e61 auto liftgate strut replacement

[N3nyongmini]

“FYI”

The gland seal in the power hydraulic strut is worn in our ‘10 535i x-drive wagon and I didn’t want to keep filling the pump reservoir only to have it ooze out the strut, so until I can find a good used hydraulic strut at a decent price I back-converted to conventional lift struts. BMW units are overpriced for a temporary solution so I sourced an equivalent from Lift Support Depot at $26.50 per side, made in USA.

‘Thought I’d pass it along:

https://www.liftsupportsdepot.com/st...rts-49080n10w/

Cheers,

Derek in Houston

[pbonsalb]

How is it working? Do standard struts seem to do a fine job — just like on older cars or non luxury cars? This is an expensive failure part and converting to manual makes sense when the car is older and not worth spending a lot to repair.

[N3nyongmini]

It works well. The geometry of the liftgate and strut attachment points is such that it seems like a stronger strut would be better, but it would make it difficult to close.



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[N3nyongmini]

I would be interested, however, in picking up someones used hydraulic actuator if it’s not leaking...


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[pbonsalb]

Check realoem to see if X5 or other SUV use the same part. Few E61.

[N3nyongmini]

Check realoem to see if X5 or other SUV use the same part. Few E61.

I’ve been all over RealOEM; it’s unfortunately a one-off. There are a few other makes/cars that use the same system and I’m looking at an alternate.


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[Gman6262]

I realize this thread has aged a bit, I thought I would add my recent experience in case anyone is interested. I've been through this and can confirm, the E61 hydraulic liftgate strut is unique to the series, but the same part Pre-LCI and LCI. My strut seals started leaking, the seals are crimped into the cylinder and non-replaceable. I found a decent replacement on eBay and replaced the hydraulic strut myself.

BMW E61 Tailgate Cylinder-7919.jpg

I wrote up a short DIY about replacing the hydraulic strut here: https://www.fightchaos.com/2020/09/b...ulic-lift.html