I bought some replacement boot struts from a club member recently. I went out to fit them today, but it looks like they might be the wrong ones, although as far as I'm aware they did come off a breaking BA.

My current ones are B01A, and these are B01B. They look exactly the same, but I think possibly the replacements are slightly longer. I can't tell precisely unless I take the old ones off. The boot was fully open when I compared them, and even then the existing ones appeared to have a shorter metal shaft than the new ones.

Can anyone confirm if they are different, or does it just look that way because the old ones are fixed at an odd angle?

S

According the EPC they are left and right handed? I can only find a Mazda code with B01A for the left damper, same on the '94 or '96 body, both B01A-63-620E.

http://mazdaepc.com/parts/323F/AEBM03/Y2/6230/

Specifically:

http://mazdaepc.com/parts/323F/AEBM03/Y ... ABC63620A/

Can't find anything for the right damper under a Mazda part number so may be different?

The only bit I can see after a quick look that has B01B is the tailgate itself, and that seems to relate to if you have the rear wing or not (A without, B with):

http://mazdaepc.com/parts/323F/AEBM03/Y2/6200/

Item 62010 - BODY,LIFT GATE

Yep - There was 2 completely different BA boots struts. Those WITH and those WITHOUT a boot spoiler.

Thanks guys

So presumably the new ones I have must have come out of a ZXi, as only the ZXi had a spoiler as factory standard?

Stu: so what's the difference, is it just the weight-bearing capacity? I mean, a boot with a spoiler is going to be heavier than one without (I could certainly tell the difference when my spoiler was off the car for a few months). So I presume it would need beefier struts.

Might this be another reason why everyone's boot struts die: all these cars given wimpy non-spoiler struts in the factory, but which were then fitted with spoilers that made the boot much heavier!

As the body shells are identical, if the struts are longer then presumably in the ZXi the foot of the strut would have to be attached slightly lower down the side of the boot? But it would mean they won't fit my GXi

S

I thought some versions like the Executive came with spoilers? or was I dreaming again

Maybe it's not just beefier struts but also an angle/lever-action thing, so that the two boots effectively have the same closing feel/force? Car designers can be that anal, my old Jag had to have new front springs and they rated different ones depending on what engine you had, transmission type and if you had leather interior! Apparently it was so they all had the same feel on the road regardless of spec.

I can take some piccies of my struts and where they mount in the morning if that would help?

I also thought some of the 'special editions' came with spoilers too Jon, like the execuitive, venetian etc etc.

I have a set of chrome struts in my old man's garage but I'm not sure whether they are for bonnet's or boot's. I'll have a look when I'm over there and if they are boot struts, I can bring them along to JD if you want to try them Serena?

Special editions, yes, forgot those! The guy who first had Sundance blinged him up, spoiler, expensive alloys (which he trashed before I got the car) and, it appears (as someone recently noticed the remnant of a mounting for it), a splitter.

Jon, yes please, and a measurement of where the bottom foot is mounted on the ZXi (say, how far up from the big rubber stopper) - that would be really helpful. At least I could rule the new ones in/out without having to take the old ones off.

I have a set coming from another member that I was going to use as spares in case these new ones died/weren't suitable, looks like I might need them sooner than I thought, if they fit

Lerch, if I can't resolve this before JapDay then yes please, bring them along!

Cheers

S

Piccies below:



This is the mount on the body (bit blurry), but it sits in an indent, so I can't see it being mounted in another position...



This the sticker on mine, B01B. I don't know if the bracket is a different shape to yours?



I did notice on the tailgate itself there are two indents, 1 either side of where mine is mounted. Are these different on yours? seems to be the only possible variable I can see in that they made different holes depending on the spec.

Cheers Jon!

I checked mine, and the top end seems to be in the same place



In fact you can see there are 4 circular marks, for some reason. They can't all be related to stut placement? Maybe it's a coincidence?

At the other end, though, there's another mark at the top of the indent, above where the strut sits - is there one on yours? It doesn't look like there is, your looks much closer to the top of the indent.



S

Mine has the same indent as yours just above the body mount point:



I've taken some measurements. Tried to use definable point so you can easily measure the same.

from the top of the body mount:



To the end of the plastic trim down by the aerial mount:



Measured 21 1/2 inches, or about 547mm

Then the hatch mount point, from the top lip of the hatch:



to the end of the mount head:



Measure 22 7/8 inches or about 582mm

I'm wondering If those little indents are actually spot welds from the factory robots ... not sure though tbh. Can't see any obvious differences in the mount point though Unless the bracket on the body is different? From the picture it looks about 70mm long or so

Just checked the 1995 brochure and the ZXi (2.0 V6) had a coloured boot spoiler as standard; none of the others did (except special editions of course) as standard but it was a option on all 5-door models, (they called it an "accessory"!).

That must be what happened with mine: the spoiler was an option. And evidently the dealership was trying to get rid of all its pre-Ford parts, so Sundance got a pre-Ford spoiler with a blanking plate over the light recess.

Jon: many thanks indeed, I'll do the measurements on SD tomorrow and see what I come up with

Tickler: I'm casting no aspersions on your boot struts, don't worry I'll still have them, whatever, and if it should turn out in the fullness of time that they also don't fit, I'll find a good home for them in the club.

S

PM'd to Serena.
8.15pm Friday

I just fitted some ebay boot struts to mine the other day, perfect fit

The part number difference is indeed with/without spoiler. The extended length is SLIGHTLY different, but it won't make a difference in fitment the main difference is the compression strength of the spoiler one being about 1kg stronger

If you're fitting spoiler lifters on a car that currently has non-spoiler lifters, you might struggle to get them mounted one at a time - but if you remove both lifters and prop the tailgate up with a broom, you'll find the tailgate actually goes up a good 6 more inches, plenty of room to faff with lifters

1. Open boot
2. Prop up boot with broom/stick/head
3. Remove both struts
4. Move broom/stick/head to lift boot as high as possible
5. Attach new lifters to boot
6. Adjust broom/stick/head until you can position the bottom of one lifter into the right place, insert bolts by hand
7. Repeat for other lifter
8. Tighten down bolts
9. Massage head if you didn't have a broom or a stick

Is there a Mazda part number for the broom?

Obviously Mazda has had it wrong these last years

Thanks Hughie!

I managed to remove the one today, but the top bolt on the second is currently impossible to budge, it seems to be rusted to the washer underneath and it's rounding off. So for the moment I now have B01A on one side, and B01B on the other. There's already a noticeable difference, in that when I unlock the boot lid it springs up and makes a nice "working gas-strut" noise, rather than waiting for me to heave it open myself.

All the bolts replaced, looks much better with nice new M6 10s rather than rapidly rusting anonymous chunks of metal which might once have been bolts.

I had a mop handle ready to prop up the hatch, but it wasn't long enough and didn't feel safe, so I held up the hatch myself and did most of the job one-handed.

When I have another couple of hours to spare (and my grandmother isn't likely to call me again when I'm struggling one-handed with a heavy boot lid), I'll see if I can get the other bolt off.

S

Hi Hughie !

Long time since I've been here, although I often see snippets from the Club on Farcebook ... (mostly Neil swearing about footie !)

My boot lifters for my '97 1.8 BA have died and I'm battling to find replacements - The universal ones don't fit because of the strange bottom fitting. Mazda will supply for close to the car's retail value, so I'm looking for other options - do you still have the link to your eBay supplier please ?

Cheerio, and thanks in anticipation,
Smotter

PS : My 180SE model came out standard with a spoiler ...

Hope this helps
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/GAS-STRUTS-MAZDA-323-ASTINA-HATCH-BH-BJ-1994-to-2004-NEW-PAIR-/121970000825?hash=item1c65fa83b9:g:8lUAAOSw7FRWW7pn

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Speed is subjective to only how far you keep your right foot down..

I read it as $40 for o/s shipping 'anywhere' - PM them as it never hurts to ask !

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Speed is subjective to only how far you keep your right foot down..

Bit late but I want to replace mines as well. Anything to look for? The bottom hinges seem to be just a matter of removing 2 bolts but how we remove the top mount? Thanks.

Before you do anything, the tailgate is extremely heavy (seems obvious, but you won't realise how heavy until you take off the struts!!), so prop it up very securely with a strong piece of wood either side. You don't want to decapitate yourself or break the rear glass. It's probably safer to only change one strut at a time.

The top mounting can be undone with a small spanner - it's just a screw-in bolt. However, spray it with penetrating oil before you undo it, as they can rust up (one of mine is stuck on the 1.5, I can't get it undone). It's fiddly, because the strut head is still attached to the end of the bolt, you have to work around it.

I'm told the strut head is supposed to detach from the bolt, but that doesn't seem possible on mine, the whole thing has to come off together, strut and bolt. This means you also can't swap the bolts to new aftermarket struts, so if you buy new struts without the necessary bolts, you'll need to buy them separately.

S

Just to put my 2 cents here..
Both of my Fs are with gas struts from other mazdas.
Anti is with struts from BG, they are shorter and the boot opens a little bit smaller.
Blue's however are from mazda 6 and they are longer than the standart ones so the door opens alot further up, wich helps when loading/unloading children stroller and other baby stuffs..
Both cars got new attachment bolt/balls wich are deatachable if needed, not like the stock ones,with the struts.
If i got a chance to get some new for M6, i will go ang buy them as the tailgateof Anti will be opened to the very maximum and this will make things go in and out the boot easier..
Cheers!