John_s_rae Posted February 25, 2015 Share Posted February 25, 2015 Has anyone done this mod? Also I've seen that it's been done on a mk3 but can you do it to a mk4? If anyone has done it, do you have any pics? Sent from my iPhone using Ford OC Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pragmatix Posted February 25, 2015 Share Posted February 25, 2015 It's a factory option, not sure what would be involved to retro fit it, the best way would be to find a donor vehicle but I suppose they will be like hens teeth Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John_s_rae Posted February 25, 2015 Author Share Posted February 25, 2015 There's a page on fordwiki basically it just looks like you fit a spring over the strut so it pushes open when the boots unlocked. But I was wondering if anyone's done it to a mk4 and what springs they used. That's the picture on fordwiki on a mk3 Sent from my iPhone using Ford OC Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeebowhite Posted February 25, 2015 Share Posted February 25, 2015 there was a chap on here who was doing them and selling them, from germany I think? but yeah its just replace the struts you have with these, and when you press the button to unlock the boot it pops. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
al2052 Posted February 25, 2015 Share Posted February 25, 2015 It has been done on a Hatchback with varying results, but I have looked into it for Estate which has shorter free measurements on the strut than the hatch, bought the springs and decided it wasn't viable on the estate being impossible to compress the spring into the 30-40mm available when boot closed, if I remember you need about 85mm to overcome the tipping point to carry on opening the boot, plus in my case I felt the pressure needed would wreck the struts, this is using using die springs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeebowhite Posted February 26, 2015 Share Posted February 26, 2015 You could always just cut the springs down and fit them intertwined, that should double the stength of the pushing force and still give you the result? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
al2052 Posted February 26, 2015 Share Posted February 26, 2015 The main problem is that the Estate seems to have a lot less room for spring than the Hatch and also smaller dimensions i.e.8mm rod Estate 10mm Hatch and appears the overall strut case smaller and lighter, but their was also other factors that made me drop the project, including spring availability, high post costs, minimum orders etc and having to experiment with any amount of springs, personally I thought it was perhaps better idea to use springs over the whole unit but the weather at the time put paid to investigating further, I ultimately came to the conclusion that it was too much hassle for very little benefit. With the Estate you need to compress a spring stroke of approx. 85mm to approx. 35mm and to do this you must use lighter springs and then you do not get enough pressure to lift it over the tipping point when the tailgate lifts on its own 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John_s_rae Posted February 26, 2015 Author Share Posted February 26, 2015 I should have mentioned earlier that I have a hatchback I've been looking for springs on eBay going off Fordwikis dimensions and they're looking to be about £16 posted. I was just wondering how I actually fit them? Is it just a case of !Removed! off the end of the strut, sliding the spring on and !Removed! it back together? These are the dimensions on fordwiki Min. hole 19.05 mm Max shaft 9.52 mm Free length 114.30 mm Spring constant 11.2 N/mm Optimal service life at F1 28.58 mm Length at F1 85.73 mm Force at S1 320.00 N Max travel 53.72 mm Max loaded length 60.58 mm Max force 602.00 N Sent from my iPhone using Ford OC Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
al2052 Posted February 26, 2015 Share Posted February 26, 2015 Basicly yes, You will need washers at end of springs and also apparently rubber grommets/washers. I got my springs from China thru amazon , a lot cheaper with free postage but couple of weeks delivery. My response was to show that Hatch is feasible but Estate not really practical. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nbuuifx Posted February 26, 2015 Share Posted February 26, 2015 There is a post on talkford detailing this. The poster tried a variety of die springs but ultimately appeared unhappy with the results. It was OK when first fitted but then wouldn't lift on cold mornings etc. I think you can buy some replacement struts which just do the job but they were expensive Update... http://www.ebay.de/itm/Ford-Mondeo-MK4-BA7-automatischer-Heckklappenoffner-Heckklappendampfer-/141298744248?pt=DE_Autoteile&hash=item20e60fbbb8&clk_rvr_id=787414202291&rmvSB=true Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John_s_rae Posted February 26, 2015 Author Share Posted February 26, 2015 Thanks for the replies guys Sent from my iPhone using Ford OC Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeebowhite Posted February 26, 2015 Share Posted February 26, 2015 And they seem to be demonstrated on an estate! Nice price though :| Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ianb Posted February 26, 2015 Share Posted February 26, 2015 Hmmm, I'd love these. Personally I find the boot release thing on my focus to be one of the most pointless parts... If I'm carrying something and manage to hit the boot release, I still have to put it down and open the boot, and opening the boot on a focus with the electronic button isn't hard in itself, so having it release beforehand is a bit pointless... Sent via carrier pigeon using Ford OC Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeebowhite Posted February 26, 2015 Share Posted February 26, 2015 Someone somewhere on the forum was selling them for the focus.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ianb Posted February 26, 2015 Share Posted February 26, 2015 Someone somewhere on the forum was selling them for the focus.... Unfortunately the beans required are far more than I can justify/think it's worth... Sent via carrier pigeon using Ford OC 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeebowhite Posted February 26, 2015 Share Posted February 26, 2015 I must admit the general Consensus for a hydraulic arm you already have and a spring is quite expensive! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
al2052 Posted February 26, 2015 Share Posted February 26, 2015 have to agree, I usually put my shopping on the back seat anyway, the demo strut seems to be a lot stronger than the stock estate struts Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ozigoo Posted February 28, 2015 Share Posted February 28, 2015 Anyone have a link to the heavy duty struts for the hatch? or do these ones do the hatch as well? cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Haggis X Posted December 18, 2018 Share Posted December 18, 2018 I saw the spec for the springs further up the thread. Is this spec sufficient to lift a tailgate with a fitted spoiler or dose it need a different spring and gas strut combination? I have 2 Mondeos that I would like to modify one a Titanium Xand one a Zetec, both fitted with the standard ford spoiler. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kawasaki kid Posted December 18, 2018 Share Posted December 18, 2018 Just a word of caution with having the tailgate open fully on walking up to the car a lad I work with had it fitted on C Max and when he opened it in a multistorey carpark the tailgate hit a beam above the car and damaged the tailgate. 😑 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lenny Posted December 19, 2018 Share Posted December 19, 2018 13 hours ago, Kawasaki kid said: Just a word of caution with having the tailgate open fully on walking up to the car a lad I work with had it fitted on C Max and when he opened it in a multistorey carpark the tailgate hit a beam above the car and damaged the tailgate. 😑 😀 stupid Beam Should be able to show off the features regardless of where it's parked, Alternativly drive in to a spot like that instead of reversing it, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dee_82 Posted December 19, 2018 Share Posted December 19, 2018 Funny you say that, I was in one of those god awful Mini Clubmans the other day, (business trip down to London!) anyhow, apart from there being some mystical consensus with all other mini drivers to be nice to one another I discovered that the auto opening doors on the rear are the most idiotic design ive ever seen. Apart from it opening up and smacking the wall behind the car, you then have to close it again to get in to it 🙄 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FatHead1979 Posted December 24, 2018 Share Posted December 24, 2018 On 12/19/2018 at 9:10 PM, Dee_82 said: Funny you say that, I was in one of those god awful Mini Clubmans the other day, (business trip down to London!) anyhow, apart from there being some mystical consensus with all other mini drivers to be nice to one another I discovered that the auto opening doors on the rear are the most idiotic design ive ever seen. Apart from it opening up and smacking the wall behind the car, you then have to close it again to get in to it 🙄 I had 1 as a hire car, I can't say enjoyed the silly rear doors but also the total like of rear visibility. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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