Time & Difficulty

• Difficulty: 1 of 5 (very easy)
• Time: 30 minutes (book time is 0.6 hours)

Parts

Get new trunk struts and ball studs. It’s a real pain to try and remove the old ball studs. The ball studs come unpainted so if you want them to match you should paint them to match ahead of time. Touch-up paint from Acura works well for this. If you insist on re-using the old ball studs, it is possible to cut the old strut off using a hacksaw or dremel tool. Be careful, as it is easy to cut too far and damage the ball studs. This is a lot of work and hassle to save just a few dollars. (Note: The NSX engine hatch struts come with the ball stud included, not separate as with these trunk lid struts.) For a writeup by Prime user: NSXBill2 on how to remove the ball-studs from the old trunk struts to use with new struts, go here.

• Trunk Struts: Acura part # 74872-SLO-013 (about $45 each)
• Ball Studs: Acura part # 90102-SLO-003 (about $9 each)

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Tools

• Locking pliers (or prop rod, or rope) to hold the trunk lid open while you work
• Small flat blade screw driver
• 10mm wrench
• Small hammer
• Shop rag (or towel) (not pictured)

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Steps

1. Open and secure the trunk lid. Clamp the locking pliers onto one of the worn out struts to hold the trunk lid open while you work. If you don’t have locking pliers you can brace the lid open with a piece of 2×4, broom handle, etc. but the pliers are great for this. You can also hold trunk lid up with a rope tied to the garage door rails, which takes all the pressure off of the struts for easy removal. }
2. Loosen the existing strut on one side with the wrench. If you are not a master mechanic like me, you might want to use a shop rag to protect the nearby paint from scratches. }
3. Pry off the little C-clip. Be careful it doesn’t fly across the driveway and disappear into a bush or shrub. Once the clip is removed, the top part of the strut can be removed from the top part of the trunk. }
4. Pry open the plastic bracket. Use the little screwdriver to pry the plastic bracket open so you can remove the strut. }
5. Remove the old strut with ball stud attached. You should end up with the empty bracket hanging there. }
6. Completely remove the old strut and install one of the new ball studs. Use the wrench to tighten it a little. Don’t go nuts and strip out the threads though. }
7. Install the new strut in the reverse of the removal procedure. On the bottom, just snap it onto the new ball stud. A light tap with the small hammer may help get the C-clip back on. }
8. Repeat steps 3-9 for the strut on the other side. Viola! Your trunk now stays open all by itself. David Copperfield himself probably can’t explain how it works. }
9. Play Frisbee with faithful assistant mechanic Alex. He really, really likes to play Frisbee!

Do It Yourself