Gas Strut Liftgate Compression Prior to Installation 

Great Idea I compressed my damper by standing it upright on my drill pres with one end in a hole in a board and the other in the drill chuck wide open. This allows you to press the cylinder down and hold it there with the column lock. Allows you to measure the dist before setting the wires.

Needed this for RV awning struts, great tip. Thanks

GREAT idea with the hose clamp!

First one that will,work for me. Thanks.

Marty, thanks for helping me resolve my issue. My trunk gas strut was about 1/2 inch too long to install. Was able to compress as you showed to complete installation in 2008 Cadillac XLR. I had to start at small end of shock. Clamps would slip on small end.

Thanks heaps - had no idea where to start

another good question would be why the car manufacturer didnt think of this to allow for some slack... the trunk lid on my car will NOT move an extra 2-3 mm to allow for the shock to go in... thats all the space i need... but no...

Brilliant tip

Looks like great plan. I had same problem with lift on a Jeep Grand Cherokee. I'm out to try it now.

Thanks for the instruction. My question sounds dumb but I’ll ask anyway, once you have adjusted it to the length that you need and install it would it stay in that length? Or would it go back to its original length once the wires are removed?

a 5 minute job which now will extend over a period of a few days... out hunting a pipe clamp...

nice head shot - thanks

couple notes. Use real fencing wire, not soft black iron wire. My wire broke at the twist points.

what i dont get is how come none of these manufacturers thought about creating two strong hooks - one at each end, for exactly the purpose of compressing these shocks

Impressive view of back of your head.

If you scar the cylinder shaft with the hose clamps it will lead to early failure of the strut.