Bonnet Opening Weight/Support

[andrewk]

Guys,

My apologies for my lack of knowledge here and what might be a simple & obvious answer.

I've ever only opened my car's bonnet when on level ground and the weight is supported by this through the overriders. However, if I were to raise my car on a lift about 3' off the ground and open the bonnet, would the hinges be able to support the weight on their own and is the idea of the gas bonnet strut there to prevent it falling too far forward, therefore preventing snapping the hinges?

Looking forward to any advice.

Regards to all,

Andrew

[christopher storey]

Andrew : I am not conversant with the S3 but I doubt that it is different from the 6 cylinder cars . So, point 1 : your overriders should not be touching the ground with the bonnet open - this suggests either that the gas strut and/or its attachment is mispositioned or, more likely, that the torsion bars are incorrectly set . Point 2 : the strut does have the incidental effect of restraining the bonnet from falling forwards too far, but its principal purpose is to prevent the bonnet falling backwards under its own weight, which if it happens in an unreastrained manner nearly always results in paint damage where bonnet and scuttle meet

[David Oslo]

And point 3, the hinges will not snap under the weight of the bonnet sans gas support struts. You can remove / disconnet the struts, and tip the bonnet entire vertical whilst the car is in the air. Just make sure to use a rope or similar tied back to something solid to prevent "over rotation" forwards.

[MarekH]

When open, the bonnet overriders should not be touching the ground in the first place and you should check the front ride height against the figures in the manual.

The hinges won't snap, but if you disconnect the gas strut, but the weight of the bonnet, if lifted too far forward, will not be controllable. It will snap forwards and badly dent the undertray as it smacks into the ground.

kind regards
Marek

[andrewk]

Thank you all very much - I'm confident now to open the bonnet and I appreciate the heads up about it going too far forwards without the strut.
I've recently installed a "KwikLift" I purchased a few years back in The US, so looking forward to using it without the fear of the bonnet going haywire.
I'll also check the set up in regards to the overriders.
Cheers,
Andrew

[vee12eman]

Hi Andrew,

As others have stated, the overriders should not touch the floor with the bonnet open, although they come close.

My gas strut gives me a very slight adjustment by virtue of screwing the end fitting in, but there's not much difference and I just screw mine in as far as possible to give maximum security.

The first gas strut I bought was fine for length, but lost it's gas pressure after just a couple of uses, so I went to a reputable supplier and bought another - so far fine. I mention this just to confirm there are various suppliers out there who don't necessarily make to original spec/quality.

If you want access improvement, then make a replacement solid strut and substitute this for the gas strut. I can measure the hole centres of the one I made if you wish. A simple piece of flat bar will suffice. However, to use it, you have to raise the front wheels, I raise my car on to some wooden sleepers with built in chocks to prevent rolling off. Be very careful if propping the bonnet forward of the norm if using a jacking system and make sure you close the bonnet before lowering as the bonnet subframe and probably the bonnet will be damaged when lowering. The extension strut allows my bonnet to go vertical, an enormous improvement in access and also, due to the raising of the front wheels, an improvement for access because it means a little less bending over.

I fit my extension strut single handed, but it is tricky and I recommend assistance is used if you are at all uncertain or lacking in strength/coordination/balance - it's very easy to have the bonnet tip forward uncontrolled and cause damage.

My Strut - very rough and ready!



Regards,

Simon

[andrewk]

Simon,

Thanks for the tip for the "solid strut", that's a good simple idea. I'm okay for the measurement, should be easy to sort.

Regards,
Andrew