upper tailgate gas strut

[trobbo]

Closing the rear upper tailgate strut tonight and I hear a pop. Open the tailgate to find the strut has pulled out of the rear pillar.

Any idea's on how to put it back in? It doesn't seem to screw in.

[boolyb]

Yeah mate, the ball joint part thats in the end of the strut is supposed to screw into the body, the captive nut will have torn off the body probably due to the ball joint working loose,there was an assurance programe on early d3 part of the prog was to remove the ball joint and loctite it back in.
There is a kit you scan get which involves removing rear light cutting a hole and feeding a plate in behind the body and welding in place, not a cheap procedure when you get a panel shop involved.
I suppose a panel shop could come up with something else really depends how pretty you want it.
Cant rem the lr part no for the repair kit or price, I could find out if you are keen! :cool:

[trobbo]

looking on disco3.co.uk this appears to be a common problem.

TSB LA501-018 appears to have been issued to dealers - not sure if the same number applies to aus.

Some appear to have rectified the problem by drilling a hole behind the trim and threading an m8 nut through and screwing the mount into it.

Would it be too much to ask LR to fix it on an 05 model?

[Jamo]

It should have been corrected by the dealer some time ago. The TSB applies to everywhere except NA.

Go to the dealer and see what they say. Good luck!

[CaverD3]

Should have been fixed by the dealer as part of the early 'ehancement program'.
As it is an expensive fix I would be making this claim.

See: DISCO3.CO.UK • View topic - Go and check your tailgate struts now! (http://www.disco3.co.uk/forum/topic3721.html)

[trobbo]

I ended up 'fixing' this myself as I didn't have the time to argue with LR or wait a couple of days for the proper repair to be effected.

Pulled the rear trim off (bit with speaker in it) and then by sight lined up where the bolt was and drilled a hole with a small hole saw.
Had to go through two layers before access to the back of the bolt with a spanner could be gained.

So from there I fitted a the nut I found to fit the bolt, into the spanner and held in place with some electrical tape. (This allowed me to push against the nut with enough force to get the thread started without losing it out the back of the spanner).
Slapped some grease on the back of a washer and placed this in front of the nut, also on the spanner. Fed the spanner through the hole I drilled, screwed the bolt into the nut and when tight removed said spanner from the hole.

I did lose a couple of washers in the process, but hopefully they wont rattle too much. I now have a larger washer on either side of the pillar so as to reduce any further fatigue caused by the bolt pulling out the first time and unless you were specifically looking you wouldn't notice the big washer there.

I think it took me longer to gain the courage to drill a hole in my 50K car than it did to fix it. :(