Stuboski

A now for something else completely different.....went to close my rear hatch yesterday, which has been working beautifully after topping-off the hydraulic fluid last year, and I just did the P/S wiring harness as my key fob had stopped working. Anyhow, there was this kind of "crunch" like a metal on plastic type of sound, and the tailgate stopped closing about two inches from fully closing. I had to manually pull the hatch back open, and lo and behold, the hydraulic cylinder came off of the little ball mount it rides on (on the body side, not the hatch side). The ball mount looks worn, which I can readily replace, but the "knuckle" the ball goes in to looks pretty rusted. I could not find any other replacements available other than a brand new cylinder to the tune of $900 some dollars, which is totally unnecessary as it works great and doesn't leak. Is this just a matter of replacing the ball mount and cleaning up and lubricating the "knuckle" part? Should it just snap back on there with some force, or is there some hidden clip or nut that is suppose to hold it onto the ball mount? BTW - car is an '07 just turned 70K.

Stuboski

Well, I got the replacement ball pin installed. I put some silicon grease on it, and reinstalled the hydraulic cylinder. I pushed the cylinder on as best I could, and it seemed as if the ball was fully seated into the knuckle. I lowered the tailgate, and hit the button to open it again. The hydraulic cylinder promptly came off of the new ball pin. I used as much force as I really wanted to with a handy bar to pop the ball pin into the knuckle, so if the ball is not all the way in, then I don't know what to use to press that on there. If I do have it on all the way, then the knuckle must be worn out as well. Is there any way to replace the cup that's inside of the knuckle, or am I looking at a brand new hydraulic cylinder?


I attached a photo of the old ball pin to show how worn out this part is. Looks like it has two grooves worn in it. Anybody have any ideas on my next step? Thanks!!

pepa

i had the same prob 2 months ago- the plastic housing of the hydraulic cylinder was worn.
i drilled a hole into it and into the metal ball and put a screw in .
now the hydraulic cylinder cant jump out and it works

Stuboski

Thanks for the reply, Pepa. Drilling through the side of the cylinder cup and making a corresponding hole in the top of the ball was one of the solutions I had thought about. Good to know that is a viable option. I've examined the cylinder cup a few more times since my previous post. There's a small metal ring in there, that is obviously to act as some sort of retention clip. There's a groove around the inside edge of the cup where that ring sits. The ring freely spins around that groove, and it's not a complete circle (to allow it to compress to be inserted into the cup). It also looks worn as well. Seems like the thick side of it was working its' way around to the bottom of the cup, which allowed the ball to slip out. I took the ring out and widened it a bit with a pair of pliers. It seems to be holding in place for now, as the cylinder has not popped off in about two weeks. So, we'll see how long this lasts. I think drilling a hole as you did is my next move. What type of fastener did you use? Do you have any pictures you can post of your handy work?

sfcacique

I've had the popping off the ball hydraulic strut for a couple of months now. I have pulled it back onto the ball numerous times. It pops off routinely now about every fourth time the tailgate closes. Each time the hydraulic strut pop became more dramatic. I personally think temporary fixes such as the screw approach above, which will weaken the socket, may prepare you for a catastrophic failure, driving the strut into the access hole the hydraulic lines go into. My personal experience shows that predilection.

I finally broke down and am replacing the whole automatic hydraulic strut. Pretty much of a bear as it is costly ($800-ish) and you have to tear quite a bit of the wagon apart. The two hydraulic lines and one electrical line go from the strut, through the left access hole (plugs with the included line boot) through a hole in the body roof, then along the left window rear, then down the C pillar, through a plug and then back to the hydraulic pump. More time and effort than anything else. I do seem to have lost where I am supposed to connect the two wire electrical lead up in the roof/ceiling space. Any others have that problem?

sfcacique

So, after looking at the diagram, and discarding all other possible places, I removed the LEFT REAR speaker, sure enough that is where the Three (3) wire connection actually is. Easy enough.

pepa

sorry, i have no pics.
all i did is , i took out the ballscrew , drilled a M5 thread into it,
then with the accu drill i drilled a hole 5,5 mm into the plastic housing of the hydraulic cylinder, put togehter with an M5 screw and it works , regardless whether the ball/housing is worn or not

Stuboski

Well, I just spent another hour on this cylinder this past Saturday. It popped off again after I took the existing retaining clip out and pried it open a little further. I found a retaining clip down at my local hardware store that fits in that knuckle. I believe it's a 7/16". Only difference was that it had the two little "ears" on each end. I had to take a wire cutter and snip the one ear off to get it to go onto the ball. Possibly filing the tips of both of the ears down would have worked as well. You can test it out on the ball before sticking it in the knuckle. So, it's in and is holding for the time being. If this slips off again, I'll get another clip and just try filing the insides of the ears down. It does seem to be holding the cylinder on better, as I really had to fight to get it back on this time. At .36 cents each apiece, I can buy a lot of little retaining rings compared to replacing the entire cylinder.

ChrizLoud

Did you make m5 threads into the ball?

pepa

yes M5 , the metal is soft, so M5 threads are easy to cut in;