Trailmaster strut, TP 95, replacement strut for Trailmaster lift

As im sure all of you know, the upper struts on the 6" Trailmaster lift kit suck and blow out after only a couple months. Well they blew out on my 2002 Tacoma and Trailmaster no longer carries them and I can not find them anywhere. Does anyone have some or know where I can get them? or any other suggestions?

 

haha same here i have a 6 in trailmaster lift( my hasn't blown out yet... nock on wood) and im just wondering what are my choices if that ever happens.

 

well after months of driving on the blown strut and looking for a new one and trying others. I finally found a way. There is a strut you can get from a 91 VW. the only problem is that the strut from the VW, the bolt on it is about 1/4" shorter than the original strut. So what I did, and others, was took the strut from the VW and grinded down the actual strut where the bolt is held in, just enough for the strut to slid in and have it poke out the top and gave me just enough room to put the bolt on top. its still perfectly good and sturdy this way. I did it to both sides and its been about four months and I havent had a single problem.

 

Thanks for the info I have also been driving around with what I believe to be a broken or blown strut, at least that is what my mechanic said it was, It sounded like something was rubbing and I could also feel the rubbing on the pedals. anyway if you can describe the sound you heard or how you figured out it was the struts. and also a 91 vw what. jetta? or somthing else?. I appreciate the info I miss driving my little toy around.

 

yeah thats exactly it. when mine was blown it made this terrible grinding sound and you could hear it in the cab. also, as you were saying, I could feel almost a thumping, as if something was rubbing on the floor boards. I never felt it through the pedals but on the floor boards it felt as though something was hitting. you could feel it on both sides. sometimes my strut would lock up when I would brake and then when I would accelerate you could literally feel it pop and lift the front end up back up. it was terrible. I beleive it was a 91 VW golf. I dont however have the part number anymore. I ended up changing out all four struts due to me driving it around for months with the blown upper struts it had put extra stress and the factory ones I figured I would change them as well just to be safe.

 

here is a picture of what I had to do to make the strut fit. you can even put a washer around the grinded end. not that you need to.

 

This helps so much what else goes bad on this lift kits???

 

Someone hit me up! I have the struts! Need direction on how to install!

 

Ok so you unbolt that old strut insert the vw one but you have to grind it down ? Any pics I need help with this thank!!

 

I ALSO HAVE SAME PROBLEM, BUT NOT VERY EXPERIENCED MECH. SO ANY ADVICE OR HELP YOU COULD GIVE WOULD BE VERY MUCH APPRECIATED! DID YOU CHANGE OUT GUTS OF VW OR STRAIGHT SWAP ONCE GROUND DOWN CASE AND ALL? TY ALOT!!

 

I have same exact issue ant way i can get a pic of what you had to do? Also, did you change out guts of vw to TM or simply straight across replacement once ground down to fit? Anything you could help with would be a big help, new to the game so a big learning curve and I can't wait to hit the hills again!! TY big time!!