You can do what I did. Take a piece of PVC with an inner dia between 3/4
and 7/8 and cut it between 8 1/2 and 9 inches. Pull the circlip on the
hatch strut (the thin silver side) and slide the pvc over the strut. Now
when you open the hatch the pvc will fall over the silver rod and wedge
itself between the black part of the strut and the mounting location of
the van. Presto! Cut one for the other side if you want to be xtra safe.
Cut a few extras for your glovebox for other vanagon owners you might
with drooping hatch struts.

I know repacing the struts is cheap, but this is even cheaper and helps
if you have extra weight on the hatch, like a bike rack.

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Erik O          Akron, Oh
'82 GTI Powered Westfalia

   West.of.Wolfsburg
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