[davewilky]

When I got my Tarraco in March I was astonished to see that the bonnet stay relied on the old fashioned manual strut whereas the VW Tiguans have an hydraulic strut.

I purchased a strut kit from Aliexpress which consists of two struts, two brackets and four nipples but the VW Tiguan appears to only have a single strut. Interestingly the engine bay nipple is already fitted in the Tarraco but not the corresponding nipple on the underside of the bonnet - there is just a hole where it would fit.

Has anyone successfully fitted an hydraulic strut and, if so, how did you get the bonnet nipple to fit?

 

[tic-tac-tarraco]

I think you may have inadvertently enabled vib1288...

His middle name is Tarraco.

 

[vib1288]

LOL. TBH, I rarely go under the bonnet, so although a hydraulic strut would be convenient it's not something I would miss.

@davewilky- if the tarraco already has the engine side nipple, wouldn't it be easier to the see if the Tiguan bonnet nipple fits? A strut is a strut, so you can get a cheaper non OEM one (right size of course) to save a few £££.

 

[davewilky]

LOL. TBH, I rarely go under the bonnet, so although a hydraulic strut would be convenient it's not something I would miss.

@davewilky- if the tarraco already has the engine side nipple, wouldn't it be easier to the see if the Tiguan bonnet nipple fits? A strut is a strut, so you can get a cheaper non OEM one (right size of course) to save a few £££.

Sorry - I sent you a DM today before seeing this reply. Apologies for being stupid!!

I'm going to pop along to the local VW dealer and see if I can grab a squint at a Tiguan and see if it's a match. It might not be that easy at the moment with the Covid-19 restrictions. As far as I can see the Tiguan only has a single strut whereas the kit from Aliexpress contained 2.

 

[vib1288]

What I meant was to retrofit the Tiguan parts to the Taracco

If one strut is enough for Tiguan, it's gonna be ok for the Taracco... Can't see any reason why not it wouldn't.

 

[davewilky]

Just by way of a quick update, the new design strut arrived from China. Reasonably successful but not a perfect execution thus far.

The new strut is fine and the top fixing a little unnecessarily complicated but works well. I've attached a photo of the installation and of the little mechanism necessary to connect the top nipple to the hole in the bonnet.

 

[davewilky]

Here's the top mount.

 

[tic-tac-tarraco]

Nicely done Dave.

Are you confident enough to put your head underneath it?

 

[davewilky]

Yeah, it seems pretty solid. It lifts the bonnet a little less than the fixed strut but only a few mms in it.

Definitely a better solution.

 

[vib1288]

That's a clean solution for sure. I always thought it was a short hydraulic kit that fitted next to the hinge.

What was the cost?

 

[AdrianC]

Could you also share the link pls

 

[davewilky]

That's a clean solution for sure. I always thought it was a short hydraulic kit that fitted next to the hinge.

What was the cost?

Not a simple answer I'm afraid. I initially ordered a kit from XS Automobiles & Motorcycles Parts Store through Aliexpress at a cost of $45.16. That kit was useless as the two struts supplied clashed with the underbonnet and prevented the bonnet from closing.

I reported the problem to XS and they agreed to make a new kit as per my description and they asked me to pay an additional $13 for shipping. It took a few weeks to arrive, but, as you can see, it now works as intended. I suspect follow-on orders might be somewhat cheaper as it's only a single strut.

It looks like they have the new kit on Aliexpress - https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4001282162045.html?spm=2114.12010615.8148356.1.25cb5691BEu71M

The fitting is now identical to that used on the VW Tiguan.

Hope that helps.

 

[largekevin]

Hi, i've been reading from afar for a few weeks since I got my car. Some great stuff on here.

How long is the thread on the nipple? Plenty clearance before it comes in contact with the outside?

I got the part number from a tiguan from my mate and found Lesjofors' ones that match the OEM part number for the allspace. Just wondering what length nipple to get and u-nut if they dont come with the strut.

 

[davewilky]

The thread length on the XS-supplied nipples is 14mm. They DID supply the nipples (they sent 3 actually) but they fell out of the box as I opened it!!

They supplied the u-nut attached to a length of spring steel with another u-nut at the other end. I couldn't figure out how they intended that to fit and I ended up just putting a single u-nut in the bonnet hole with the nipple and the large round washer on the outside. The strut will apply constant pressure on the nipple so I oriented the u-nut in that direction so it will not come loose.

 

[vib1288]

That's a clean solution for sure. I always thought it was a short hydraulic kit that fitted next to the hinge.

What was the cost?

Not a simple answer I'm afraid. I initially ordered a kit from XS Automobiles & Motorcycles Parts Store through Aliexpress at a cost of $45.16. That kit was useless as the two struts supplied clashed with the underbonnet and prevented the bonnet from closing.

I reported the problem to XS and they agreed to make a new kit as per my description and they asked me to pay an additional $13 for shipping. It took a few weeks to arrive, but, as you can see, it now works as intended. I suspect follow-on orders might be somewhat cheaper as it's only a single strut.

It looks like they have the new kit on Aliexpress - https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4001282162045.html?spm=2114.12010615.8148356.1.25cb5691BEu71M

The fitting is now identical to that used on the VW Tiguan.

Hope that helps.

Thanks for the clarification. Glad it's all sorted. Cheeky of them to ask for $13 shipping though... But that's China business model for you. They can't see past the initial cost, although no doubt your leg work has helped them make money in the future!

 

[largekevin]

The thread length on the XS-supplied nipples is 14mm. They DID supply the nipples (they sent 3 actually) but they fell out of the box as I opened it!!

They supplied the u-nut attached to a length of spring steel with another u-nut at the other end. I couldn't figure out how they intended that to fit and I ended up just putting a single u-nut in the bonnet hole with the nipple and the large round washer on the outside. The strut will apply constant pressure on the nipple so I oriented the u-nut in that direction so it will not come loose.

Thanks. I did wonder about the strip between the nipples.