Hood support strut / upgrade from support rod

I am also fighting with this - the thought of drilling and riveting doesn't sit well. But the Skokies seem to have problems after a while with the sheet metal flexing at the fender mounting location. I am considering using rivnut type fasteners instead of rivets to make the drill type look a little more professional. Not sure yet.

 

There's nothing unprofessional about rivets. Rivets are holding your frame together from the factory... I would highly recommend avoiding rivnuts and installing Redlines or Spiker per their manufacturer instructions. The drilling and rivets are a super minor effort. Don't over think it.

 

You're right - I need to lighten up!

 

I did the drill/rivet option as well. Was nervous doing it but seems to have held up well so far. I like them quite a bit. For sure an un-sung hero mod.

 

Not quite my point, but I'll take it.

 

Let’s flip this around a bit. Has anyone tried a longer hood prop from another vehicle? Had to do some mud and dirt cleaning last night and ended up using a tree branch to get it up higher.

 

I did the drill/rivet ones too...The Quick-Lift ELITEs.

 

rivets hold all airplanes together. Just saying

 

I installed Spikers yesterday. Increased hood angle is well worth it.

Any way to post a video?

 

oh, that was probably in the instructions, wasn't it.

 

After all the research I did on these, I just ended up with the Redline ones, drilled and riveted them, but I have a Milwaukee Rivet Gun, and lots of experience with rivets so it was an easy upgrade. I get asked about them everywhere I go when the hood is up by other Tacoma folks.

 

i found the spiker versions to be plenty long enough. i'm 6', and basically need to jump up to grab my hood to close it. it really comes down to just checking positioning of the 2 ends, and verifying that there's enough closing clearance that it won't bind. i found more issues with avoiding obstacles under the hood, and imagine a longer strut would impose more restrictions on locations due to things like add-on fuse boxes and battery height, or on the passenger side, the washer reservoir.

 

Here's my question for you, what holds an aircraft together in flight? Rivets. The rivets on the hood struts are hidden under the plastic panels along the side of the engine bay so it doesn't look bad at all, you don't even see them once they are installed, and every person who doesn't have them comments on them. It's a proper fix for something that should have been on a $40K truck.

 

Redline also makes the Max version of their quick life for an extra 7” of lift. It’s pretty damn high then

 

My buddy did that too, he can’t open the truck hood in the garage because it goes so high up it hits the garage door when it’s open lol.

 

I would go with a broom handle if I needed it higher. I remember GM had a problem with their hoods on the square bodies and the hoods bent in the middle.

 

i've got much of the same problem. but my garage is so low, the stock prop rod won't clear. i put some adhesive gasket foam on the part of the overhead door the hood makes contact with

 

I installed the Sokie Tech hood struts and I'm really happy with them, but they've only been on a few months so far...

 

Smart move. He has to close it from the fender side cause he can’t reach the center of the hood anymore either lol

 

I have the Spiker strut kit, no issues drilling, just paint the drill holes, install the rivets, and brackets, and fluid film the front and backsides, no corrosion issue, have had them in almost 5 years. Probably the best mod I've done to the truck. Pop the hood release, unhook the secondary latch, lift... The struts do the rest. Close hood when done, no bumbling, or fumbling with prop rods. Ski