PontiacBonnevilleClub.com :: Rods that hold trunk lid up replacement help, please! : 1992-1999

The difference in rods is the spoiler, so you can't use them from a bubble-butt Bonneville either if you have a spoiler because of the added weight the spoiler gives the trunk lid.

I use a 24" socket extension with the end of the rod in the 3/8" square hole of the extension......VERY CAREFULLY.

My advice is that whatever you do, wear good thick leather gloves, a heavy coat (body armor) and safety glasses/goggles. These are dangerous.

For a 92-99, The bottom of the trunk hinge isn't a practical point for a gas lift strut, as it's too far back in the trunk. Nor is there anywhere along the rim of the opening strong enough to support one end. Lisa's Fusion has struts, and it's an interesting comparison in structural mounting points with one of my cars side by side with it. The most remarkable difference is how short of a stroke they are.

I don't get it? Why not just replace the broken torsion rod?

1fatcat wrote:
I don't get it? Why not just replace the broken torsion rod?

My original one was clearly under more torsion than the replacement is, my lid used to pop up and fly up all the way. Now it just pops open and I have to lift it up. Once it gets beyond about halfway open, the rods hold the lid up.

Can you tighten yours?

Author:	labonnevillastrangiato [ Mon Dec 28, 2009 12:03 am ]
Post subject:	Rods that hold trunk lid up replacement help, please!
Hi there, Last week when raising the trunk I heard a funky snap noise and the trunk lid closed rapidly, almost taking my head off! The rod on the LHS seems to have snapped off the main rod that holds the trunk in the raised position. Anyone have any experience on how to replace these, please? Thanks! Adam

Author:	J Wikoff [ Mon Dec 28, 2009 1:02 am ]
Post subject:	Re: Rods that hold trunk lid up replacement help, please!
I haven't done it, but I hear that getting a small diameter pipe or something similar to slip onto the ends of the rods by the notches, you can manipulate the rods (tighten, loosen, remove).

Author:	2000Silverbullet [ Mon Dec 28, 2009 2:14 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: Rods that hold trunk lid up replacement help, please!
Well that seems to be the life of those rods! The LHS rod on my 94 SSEi broke a few weeks ago also. Good luck finding a replacement. GM doesn't make or stock them anymore. Look for one at the wrecking yard. It has to be from the same car to get the right diameter of rod. The 94 Olds I found had them but too small. I use a strong arm and a wooden prop now.

Author:	willwren [ Mon Dec 28, 2009 2:26 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: Rods that hold trunk lid up replacement help, please!
The difference in rods is the spoiler, so you can't use them from a bubble-butt Bonneville either if you have a spoiler because of the added weight the spoiler gives the trunk lid. I use a 24" socket extension with the end of the rod in the 3/8" square hole of the extension......VERY CAREFULLY. My advice is that whatever you do, wear good thick leather gloves, a heavy coat (body armor) and safety glasses/goggles. These are dangerous.

Author:	labonnevillastrangiato [ Mon Dec 28, 2009 8:58 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: Rods that hold trunk lid up replacement help, please!
willwren wrote: The difference in rods is the spoiler, so you can't use them from a bubble-butt Bonneville either if you have a spoiler because of the added weight the spoiler gives the trunk lid. I use a 24" socket extension with the end of the rod in the 3/8" square hole of the extension......VERY CAREFULLY. My advice is that whatever you do, wear good thick leather gloves, a heavy coat (body armor) and safety glasses/goggles. These are dangerous. AH! I assumed these were coiled under a tremendous amount of pressure. I had no idea how heavy the trunk lids of these car were until this thing snapped! Not sure how or why it broke, but never the less, it did. I took the car off the road today and put the Jeep on for the winter. I'm thinking in the spring time I'll do a custom job instead by using a gas type assist cylinder, similar to what the hood uses to hold it upright. I think that would be a lot safer. Just install it to one side or the other and use the proper ball type connectors to hold it in place? What do you folks think of that idea? Adam

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Author:	1fatcat [ Tue Dec 29, 2009 12:00 am ]
Post subject:	Re: Rods that hold trunk lid up replacement help, please!
Those hood strut mounts are enforced pretty good, so if you do it, enforce the mounts real good. I have a good set of trunk springs from a 99 w/spoiler.

Author:	yourgrandma [ Tue Dec 29, 2009 12:11 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: Rods that hold trunk lid up replacement help, please!
One day Id like to build my subs into the rear deck with fiberglass boxes and to do so I'll have to use gas struts to lift the trunk. I dont remember what the older trunks looked like, but on my 02 I think the bottom of the hinge arm and the inner fender well would be the best mounting points. Good luck, those torsion rods scare me.

Author:	willwren [ Tue Dec 29, 2009 12:15 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: Rods that hold trunk lid up replacement help, please!
For a 92-99, The bottom of the trunk hinge isn't a practical point for a gas lift strut, as it's too far back in the trunk. Nor is there anywhere along the rim of the opening strong enough to support one end. Lisa's Fusion has struts, and it's an interesting comparison in structural mounting points with one of my cars side by side with it. The most remarkable difference is how short of a stroke they are.

Author:	yourgrandma [ Tue Dec 29, 2009 3:12 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: Rods that hold trunk lid up replacement help, please!
willwren wrote: For a 92-99, The bottom of the trunk hinge isn't a practical point for a gas lift strut, as it's too far back in the trunk. Nor is there anywhere along the rim of the opening strong enough to support one end. Lisa's Fusion has struts, and it's an interesting comparison in structural mounting points with one of my cars side by side with it. The most remarkable difference is how short of a stroke they are. The shorter the stroke, the more force they have to apply, obviously, so the less mechanical advantage the lid has on the strut, the less reinforcement would be needed. Of course if there isnt a practical mount point, all that goes out the window anyway.

Author:	2000Silverbullet [ Tue Dec 29, 2009 7:16 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: Rods that hold trunk lid up replacement help, please!
Yes, since the failure is usually just one of the two spring rods, like mine, only half the force is needed. Do you think we could rig up a single gas strut to assist? I haven't looked into the details yet.

Author:	1fatcat [ Tue Dec 29, 2009 10:12 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: Rods that hold trunk lid up replacement help, please!
I don't get it? Why not just replace the broken torsion rod?

Author:	yourgrandma [ Tue Dec 29, 2009 10:22 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: Rods that hold trunk lid up replacement help, please!
1fatcat wrote: I don't get it? Why not just replace the broken torsion rod? Because its a scary PITA. I guess in the case of the OP id be more likely to replace it, but I want strut eventually anyway...

Author:	1fatcat [ Tue Dec 29, 2009 10:40 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: Rods that hold trunk lid up replacement help, please!
No matter what you decide to do, a good piece of rope will hold the trunk lid open while your working, much better than a helper can. The B pillers are perfect anchor points.

Author:	Bugsi [ Tue Dec 29, 2009 10:59 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: Rods that hold trunk lid up replacement help, please!
Check at different dealers, you might find one that has it in stock. Mine had it one year ago when mine busted. -They just break. There's no particular reason, other than the metallurgy of the rods is just not up to snuff for the task where they're used. These should be pretty easy to locate at a salvage yard. GM dealers have a special tool they use to install it, so if you get one, you might have a dealer install it and save yourself the scariness of installing it. Otherwise, do like Willwren said and use a long extension and wear body armor. There's a few different positions you can set the rod to, so you can set it to different levels of torsion. It might be possible to use the bubble-butt rods if you set it to a higher torsion, but I'm just guessing here, there could be a separate part for the bubble-butt -vs- the spoiler. Frankly, for longest life I'd recommend setting it to the lowest torsion that holds the lid up. My original one was clearly under more torsion than the replacement is, my lid used to pop up and fly up all the way. Now it just pops open and I have to lift it up. Once it gets beyond about halfway open, the rods hold the lid up.

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Author:	2000Silverbullet [ Wed Dec 30, 2009 2:30 am ]
Post subject:	Re: Rods that hold trunk lid up replacement help, please!
Quote: 1fatcat wrote: I don't get it? Why not just replace the broken torsion rod? Because they are no longer produced or stocked by GM or the aftermarket. Because in a population base of 2,000,000 people, there are no junkyards with anything later than 2000. They get more now for scrap value so they crush everything else.

Author:	Blownville [ Wed Dec 30, 2009 11:11 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: Rods that hold trunk lid up replacement help, please!
Bugsi wrote: My original one was clearly under more torsion than the replacement is, my lid used to pop up and fly up all the way. Now it just pops open and I have to lift it up. Once it gets beyond about halfway open, the rods hold the lid up. I agree here as my 93 used to pop up at least 8 inches originally and now since I replaced the broken one with one from a 95 it dosent pop up at all. I used a deep socket and extension to move the rod out and relieve the tension. I also unbolted the single nut to drop the hinge down far enough to squeeze the rod through. I had my dad hold the lid up while doing this but I was able to do it. The hardest part is putting the rod back to the tension slot. Oh and no body armor and it didnt snap back.

Author:	J Wikoff [ Wed Dec 30, 2009 11:23 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: Rods that hold trunk lid up replacement help, please!
Can you tighten yours?

Author:	Blownville [ Thu Dec 31, 2009 11:44 am ]
Post subject:	Re: Rods that hold trunk lid up replacement help, please!
J Wikoff wrote: Can you tighten yours? If you are asking me then yes I happen to have it as tight as I could get it. I think I have one more slot (IIRC there are 3 on each side) for more tension but was unable to get it in there and I am happy with it where it is now.

Author:	2000Silverbullet [ Thu Dec 31, 2009 1:22 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: Rods that hold trunk lid up replacement help, please!
Well it nailed me good yesterday! There was a lot of blood. I was in a rush packing in the rain. The trunk was almost full so I couldn't use the wooden post. The car was pointed downhill so the trunk balanced just fine in the full open position. I was bending down repositioning something when I saw stars. The lid came down hard on my head! If some of you saw Andrews pic of his split head after the Sonoma trani job, then I don't have to take a pic. Except the gash was deeper. Four stitches. It knows I'm trying to get rid of it.