thats what i did LOL

 

can someone post some pics? thanks

 

Worked for a bit but came back from a trip, 2 weeks of not opening it, and back to the way it was.

 

Same. Have to double-tap now. I'll look into new springs at some point, *sigh*...

 

Any alternatives to the factory springs?

 

Replaced my hatch lifts with advanced auto lifts....after opening it just lifts the hatch with no assistance with no problem. The problem was with having to click or assist the hatch when trying to open it. I always had to hold and lift slightly before the lifts took over.

This fixed my problem...it clicks and leaves a gap big enough to easily fit your fingers now...however, one of my springs were bent pretty bad. So I'll have to get a new one. I put 3 pennies on the bent one for now...but this works really well for me.

Thanks OP!

 

My hat is off to OP. I was a little skeptical, but it worked. Hardest part was coming up with four pennies (government employee on furlough ).

Good tip. Thanks!

 

Words of wisdom for you Z newbies out there, you're going to leave an indentation over time on your hatch from the pressure, so relax with the pennies.

You can get away with 1 or 2, but don't go emptying out your piggy bank.

 

Works for me for a month then back to the stage where I have to push the button and have my couple fingers under the hatch to prevent it front locking... I think I need a set of new strong spring! Mind tell me where I can buy a good strong set? Thanks!

 

I bought mine from Advance Auto Parts...used their 15% special they had and it ran like about $100 and some change. They are so strong when it lifts the hatch...it lifts up so hard that it jolts the hinges. I try to remember to not let it fly up by itself anymore....i dont want to damage the hinges or the body where it mounts.

Yes there are cheaper ones on FleaBay or Amazon...but you have to wait...I wanted them now...so I bought locally and paid a bit more. If anything was to go wrong...it would have been an easy return. Nothing went wrong. 15 min job...cuz I tried to pry old mounts and then saw the bag had new ones. Probably 5-10min job.

These parts came with everything needed, and you don't have to cut and reuse the mounts/***** like shown in the how-to section here. You just unbolt everything old...and replace it all new.

Pasted from advance:
(and damn it's now on sale for $49.99...and still have another 15% discount using " AUT4 " during checkout )

Strong Arm Lift Support
Part No. D4194
Exact Fit for your 2003 Nissan 350Z

 

Here is my take (based upon experience with a 2003 350Z):

1. Purchase a set of struts designed to lift the additional weight of a rear deck spoiler.

2. You need to replace the hatch springs when they no longer “pop” the rear hatch door.

3. Don’t do the “coin fix.”It dents your sheet metal.

--Spike

 

Thank you for this post! 2 pennies in each spring lift worked perfect. That saved me roughly $60.

 

Seems like this is a quick fix and will not last. Looks like i will shell out the $70 to replace two 1" springs... Oh and another note, my co-worker has a 370Z and it has the same issue..Must be a poor design all around

 

Just put three pennies in each of mine and it fixed it