Sandy Wrote:
My car's bonnet is behaving like a guillotine....keeps falling shut after opening without warning. I think it is the Bonnet Strut on my 73 Series 3 roadster. Has anyone changed this? If yes is it easy to do, and are there instructions anywhere on how to do it?
Hello Sandy,
There is a brief description in the "Repair Operation Manual", but it doesn't go into much detail. Its a job made a lot easier with a helper, but its not hard to do unassisted. I prefer to raise the front of the car, by circa eight inches, which allows the bonnet to be hinged fully forward to set the B/Bar Over-riders on timber blocks. In this position, the bonnet will want to fall forward (prevented in doing so by the fact that the over-riders are resting on the wooden block) and not to fall back to the closed position.
With the Strut attached and the bonnet fully open, the Strut will be fully uncompressed. At this point, the bonnet can be rocked back and forth where you will find a point where there is no load on the Clevis Pins that secure the Strut at both ends. Unless your car's original Clevis Pins have been replaced with Bolts, spanners are not required in the procedure.
1. Remove the Spring Clips from the Clevis Pins at each end of the Strut
2. By rocking the Bonnet back and forth, find the point where the Clevis Pin that attaches the Strut to the picture frame can be removed and remove the pin.
3. Hinge the Bonnet forward so that the Over-riders rest on timber blocks - this is where its beneficial to have an assistant to position the timber under the Over-riders as the bonnet is hinged forward.
4. Remove the Clevis Pin securing the Strut to the Bonnet and remove the Strut
5. Refitting the new Strut is reverse of the above procedure. When refitting the Spring Clips to the Clevis Pins, ensure they're correctly located in the Clevis Pin grooves.
Regards,
Bill
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