BHPian sudeepg recently shared this with other enthusiasts.
The gas struts holding the rear tailgate when opened were long gone. It was the case in the DDiS 200 and the same in DDiS 320. Initially, I ignored this problem until I injured myself when working on the car. I usually leave the tailgate open to access tools when working on the car. While cleaning the exteriors on a Sunday, I was wiping the rear bumper area when I got up to take a microfibre cloth from the boot. Just a while before that, I had cleaned the tailgate and not fully raised it back since the gas struts were beyond their life. I hit my head and had terrible pain and headache after that which spoiled one of my weekends. There's a reason why there's a saying a stitch in time saves nine. Replacing Hood Struts
Made the decision to get the part replaced and looked up the Boodmo site. They were running a free delivery on a weekend campaign (They do this every weekend!)
Decided to go aftermarket this time for the following reasons:
Cost: 351 per piece (works left side and right side)
So why is OEM part almost twice as expensive?
I believe the OEM part comes with the side hinges besides the gas struts and is specific to a side (RH/LH).
There is no need to change the hinges. Besides that, removing and reinstalling it is more difficult than changing just the gas struts on either side. It takes less than 5 minutes with a simple screwdriver.
Trivia: It takes a lot of force to push in the new struts. It may appear stuck, but that is how it is!
WARNING: The tailgate is very heavy and if the gas struts are not supporting it, it will come crashing on your head. So ensure you have someone to assist you in holding up the tailgate when changing the struts. You can alternatively, use your head and with one side strut holding the weight at a time to manage if you have no one to assist.
Some folks recommend using a wooden log to support the side being removed. I don't recommend this unless you are sure that the log won't get dislodged and come crashing on your head.
Just prior to doing this, one of my closest friends (Jaunthead on this forum) upgraded the headlamps on his car from D2S to D2H just like I did mine. See this post for details
I also tricked him into upgrading his fog lamps to Bi-LEDs, just like mine. Below is a teaser from alignment testing. I also got new gas struts installed for the tailgate on his car.
We had a fun weekend!
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