Looking for a quality pair of hood struts for 08 Toyota Tundra. Really dont want to buy at dealership if not need be. Any advice appreciated.
Recommend hood struts?
- Thread starter BAJA_05
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Stabilus makes gas struts for a lot of OEM.
Rock Auto has a few
And Ebay shows hundreds
2008 TOYOTA TUNDRA 4.7L V8 Lift Support | RockAuto
RockAuto ships auto parts and body parts from over 300 manufacturers to customers' doors worldwide, all at warehouse prices. Easy to use parts catalog.
www.rockauto.com
And Ebay shows hundreds
2008tundra hood lift supports for sale | eBay
Get the best deals for 2008tundra hood lift supports at eBay.com. We have a great online selection at the lowest prices with Fast & Free shipping on many items!
www.ebay.com
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I have had good luck with Stabilus and Strong Arm, cheap on rockauto….
Oddly rock doesn’t carry it but this seems like a decent price
Edit one thing to check is whether the ones in the vehicle now, separate from the ball studs or not. My LS OE did not. So I could not go with Stabilus because for that application, the ball studs weren’t included. Strong Arm included them, as did Monroe which I went with (no good). Originals were made by Tokico and a pita to remove….not sure if all Toyota products are like that. See below where ball stud does not come off gas strut. With the OE trunk, struts did separate from ball studs which are part of the trunk’s metal.
Oddly rock doesn’t carry it but this seems like a decent price
Edit one thing to check is whether the ones in the vehicle now, separate from the ball studs or not. My LS OE did not. So I could not go with Stabilus because for that application, the ball studs weren’t included. Strong Arm included them, as did Monroe which I went with (no good). Originals were made by Tokico and a pita to remove….not sure if all Toyota products are like that. See below where ball stud does not come off gas strut. With the OE trunk, struts did separate from ball studs which are part of the trunk’s metal.
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TIP: When you get your replacement struts set an old one aside a new one and make sure they match in length both open and closed.
Why do I alert you to this, you ask? A pal was delivered an incorrect pair by an online retailer which is mentioned here often.
He popped the new ones in, closed the hood and buckled it.
Not good.
Why do I alert you to this, you ask? A pal was delivered an incorrect pair by an online retailer which is mentioned here often.
He popped the new ones in, closed the hood and buckled it.
Not good.
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Hehe I wonder what vendor. Good tip
The moral of the story is quite unlikely OE prices are warranted. Lots of good OEM for Germans and aftermarket for domestic and Japanese. If I’m not mistaken Strong Arm might be lifetime warranty
I've always ordered whatever is least expensive, often from places on ebay that seemingly do nothing but hood/trunk/liftgate/back glass struts.
The aftermarket for my '11 F350 are quite strong, such that once it reaches the breakover point it opens on its own and you wouldn't want your chin in the way. I was aware of this from reviews (so maybe that was Amazon). I don't consider it a problem at all, but if you were particularly elderly, short, weak or frail closing the hood would be an issue.
Coming soon from OEMs: power hoods like power liftgates and van side doors. One more motor to fail. YAY!! <----- let's hope I'm wrong
But basically, aftermarket is so inexpensive and readily available.....and couple that with the fact that replacement of most struts takes my EDC pocket knife and 3 minutes, that I'm almost always willing to gamble. Even if they last 25% as long as OEM I'm still $ ahead -- but I'm not sure aftermarket like Stabilus is necessarily failure-prone??
Also, I'd rather they be too strong and keep the hood up, than too weak and let it fall on me (I do have a hood prop but rarely think to use it)
The aftermarket for my '11 F350 are quite strong, such that once it reaches the breakover point it opens on its own and you wouldn't want your chin in the way. I was aware of this from reviews (so maybe that was Amazon). I don't consider it a problem at all, but if you were particularly elderly, short, weak or frail closing the hood would be an issue.
Coming soon from OEMs: power hoods like power liftgates and van side doors. One more motor to fail. YAY!! <----- let's hope I'm wrong
But basically, aftermarket is so inexpensive and readily available.....and couple that with the fact that replacement of most struts takes my EDC pocket knife and 3 minutes, that I'm almost always willing to gamble. Even if they last 25% as long as OEM I'm still $ ahead -- but I'm not sure aftermarket like Stabilus is necessarily failure-prone??
Also, I'd rather they be too strong and keep the hood up, than too weak and let it fall on me (I do have a hood prop but rarely think to use it)
My Schnorkels from Amazon are doing fine after a year. 
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Stabilus is like Valeo—OEM to various mfgs such as BMW. I lifted the hood of a 760 at an event pre pandemic and it said Stabilus with the BMW logo. It’s perfect for European cars as it “might” be OEM but likely aftermarket—7 years now in my 335 for < $20 ea (remember Denso for example in most cases is aftermarket, not OEM, with Toyota. But my wife’s GM alternator is OE by Denso—hard to discern unless a seller x-ref’s and spells it out). Strong Arm for my LS was just too compelling at I think $9 rockauto. Looks like Stabilus today does include hardware. They likely missed out on some business and fixed it
I also have had good experiences with the Stabilus brand of replacement hood and tailgate strut supports. They seem to fit and function closer to OEM than any other aftermarket strut, and as Astro14 stated, Stabilus is an OEM supplier for several makes. I'd suggest buying the Stabilus strut at your local Autozone B+M store since they seem to offer a limited lifetime warranty on some of the Stabilus struts, as opposed to a 12 month warranty through Rockauto. Exchanges will be easier at AZ and it is cheaper than paying shipping at RA.
In my experience, the StrongArm struts wear out in ~3 years. They also have a tendency to sag in colder temperatures when the hood/hatchback is opened, even when new.
In my experience, the StrongArm struts wear out in ~3 years. They also have a tendency to sag in colder temperatures when the hood/hatchback is opened, even when new.
The ones from amazon will outlast the length of me keeping the car, so I go that route.
You'd have to look at pricing case-by-case, but when I've researched exactly this for other vehicles, it seems you're just paying an "insurance premium" on the front end to AZ.
Again, on the specific vehicle I was looking at -- likely a Ford truck hood but I don't recall -- AZ was 3x the price of online. So, I'd need to have three aftermarket failures to break even.
A ton of variables so I'm not saying this will always be true. I also prefer to just have it come to my door than deal with the counter monkeys, but that's a separate argument
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That’s way better than $160+ for the originals
Edit ps I have ordered from discount parts monster for Lexus and they do take a lot off list so some parts make sense to go original, just not for hood supports imho
Edit 2 I forget why there is a right and a left sometimes on the OE. Not sure if it has to do with the ball studs being fixed on the strut ie doesn’t come off
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Nice find! That same strut shows as $52.50 on my FirstCall account at O'Reilly and $55 retail -- and my store stocks it so it's not special order.
At $18 with a LT warranty I'd run to AZ!!
Another vote for Stabilus
