Hood Strut Rivet Install Fail

It definitely could and would probably require a vice, torch and bending it from 90-deg to about 135-deg or more. This is assuming that doesn't position the ball end too close to the fender. I'd guess this is what others have done, so it's a fairly safe bet, but who knows for sure. My vice and such are in a storage unit, so it's not so easy for me to do much work/fab at the moment. I'm living in an apartment right now and have nowhere to work on my truck, so that's why I wanted to do the "easy bolt-on" option. I'm not interested in investing more work/time in an inferior product, so if they can't provide proper mounts, I will get a refund and purchase a Spiker or Redline kit.

 

Yea I vote Spiker. They are really nice.

 

Looks like the bolt hole is in the wrong place.

 

The hole is ok and is a cross pattern to allow positioning, but the hinge plate has a rigid lip that prevents it from moving toward the fender

 

The seller is in Taiwan. I’m guessing they’ve never even seen a Tacoma.

 

LOL I think you're right, but I wanted to give them the benefit of the doubt and a chance to come through.

 

Since it seems like a foregone conclusion that I will be ordering a different kit, can someone give me some advice on a cheap rivet tool to do the job?

I'm guessing this amazingly-inexpensive one at Hazard Freight is not going to work? I have one of these rivnut tools somewhere. Wish there was a fitting or something to use with rivets:

$67 Astro Pneumatic Tool 1442 13" Hand Rivet Nut Setter Kit - Metric & SAE W/ 60pc Rivnuts

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003TODXQW/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

I bet there's a TW member near you that would help you out for beer. From your username, I'm guessing Salt Lake City. @Gunshot-6A

 

I do happen to have a hand riveter, and am in need of a rivnut setter like he has for a few things, I'd be game for a quick meetup to install some parts. I've had my redlines sitting in my garage for 2 years waiting on install too, would be a good time to do them.

 

Any rivet gun should work for popping the rivets. The only time you might have some difficulty is if your gun has a very wide nose, it may get in the way of the inner fender on the 2nd Gen. What you can do then is either give your fender some "encouragement" to let the nose piece fit (post 68), or remove the bolts on top of the fender and pry it slightly away from the body (post 39).

You can also use rivnuts if you have a rivnut tool, M5 rivnuts/screws will work perfectly with the holes in the brackets.

Either way, easy peasy.

 

I think we all appreciate your support in this thread. I ordered a Spiker kit.

 

Another option is an adhesive like 3M DP8410NS or DP420. I'm not sure how hot this area of the engine bay gets.

 

mine almost did the same thing cause one of the rivets was almost on top of the welds...i ended up using rivet nuts, so much better

 

THIS kind of customer service is what just made me purchase Spiker Engineering struts for my taco! I was leaning towards Redline and saw this post and others by @SpikerEng and the way they take care of their customers and I was sold! Thank you for taking care of the TW community! When they arrive and after I install them, I’ll make sure I recommend Spiker by spreading the word to others and remind them they’re made in the USA!

 

Thank you for the kind words! Happy customers are always our number one objective, so we do whatever we can to answer all questions promptly and solve any problems. TW community is like a family, so we treat it as such. Good luck with your install, and let us know how it turns out.

 

Forgot to come back and post the finished install. Love these Spiker struts! Post from two weeks ago: Today’s side project didn’t take long to do at all. I’ve lived this long and yet, have never used a rivet gun. So have I really lived, or am I just that lucky? We’ll, it’s not luck since I’m the guy who breaks something on every project and turns a 5 min. project into two hours and three trips to Home Depot. I’m not going to say it was perfect, but I actually got it done pretty quick and the rivets went smooth and held tight This, along with most of the projects or “mods” I’ve been doing on this truck, (like the automatic tailgate lock) should’ve came standard and installed by the factory imo. Especially with the weight of the taco hood.
Love these Spiker hood struts! Thank you to @SpikerEng for taking care of the TW community and for your awesome customer service! Really happy with these. They look great, feel smooth and are really sturdy. So nice to pop the hood and have it raise with no effort!

 

Thank you for the review and the kind words . We love hearing feedback like this, thank you!