The Pantera Place
"Your de Tomaso Connection"

Deck Lid Lifts

By Mike Dailey

All of the technical information and product information posted on this website is offered as general information and is not recommended, endorsed, guaranteed or presented as professional technical information.  It is recommended that you seek professional help for the repair or maintenance of your car.  Improper self-maintenance or repair of your car can result in serious injury and or death.  Use of this information is done at your own risk.   

I've owned my Pantera since 1998 and the very old aftermarket deck lid lift struts have worked very well until recently when one of them developed a seal leak.  The existing lift struts were so old that I could not cross reference the part numbers to a current strut part number.  The lift specifications must be exact or they will not fit correctly and if they have too much lift pressure they can bend the deck lid hinge mounts.  Fixing bent hinge mounts can be a very expensive process.

After doing a bunch of research on the de Tomaso forums I decided that most owners were getting good results with the SACHS SG314005 lifts.   With the new units installed the deck lid does not have any lift until the lid is open about 7".  The deck lid easily stays fully open and closes with not too much force.  They require a bit more force than my old lifts did in their better days to start the closing movement, but they will lose some force over time and the temperature impacts their pressure. The SACHS units look externally exactly like my original aftermarket lifts.

I used a broom stick handle to hold the deck lid up while I removed the old units.  I removed both sides at the same time and then installed the new units.  Both sides must be removed at the same time because the deck lid must be lifted up slightly higher to remove the lifts from their mounting tabs.  Much caution must be used in this process because the deck lid is very heavy and it can be easy damaged at the hinge points if lifted too high.        

Some owners have made bushings for the oblong end openings but my original units did not have bushings and I did not add any.  Without bushings the top end edge rubs on the deck lid.  

  

Some owners have added washers to space the ends but my original units did not have any and I did not add any.  I did use a little light grease on the pivot points and the very top of the strut to smooth the operation.

I found the best price on the lifts at RockAuto http://www.rockauto.com/  I ordered them on-line and had them in a couple of days.  Total cost with shipping for two units was $31.19.