Buying new tailgate gas struts

princeofpounds

Hi all,

I have a Volvo that is a bit old, but otherwise perfectly good. Unfortunately, the gas struts on the tailgate started to struggle recently, with one of them making a horrible sound every time it was used. I asked the dealership for a quote to replace but it was of course astronomic for something that is a simple job, so I decided to do it myself.

Unfortunately, I'm not happy with the new struts that I bought. Whilst they claimed to match the OEM part, they appeared to be underpowered from the start, making the boot harder to open than it should be, and have already started creaking. So I have accepted I need to bin them and try again.

Does anyone know how best to ensure I don't buy junk again? The online parts supplier I used didn't seem to be particularly obscure and I didn't go for the cheapest option. I'd even be happy to pay up for OEM parts but I can't figure out a way to do that. Does anyone know where I might be able to source them, or a genuine equivalent?

AdrianC

Do you still have the original ones? They'll have a figure on them in N - newtons force - probably low-mid hundreds. That tells you how hard they're pushing the tailgate open.

What age and model of Volvo?

princeofpounds

Yes I do have them, thanks Adrian. I'll check and see if the specs are misaligned on the ones I bought or not.

It's a 2010 XC60 

AdrianC

A very quick google finds these...
https://www.sgs-engineering.com/gsc2704-volvo-xc60-tailgate-strut
I've never used SGS for tailgate struts - but they have a very good rep for their workshop tools. I have one of their trolley jacks.

Quick look elsewhere finds Kilen-branded ones for a little more. They're a brand that have long supplied a lot of OEM-quality stuff, especially to the Swedish brands.

scot22_2

We have a car dismantled near us who specialises in Volvo.  Can you find anywhere similar ?  Might be something from a car scrapped for another reason.

Scrapit

Tried GSF or a similar supplier seeing as your motor is S?

princeofpounds

So I checked the rating on both old and new struts - the same 600N. The new ones are Kilen, which is one reason it was disappointing. Supposedly anyway, but I have no particular reason to doubt them.

Breaking yard might be a good bet, I'll see who's local to me. 

Coys

Even the best ones can struggle in cold weather.

Sam_Fallow

AdrianC said:

A very quick google finds these...
https://www.sgs-engineering.com/gsc2704-volvo-xc60-tailgate-strut
I've never used SGS for tailgate struts - but they have a very good rep for their workshop tools. I have one of their trolley jacks.

Quick look elsewhere finds Kilen-branded ones for a little more. They're a brand that have long supplied a lot of OEM-quality stuff, especially to the Swedish brands.

I have used them, along with many others in the owners forum (for my previous car) , and can recommend them.

princeofpounds

So - follow-up!

I bought those struts from SGS that AdrianC linked to (thanks!). They are much better.

Here's the curious part - there wasn't a detailed spec on the website. When they arrived, I took a look and it turns out they are 620N, not 600N. Which is curious, because as I noted previously the OEM Volvo struts were rated 600N, the same as the failing Kilen replacements I had bought.

In fact, going by my memory of the feel, the Volvo struts may even have been a little more powerful than the SGS ones.

Really not sure what's going on there, unless the Volvo struts are actually overpowered to the point where it takes 8 years for them to fall below spec. If I didn't have my tinfoil hat on I'd suggest that it was all a cunning plan to make third party aftermarket parts seem really disappointing.

Jumblebumble

princeofpounds said:

Hi all,

I have a Volvo that is a bit old, but otherwise perfectly good. Unfortunately, the gas struts on the tailgate started to struggle recently, with one of them making a horrible sound every time it was used. I asked the dealership for a quote to replace but it was of course astronomic for something that is a simple job, so I decided to do it myself.

Unfortunately, I'm not happy with the new struts that I bought. Whilst they claimed to match the OEM part, they appeared to be underpowered from the start, making the boot harder to open than it should be, and have already started creaking. So I have accepted I need to bin them and try again.

Does anyone know how best to ensure I don't buy junk again? The online parts supplier I used didn't seem to be particularly obscure and I didn't go for the cheapest option. I'd even be happy to pay up for OEM parts but I can't figure out a way to do that. Does anyone know where I might be able to source them, or a genuine equivalent?

I feel your pain
I bought some struts from GSF for my aging Zafira and they do not extend as much as the OEM ones and one is liable to crack ones head on the tailgate