moparjet

i want to ditch the hatch actuator on my 89 242ls and put gas shocks on it.. has anybody done this and how was it done? any pics of installed?. it has to be better than the sag to one side bowed up in the middle set up on there now.

fossil fuel

I'm thinking it will be a u tube viral video when the hatch pops up at 60.......Im thinking the actuator also holds the hatch shut at speed....maby not

socalstone

Yeah, I agree with fossil. maybe add gas shocks for support when open? Unless you have a good plan to keep it closed.

rvander68

I recently added gas shocks to my hatch. It has a full padded sun-pad, weights a ton and I did not have an actuator so I had to rely on brute strength to open it. I started by weighing the hatch in the open position with a prop rod and a scale just to get an idea how much weight I needed to support. I then decided on an approximate location for the lower pivot point on the hull. From there (with the hatch open), I measured from the pivot point up to the underside of the hatch at a slight angle. This gave me an idea I needed shocks that were about 25" in the open state. I marked this spot on the underside of the hatch, closed the hatch and then transferred that mark to the hull. From this, I could measure from the lower pivot point to the transferred mark on the hull to determine the compressed length of the shock (therefore I knew how much shock travel I needed - about 10"). With this information, I went over to Advance Auto and found a couple of Strong Arm shocks that were real close to the above requirements. For me (and I would guess you too since our boats are not that dis-similar), I found gas shocks that are used on late model Chevy Suburban tailgate; $23 ea. I got the appropriate stainless mounting brackets at West Marine (I think Dana sells them as well) and thru-bolted them (West Marine also sells the shocks but they are pricy). They work GREAT. It is a little hard to push down, but I can raise the hatch with two fingers. My son is demo'ing in the picture below. Let me know if you have any questions....

moparjet

I can lift my hatch with the actuator in the close positon. It is pretty heavy so im not worried about flying open a didnt even have actuator installed all last year.. rvander i would like to see more pics of your set up. Thanks for the detailed reply.

rvander68

No problem. Hope this helps. The measurement is from the hinge to give you an idea where I located the lower pivot and I verified the arms are 25" long. Last photo gives you an idea of the arm angle when the hatch is open. There are two p/n's on the shock: 4557 and 27811.

moparjet

sweet.... thanks for pics.. looks easy enough. prolly do it tomorrow.. do you remember how much you hatch weighed open?

rvander68

I believe it was in the neighborhood of 70lbs open with prop at the first cross brace. Translating that to the shock mount location bumps it up from there. With my setup, I need to lift the hatch about 8-10" (not much effort to it) and then the shocks really kick-in and open it from there. It was a fun little project and really made it easier on my back not having to dead lift that thing! Good luck.

aquaforce

"Sag to one side bowed up in the middle" need to make sure that the arm that connects to the "U" arm and the actuator is in the right position!!!!!!!

When I bought my 242LS this part was in backwards and that is the symptom it had.
I was surprised to learn that a marina in MD put it together that way after some repairs. It is notched on one side for range of movement and if it is turned backwards it will stress the actuator, bind against the lift rod and bow the center of the cover up from the stress on the radius lifting rod. The damage can be repaired with some work and the radius rod will have to be sprung back to lift the hatch even again.