I put the old ones back, which wasn't much easier than the replacement I had planned.
    The struts were that 1/4" too long, and there was no way I could compress the strut to make it work. 3 hours attempting it, and another hour putting the old ones back in. Pretty much read all of this thread (which was great) but those little steps, just couldn't find the secret.
    I can't remember the last time I did a complete fail at a DIY. This is tough. Getting the struts off is tough, getting the screw driver to the bottom release is tough, and to get a strut that is 1/4 inch long (which is most likely good for its intended purpose) just couldn't make it happen.
    My hats off to those of you who made it work. Good On Ya. If I was on youtube, this would be a fail compilation for me. dw

  11. #11
    Join Date
    Oct 2005
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    San Francisco, CA, USA
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    1,143
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    '94 318ic, '00 323it
    I want to add my experience and my "solution"... It involved a dremel and two cut off wheels.

    Getting the shock off was pretty easy. The top portion involved a screwdriver and a few whacks with a 3lb sledge. The bottom requires a screwdriver to slide the clamp down to loosen.

    As others have said, the shock was 1/4" long even with the bump stop removed. If there was a way to notch the tonneau arm, I would love to do it. That arm is thick steel. So after failing miserably to compress the shock by hand, I took my dremel and shaved off a slot on the arm to clear 1/4". The arm was not compromised. I had some touchup paint and touched up the cut. The consolation is if I have to change that little bastard again, I don't need to go through the misery.
    Alpine 318ic FTMFW!

  12. #12
    Join Date
    Jan 2009
    Location
    Monterey, Ca.
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    4
    My Cars
    '98 323 Convertible
    What a complete SH1t of a job! It could have been easy, the replacement struts I bought needed the paint reamed out at the top bracket.
    Here's my tips.
    1.Get roof in halfway position with lid fully open, pull the motor release. Don't freak out resetting is a breeze.
    2.Remove trunk lining both sides, you'll need to unbolt the plastic on the drivers side floor and undo the manual gas flap release on the passenger side.
    3.Remove the lid. (I traced around my brackets with a Sharpie, it comes off with rubbing alcohol)
    4.Push the bracket down and reach in and push the metal tab on the strut clip outwards (towards outside of car driver and passenger) the strut should pop off.
    5.Get a screwdriver under the half clip on the bottom mount and pop it off there. (check your new struts for how they work), there's a convenient hole in the bodywork to get a screwdriver in there.
    6. CHECK THAT YOUR NEW STRUT TOP HOLES AREN'T TOO SMALL FROM PAINT BUILD UP. A 5/16" drill bit should fit, rearm that sucker out if it doesn't, I was chewing my own face off with frustration with this and burned two hours as I had installed the bottom first (don't do that).
    7.Swap clips onto new struts if they didn't come with them, be aware of which way they face, the 'clip' side should point the same way as the 'cup' side of the lower mount .
    8.Mount struts ON TOP FIRST.
    9.Remove rubber bumpers on brackets.
    10.Lift bracket as high as it will go and the bottom should align and pop onto the ball mount at the bottom. Mine did, others have said they were still a quarter inch off, results may vary....
    11. DONE! Put it all back together and drop your roof into the well and push the lid shut (as shut as it will go).
    12. Reconnect your two motors, if they won't go back in have someone 'bounce' the lid a little, this will jog the cogs and your drives will pop back in.
    13.While holding the roof button on 'close' turn the key two clicks. Have someone push the lid down on the passenger side, this will click the trunk lid cutoff circuit and the roof will reset. First the lid will suck down a little and then open and the roof will go into full operation.
    This should be a one hour job, it took me four, I hope my pain helps someone else!
    Last edited by marc323; 04-01-2018 at 12:19 AM.

  13. #13
    Join Date
    Feb 2018
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    Indio, Ca
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    85
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    1999 BMW M3 Convertible
    Are the BMW OEM pressurized struts at $140 a pair over the Stabilus brand at half the cost???? Is there really only one part number? thanks. jeff

    Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk

  14. #14
    Join Date
    Dec 2013
    Location
    People's Republic of MD
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    22 doors and 4 tops
    Get the ones off amazon for $40ish a pair. They work fine. I've installed 3 sets without issues.

  15. #15
    Join Date
    Apr 2018
    Location
    Saxtons River, Vermont
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    19
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    1996 BMW 328ic
    First of all, thank you for the very helpful posts on this thread and this one: https://www.bimmerforums.com/forum/s...94#post8892094 Together, they were helpful and many of my suggestions below comes from them.

    Don't kill me for saying this (knowing that this job has been miserable for some) but I just replaced these struts and the process was actually pretty easy using a combination of methods I learned about on this forum. I have large-ish hands and I did all of the strut work from the trunk area.

    1. Definitely remove the tonneau cover for this. I marked the positions with masking tape (as noted elsewhere here). This is definitely a two-person job but it is so worth it.
    2. Remove the carpet coverings on both sides (after removing the plastic tailight covers and unplugging the spade connectors on each).
    3. Remove the bolt holding the antenna mount and ground wires. Swing the assembly (it will flex a bit) outwards towards the inside wall of the trunk and secure in place with whatever is handy.
    4. Remove the tonneau motor control arm and motor itself. I realize this may sound like a big step but it makes this process dramatically easier. Of course, many of us have had this motor out several times already. While it is out you can check to make sure the lock plate is not bent.

    You will now have, relatively speaking, a decent amount of room to get to both struts. The drivers side is now as easy to reach as the passenger's side. Start with either strut:

    6. Reach in from the rear opening of the strut area (rather than the side opening) and press outward on the upper strut release lever. As others have said, the strut should pop right off at the upper end.

    7. Now reach in from the side strut area opening. As noted in other threads, there is a small half-round clip around the lower strut ball. Study your new strut to see just where it is. This clip can be pried from above or below but it is best to use a very small (maybe 2” - 3” long) flat head screwdriver such as one one might normally use for computer modifications, etc. The clip openings are small and the area for pivoting the screwdriver is limited. A small screwdriver makes this process pretty easy. As the clip pulls out, the ball should pop off with it.
    8. Remove the old strut.
    9. Reach in from the rear opening and press the upper strut mount inward onto its pin.
    10. Reach in from the side opening and press the mount inwards onto its ball headed pin.

    Now repeat for the other strut.

    Using this method, mounting each new strut took about me about 3 minutes. With the tonneau cover off, I found that there was no need to compress the strut at all when mounting.

    What a difference this change makes for the tonneau cover’s operation.

    I used these struts, FWIW, and they did come with the upper arms and lower clips: Stabilus 51258132679

    Last edited by sreidvt2; 05-05-2019 at 01:15 PM.

  16. #16
    Join Date
    Mar 2015
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    Severn MD
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    98 328i 10 328i X wagon
    What were the symptons that prompting replacing the struts? My top is hitting the two little feet on the tonneau cover that keep the folded top in place when it is down. Is this due to struts or would I have a hydraulic issue? I know that Tops Hydraulics is the "go-to" place for hydraulic issues but I am not sure that I have a hydraulic problem. The rest of the top works fine. It just hits on the two rubber bumpers on the way down and it does hang up for a minute but then pushes past and completes the cycle. If the tonneau would go open another 3/4" it would all be good. Let me know if I should start a new thread but I thought it might be due to the struts. TIA

  17. #17
    Join Date
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    22 doors and 4 tops
    Quote Originally Posted by sharadn View Post
    What were the symptons that prompting replacing the struts? My top is hitting the two little feet on the tonneau cover that keep the folded top in place when it is down. Is this due to struts or would I have a hydraulic issue? I know that Tops Hydraulics is the "go-to" place for hydraulic issues but I am not sure that I have a hydraulic problem. The rest of the top works fine. It just hits on the two rubber bumpers on the way down and it does hang up for a minute but then pushes past and completes the cycle. If the tonneau would go open another 3/4" it would all be good. Let me know if I should start a new thread but I thought it might be due to the struts. TIA
    No hydraulics in the top operation. All electro-mechanical. Worn struts will cause interference between the tonneau and the top and lead to tonneau motor failure and operational rods bending. The struts should be enough strength to hold the tonneau fully open without the assistance of the motor. If they do not, they should be replaced.

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