GU Wagon rear door stay (small door)

[04off]

Ive been getting slightly frustrated with the small rear door not staying open on my GU Wagon

A bit of wind at the beach or parked on a incline toward the drivers side and the little door soon becomes a pain in the backside (literally), the big rear door has a lock to prevent accidental closing but the little door has no means of retaining it safely in the open position.


I thought of things like drilling a hole and using a pin to keep the door open, but id forget and break it off for sure, i needed something easy and idiot (me) proof that also didnt need instructions for the family to use.




So today i fitted a Gas Strut to the small rear door of the GU , and it appears to work like a charm ,and on the flat (after the handle has been pulled) it will actually push open the door for you in a controlled manner.

I will be testing it out at the beach this weekend, im not sure if this sort of mod has been done before , but if anyone wants more info (or pic's) let me know

[big red]

pics are always good for people searching for a solotion in the future.

[Ferwoaza]

That's a bloody good idea, couple that with the black widow bracket that allows the door to open more and it's almost like auto doors! Put some pics up of where you mounted the strut to give me some ideas

[04off]

The strut is around 290mm extended , and i think its the sort of lenth that may be found on a fiberglass ute canopy side lifting window.

I may look at getting a shorter stem swivel/ball mount for the door side or the strut, as clearance is tight above the plastic bumber area (door closed), it clears by a couple of mm but i can see that under 4x4 "flexing" conditions this could end up rubbing ?


Will let you know how it goes after getting used all weekend.

[04off]

Looking at suitable donor struts, i found one of the boot struts from a Ford Falcon (BA sedan model, easy to find at the wreckers) looks like it should be a great fit.

After using this for about a month i can say its definately been a worth while mod, no more clashing of the doors or stuggling to hold door open while loading the back

[Skegbudley]

What an awesome mod.
I am going to have to do that.