On Sat, 20 Sep 1997, The Bus Depot wrote:

> [snip]
> In a fit of poor judgement, Volkswagen put a weaker strut on the left
> side than on the right side, resulting in premature failure.  My
> solution is to replace them with a pair of right side struts, which
> will last longer.  (Also, they will hold the hatch open even if it is
> not opened up all the way.)  The increased load capacity of these
> struts is not enough to make the hatch difficult to open.

However, be aware that use of two right side struts sure makes the hatch
more difficult to CLOSE.  My daughter and wife require the use of two
hands to close it; I can still close it with one hand, but it requires a
"grunt" to get it down.  Over time, I'm sure our ability to do pull-ups
will improve considerably.  ;)

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Tom Young               young@sherlock.SIMS.Berkeley.EDU
Lafayette, CA  94549    '81 Vanagon
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