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Electrical Issues: Hatch Lift - Battletech Pod - Tail Gate Lift Motor
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kahlid74:
I'm back to working on this after throwing rocks on ice and something isn't adding up mechanically.  The rear door of a minivan is in two states, up or down.  this is done by the gas struts.  Even without actually closing the door it stays down.  When pulled the gas struts push the rest of the way with no outside effort.  This behavior is NOT exhibited within the pod hatch door and I've got no clue.

So I built the whole door, and with two 40Lbs struts, part 819-5564 (Napa strut) from the dealer, the door is not held up and will slam hard down.  Even with two screen door springs on the top.  I then removed one of the 40Lbs struts with a monster strut I also got, which I'm betting was one actually used in the tailgate lift.  The problem then was the wood would bend upward and it wouldn't close/stay closed.  Even with this monster it still didn't hold it open at the top either.




So then I cut the door in half and tried the 40lbs Struts again.  Still not enough =p



I hold it up and then when I let go it comes down.  Not as hard as the full door but hard enough.  The two pieces of wood are on the sides to prevent it from slamming down.

So I'm at a loss here.  What am I not doing right with regard to Gas Struts?  Have I just not found the right lbs force ones yet or is there something amiss?

Any help/suggestions would be a huge help!
TopJimmyCooks:
Suggest place emergency collect call to mechanical engineers in Toyota City, Japan. 

but seriously, those two stage struts are tuned to the job, door weight and geometry and custom spec'd to the nth degree.  Have you considered a sliding door?  I do know that the strut will be almost parallel with the top part of the door when closed- that's how it is in the car.  Yours is at a steep angle when closed and flat/parallel when fully open - the opposite of how it works on the minivan. 

kahlid74:

--- Quote from: TopJimmyCooks on February 13, 2013, 07:37:45 pm ---Suggest place emergency collect call to mechanical engineers in Toyota City, Japan. 

but seriously, those two stage struts are tuned to the job, door weight and geometry and custom spec'd to the nth degree.  Have you considered a sliding door?  I do know that the strut will be almost parallel with the top part of the door when closed- that's how it is in the car.  Yours is at a steep angle when closed and flat/parallel when fully open - the opposite of how it works on the minivan.

--- End quote ---

So the angle would be different, but it would still be completely collapsed.

I have thought about a sliding door, since it is what the original Pods had and while I'm generally okay with it, I was kind of hoping to do something different/special.  Either way it's moot now with the current state it's in.
HaRuMaN:
Your problem here is torque.  Try pushing open a heavy door near the hinges vs. near the outer edge to see what I mean.
BadMouth:

--- Quote from: HaRuMaN on February 14, 2013, 08:49:01 am ---Your problem here is torque.  Try pushing open a heavy door near the hinges vs. near the outer edge to see what I mean.

--- End quote ---


+1
beat me to it

You're working with leverage here.
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