Hood damper (lift, prop)

Let me know if you try this! I see what's apparently the same model, for about the same price, on Amazon.

If anyone has access to both a standard Prius and a v, it shouldn't be TOO hard to measure the distance between the hood and engine compartment mounting bolt holes, right?

 

Thanks! I just ordered a similar (but less expensive) set for my Pontiac Vibe. Once those arrive, I'll give them a quick test fit in the v if they're anywhere close to the right size...
Andy

 

The Pontiac Vibe is a clone of the Toyota Matrix, so it might be a close fit.

 

Yep - it's actually pretty funny that all the parts say Toyota, even though the vehicle is supposedly a Pontiac. They didn't try too hard to disguise it, other than the badge. It's been a good car.

You said it might be a close fit - do you mean it might be a close fit on the v? Do the v and the Matrix share parts also? I don't have any idea whether it will be anywhere close, but since I'm getting the parts anyway, I thought I'd hold them up to the v and give it a quick check. The dampers I ordered for the vibe were less than $50, so if they happen to work on the v, it would save us some money... We'll see.
Andy

 

I understand, and that's helpful. Thanks!
Andy

 

Have you tried these on your v yet? I received the ones I ordered for my Vibe, installed them (took maybe 15 minutes, including cleanup), and they're AWESOME! They work just like they're supposed to - just lift up the hood, and it goes up and stays up. No more fiddling with the support rod. A nice benefit I didn't think about until I used them is that you can open your hood with one hand! Nice.
$85 for the Prius set seems steep for the convenience, though... (The Vibe set was about half that, and since I work on that car more frequently, I think it's worth it). I'll have to think about it - if this set works on the v, it'll go on a wishlist!
Andy

 

Looks good - thanks for the update and details! I like your creativity in making this work for the v. Looks like you found about the best solution given the brackets and shocks supplied.

I wonder, though, if something could be made to work using this unused hole:

(Hope it's OK I borrowed your photo)

This looks like it would require a shorter shock, but if you could find the right length, it could be a slightly easier install. The kit for my Vibe just came with a ball stud (like so) for the lower attachment point, directly into a hole like the one circled above. I put a washer on both sides of the hole, added a nut, and good to go. (No bracket on the lower point.) The upper attachment point used a bracket, and replaced one of the bolts that holds the hood on to the hinge, similar to yours.
Sorry for the mediocre photo, but here's the one in my Vibe, for illustration:


Now I'm really wondering if I can home-brew one for the v. McMaster has "Gas Springs with Ball Joint Fittings" in a variety of lengths and force ratings, for less than $30/pr, plus shipping. Then you'd just need a right-angle bracket for the hood/top end, with holes of the appropriate diameter drilled. Sounds good in theory! Too good to be true? I'll post back if I figure anything out...

Thanks again for testing the standard Prius shocks on your v!
Andy

 

Thanks tanasit.
Interesting that you have previously gotten parts directly from McMaster - glad my idea wasn't too crazy!

I measured the aforementioned hole today (before reading your post), and sure enough, it's way too close to the hinge! After carefully evaluating and measuring all the other potential mounting points on the fender, I concluded that the best spot is... Exactly the one you used. As you said, not quite ideal, but probably good enough. McMaster has some gas springs that measure 20.12" fully extended, and I measured the ideal extension from this point to the hinge as about 21.75" With some creative use of brackets, I think the 20.12" model could work just fine. Out of curiosity, what's the length of the ones in the kit you bought?
As you also mentioned, when the hood is closed, the 20.12" model would not be fully compressed - length under the hood is about 14", and the fully compressed length of the shock is 11.85". If I use brackets to make the effective length a little shorter, that should help both the full extension and compressed lengths be closer to their ideals.
I think I'll give it a try anyway - I can always find something else I need from McMaster, and even if they don't work at all, I'm just out the price of shipping. Now I just need to decide whether to get the 50 lb force or 60 lb force...
Andy

 

Nice! I'll probably order mine today, and I'll report back (with pictures) when I get it installed (assuming I can get something to work!).
Note that McMaster also carries a variety of mounting brackets with ball studs - I couldn't find them by a simple text search on their website, but if you look up item #9512K91, and then look at that catalog page, there are several shapes/sizes, most less than a couple bucks each. I think I'll order a few and see what works best.
Andy

 

Well tanasit, apparently the two of us are the only people interested in this... So I thought I'd let you know, I rigged what I consider a pretty darn good hood prop, for a total of about $22 worth of parts (including shipping)! Brief overview - all parts from McMaster-Carr: I used a single 20.12" 50lb gas spring ( $14.47, item #

4138T585​

), two ball mount brackets ($1.67 each, item #

9512K95​

), and a single 1"-long 10-24 machine screw + nut & washer (few cents at local hardware store). (I also used a single M8-threaded socket cap screw I had on hand, but if I had planned a little more carefully, I could have used the factory bolt, so I won't count that in my parts list. Also a bit of Rustoleum spray paint, not strictly necessary.)



Yes, the single shock is plenty to support the hood, and IMO it does so perfectly.



Just the right amount of lifting force that it's easy to open, plenty of support to hold it open, and just enough tug at the end that it's also easy to close. I'm very happy with this solution. Read on for more pics and details.

I started on the driver's side, so I could use the existing hood prop rod while I was working. I had ordered several different kinds of brackets, because I wasn't sure which ones would work best. They're cheap - I spent $10.86 on four pairs of ball-mount brackets. The gas spring comes with threaded ball-head mounting studs, which were a challenge to remove, even after I pulled out the wire retaining clip. Once the wire clip is off, just lever the bolts out - they'll pop out with a little persuasion. I fiddled around a while trying different brackets in different positions, looking out for the optimum hood lift height, and for clearance when the hood was closed. Both my mounting points were slightly different than yours, but immediately adjacent. The top of my shock is mounted on the lower hood spring mount bolt, bottom of the shock is right behind the headlight mount.









As you can see, I modified the lower bracket a bit. It fit fine as it was, but the top/rear end stuck out funny. So I scored a line on the back of the bracket with a hacksaw, and bent it along this line. This takes care of the end that was sticking out, and also potentially prevents the bracket from twisting, since the bent portion rests against the frame. (I put a couple layers of tape on the frame at this point to prevent scratching - probably unnecessary.) This lower bracket is secured through the frame hole with a 10-24 bolt, tightened to "very tight" ft-lbs. I used the 10-24 because that's what fit through the hole in the bracket. It'd probably be better to drill out the bracket and use a slightly larger bolt, but that will be easy to do later if necessary.
The top bracket fits into the lower hood hinge mounting point. I had a few bracket placement options here, but I wanted to try the same bracket as the bottom, so it would be easier for other v owners to order this "kit" with a pair of identical brackets. I drilled a 5/16" hole in the bracket so the hood mounting bolt would fit through, but it turns out my hole was too close to the angled portion of the bracket, so the flange/shoulder on the bolt prevented a good fit. I happened to have a socket cap screw with a smaller head diameter, which worked fine here. If I were doing it again, I'd just drill the hole a little further from the angled portion of the bracket. In the pic below, the red star is where I drilled, and the green plus is where I SHOULD have drilled:

Speaking of drilling, if you do plan to re-use the original factory hood-mount screw, note that it has a slight flare just under the head. I assume this helps center the hinge on the hood. However, it means you'd have to drill a larger hole in the bracket in order for the screw head to sit flush. It might be easier to just purchase a replacement (without the flare) from your local hardware store. Or McMaster has nice stainless options, but in most cases you have to buy a pack of 10 or 50.

Once I had the top bracket drilled and the lower bracket bent, I hit them both with black spray paint. Mostly to slow down rust, but it definitely looks better too.

Tightened all my bolts and screws, snapped the shock into place, replaced the wire retaining clips, and it's all set! Now my factory hood prop rod will be able to take a long, uninterrupted nap...

I was surprised to find out that a single gas shock supports the whole hood. I had ordered two - so I have a spare - message me if you'd like it! Paired with some of my unused brackets, I have enough materials to make a second hood prop, if some other v owner is interested! I might return the stuff to McMaster, but instead of losing some money on shipping it back to them, I'd rather just pass it along at a discount to someone here who will put it to good use.

Andy

 

Yes, the ball can be removed from the socket.

Also, for what it's worth, my gas spring was marked "Stabilius", so you were on the right track with your searches... I can get you their part numbers etc. if you're interested.