So the struts on the hatch were worn when I bought the car. The back of my head found out the hard way, a couple times. So I replaced them and the new ones are great for holding the hatch open, but now my hatch no longer pops up when I hit the button. I have to tug up on the hatch while hitting the release button to open the hatch. Just hitting the button, you can hear the mechanism work, but the hatch doesn't pop up and it just relatches.

Is this likely the oem springs or the new struts? With the old struts I never had any problem which makes me want to rule out the springs, but I'm wondering if the struts are too strong for worn springs and that is the problem.

 

It sounds like you might need new hatch springs.

$30 from Courtesy Parts.
http://www.courtesyparts.com/nissan/...ft-gate-spring

 

Maybe, maybe not. My car is doing the same thing, after new hatch struts. Problem is that the OEM struts, and some aftermarket struts, have a strong helper spring inside, which you can hear by slowly rotating the strut like a baton. Many aftermarket struts don't, and that puts all the stress on those 2 springs on the body, but they're not tall enough. Solution is to get better struts, and other than OEM or Z1, the good ones I have found are made by StrongArm (bought them on Amazon). There may be others which also work, but don't expect to get them for $20/pair.

 

Im assuming if your still having the problem you haven't yet installed the strong arm struts?

 

Yeah, I had the StrongArms on for maybe 5 years, and when they failed a few weeks ago I fell for a set of $20 struts from Amazon. They do indeed suck, and it's a pain to get the hatch open, but they do hold it up fine. I'll swap them out one of these days, as my Amazon Prime account will allow a return and full refund. I'll get another set of StrongArms for ~$50.

 

I gotcha. 5 years is a good while for them to last. I have a nismo with the v3 spoiler so I'm leaning towards z1 up and new oem springs

 

I read somewhere else, I shouldn't be able to easily compress those springs by hand. Is that true?
And yes, I went with $26 amazon struts. They only have 3 reviews but none of them mention the problem I'm having.

 

I'd get just the Z1 struts first, and you may be OK. You can always try the penny trick with the springs.

 

I reviewed the ones I bought, but there were several in that price range. Cheap, and the install was easy, but not worth the aggravation. Get the StrongArm ones, or OEM.

 

Sounds like it's time for the penny mod

 

Didn't work for me. You really need some initial push from the struts, too.

 

the penny mod worked for me for a while, but eventually the plastic inside the spring broke. another option to look at (because i like supporting people i know) is the jason z-ya ones.

 

I'm cheap.

Any good ideas for a makeshift hatch prop rod ?
Or should I just use an old hockey ( skateboard ) helmet when loading and unloading stuff ?

Luckily, my springs release the hatch sort of kind of most of the time still.

 

Vice-Grips on the rod.

 

I have the same problem with z1 hp struts.
Tried the penny mod, but no luck...
Was planning to get new springs, but now having this info from dcains, will try to replace my z1 struts with strongarm ones - hope ir will help

 

Really??? I would call Z1 and see if that's normal, as this is the first time I've ever seen that mentioned. No problem with the StrongArm ones, but I only have a very lightweight spoiler (Blitz rep from Evo-R). I guess 4 or 5 years is a reasonable service life, and that was longer than the 3 years the OEM struts lasted. Of course, the problem of weakening struts is a lot worse in cold weather, as the gas pressure is reduced.

 

Starting to happen on my vette. It stays in place mid way up but wont open the rest of the way without giving it a nudge

 

So I tried new hatch springs from courtesy, they were no better than my existing springs. Tried the two penny trick and that didn't work. Tried 3 pennies in each side and it works great!

 

if i remember correctly you can adjust the latch assembly up some... yours doesnt sound normal. not to mention you are going to add extra stress to that helper spring

 

Do you have a wing on the car?