New Door Strut replacement

Hello,


I had my Delorean driver side door strut replaced with a new one at DMC Southern California a few years ago. It is a brand new DMC strut. When I open the door, it only opens to about past the half way point, not fully all the way up as I thought it should. I mean, I don't want the door to just pop open fast springing up and bouncing open but should this new strut at least be getting the door to open all the way up?

Is there anything I can check on the strut or anywhere else on the door to fix this? Or is this just how a new DMC strut works?

Thank you.

Hi Annisse,

How old is the strut? I understand that they only last 3-4 years. Was the passenger strut replaced at the same time?
If so, how is it performing? If it is good, then you can swap the struts from the driver side to the passenger side and see if the struts make the opposite door behave the same way. (You'll need help with this as someone needs to hold/support the heavy door in the process.)

If, after putting a known good strut on the driver's door only opens halfway, then you most likely need your torsion bars checked/ adjusted. This is normally a dealer service unless you have local club members that have a jig/tools, and experience.

My drivers door was acting the same way, and for me at least, new struts and a torsion bar adjustment is what it needed.

Agree with Dana. Door struts have become a regular maintenance item lasting 3-4 years before replacement is needed.

(They also don't work well in the cold temps, so that could be part of the issue for you.)

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Originally Posted by Jonathan

Agree with Dana. Door struts have become a regular maintenance item lasting 3-4 years before replacement is needed.

(They also don't work well in the cold temps, so that could be part of the issue for you.)

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The struts are also very temperature dependent. Some last longer than others but 5 years is probably the limit. My test is if you open the door all the way and it can still stay up and not fall. The other test is a test of the adjustment of the torsion bar. Remove the strut and allow the door to close slowly. It should still remain open about 2-3 inches from the sill to the bottom of the door. Try to replace the door struts in pairs, ie, both doors at the same time. Different vendors source their struts from different places so they are not all the same. Right now the latest ones from PJ Grady have a LOT of dampening so they can have more force yet not make the doors bounce. Some vendors claim their struts have temperature compensation so they work the same over a wide temperature range. I can't say since I haven't done a comparison. Make sure the lower attachment point on the body is not loose. lubricate the hinges and strut attach points. Put a trip of rubber between the torsion bar and the rear hinge on each door so the bar can't get scratched.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Annisse

Hello,


I had my Delorean driver side door strut replaced with a new one at DMC Southern California a few years ago. It is a brand new DMC strut. When I open the door, it only opens to about past the half way point, not fully all the way up as I thought it should. I mean, I don't want the door to just pop open fast springing up and bouncing open but should this new strut at least be getting the door to open all the way up?

Is there anything I can check on the strut or anywhere else on the door to fix this? Or is this just how a new DMC strut works?

Thank you.

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I'd agree with the others that it's weather dependent. I tried a brand called BOXI (sold through Amazon) because the BMW crowd seems to really like this brand. I found it didn't hold the doors up as well as the Stabilius I replaced them with. Now that it's colder, even the Stabilius seems to only push the doors halfway. The Stabilius still holds them in the full-up position, but I have to push it to get it there. It's currently below freezing where I am. If I have the same results in the summer, I'll try a torsion bar adjust.

Do not mess with the torsion bars if they are set properly !
(opening the doors 2-4 inches, not more !!!)

It's been discussed here at least 50 times !

Struts are weaker in the cold, do not judge them in the winter time !

5 years only ?
I had my adjustable struts in the car for almost 10 years when I replaced them
with Herveys - not because they were bad - but Herveys were better
with the soft stop and the unbeatable price.

I had a couple bad experiences with DMCH struts that lasted 1 year or less so a year ago I bought Grady struts. They are soft stop and very strong. They still are as strong as day one! They've lasted a year so far, which I know is a low bar but is better than the other struts I've had, so I'd recommend them.

I just got a full set of DMCH struts myself. We'll see how they hold up. In the cold you have to push them to full extension but at least they stay put and don't try to crunch me when I let go now ;)

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Originally Posted by AirmanPika

I just got a full set of DMCH struts myself. We'll see how they hold up. In the cold you have to push them to full extension but at least they stay put and don't try to crunch me when I let go now ;)

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Can you share a picture of what they look like please?