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My Acura CL Type-S has been sitting out in the street for many months causing it to have a dead battery. For some reason after trying to jump start it, it would crank but still not start. A month later and with help, I finally got my CL Type-S moved (pushed) into my driveway.
Now that I’m able to work on the CL in the comfort of my own driveway, I started getting to work. The hood struts unfortunately are no longer working, so the hood keeps falling down on my head. Annoyingly, every time I need to work under the hood, I have to prop it up with various 2×4’s that I have laying around the house.
I figure that one of the first things I need to take care of are the hood struts (shocks) as it will make working on anything else under the hood much easier.
Tools/Materials
Obviously we will need new hood lift support struts. I bought a pair off of Ebay from a reputable seller:
2 Front Hood Gas Lift Supports Shock Strut For Acura TL 1999-01, Acura CL 2001-03
You’ll also need a 12mm combination wrench; an adjustable wrench also works.
How to Replace Hood Struts
Start by propping up the hood with something like a 2×4 so that it is fully supported while you remove and install the hood struts.
Using a 12mm combination wrench, loosen and remove the bolt at the bottom and at the top of the support. Alternatively, you can use an adjustable wrench, but it is less effective and more likely to strip the bolt head.
Here is the bottom support showing the removal of the bolt.
Next, remove the top of the strut. It has the same type of mount as the bottom.
Don’t assemble the hood struts ahead of time. If you do pop the ball joints in and then try to screw in the top and bottom bolts while they are attached to the strut, it makes it extremely hard to install. Trust me, I tried it this way and found it nearly impossible to do.
The easiest way to install these is to screw in the bolts at the top mount and bottom mount separately. Then you can grab the strut and simply pop them into the top and bottom ball joints.
It is super easy to do if you install the ball joints to the mounting locations first. Pre-assembling the hood struts, then trying to screw in the bolts while adjusting the hood is not the way to go.
If you install the hood struts by screwing in the top and bottom mounting bolts, then popping in the hood struts, you can probably do this job in under 15 minutes for both sides. Now, I can freely work under the hood without it caving down on my head!
