I have a wagon and I need to replace my rear hatch struts. My question is: Are there aftermarket struts that would perform better than the OEM ones? As I recall my original struts were always borderline. If you parked on a slight incline, watch out! Thanks in advance.

Steve

http://www.volvospeed.com/volvo_performance.php has a descreption for a sedan

this is how I did my 96 wagon it might be a little different than yours
since you have a wagon unscrew the screw (torx I believe) by the hook for hanging hangers on in the back
then carefully take off the upper side panels starting by were the tailgate comes down using a flat screw driver (if you put tape on the end it will not scratch as easily)
Be careful these are big and fragile!!!! Once you do that you are home free. Look up and there will be a strut. Have someone hold the tailgate for you (or get on your back and use you leg) and undo the two bolts holding the strut in place. Now just wiggle the strut off the knob on the plate and the knob attached to the roof. Note: there may be pins in the strut to keep them on, these are easy to take off. Put the replacements back on the knobs. secure them with pins (if they come with them, mine did), put the plate back were it was using the bolts, and put the paneling back into place (remember fragile!!!) and don't forget about the two screws.

It sounds like alot but it isn't, but it all needs to be done with the tailgate up (with your leg or someone else holding it)

I got my struts from e-bay motors for 39.09 free shipping they are Scan Tech i believe though not sureand they work almost too good. The door the first time hit me when it opened, even in cold weather. This is a fairly simple thing to do.

I replaced both my struts a couple of months ago with aftermarket ScanTech struts and they worked great until it got cold, so depending on where you live, I'd say these struts are a waste of money. You need to remove all three roof panels and from there it's a pretty straight forward task. Make sure you have someone or something to hold the tailgate open for you, as it's quite heavy. And, speaking from experience, be careful with the wiring harness on the drivers side, as it can get scrunched by the strut and cause electrical shorts. (My rear defroster started blowing fuses about a month later and the alarm LED stopped working, FYI) I ended up going back in and routing the harness under the strut, although I think it was originally above the strut.
Mark
'94 855T

How cold before they stop working? I live in central Florida and my OEM struts give out below 50 deg. F. Do you think the ScanTech struts would be an improvment?

I would like to know what is involved in replacing the struts. Anyone done this??

Yes, it is a piece of cake. Ten minutes max on a sedan.

The end near the seats has a clip that holds it on. The part at the trunk lid, If I remember correctly has a torqs bit. Out pops one and in pops the other.

Make sure you have someone hold open the trunk lid since it is rather heavy and may cause injury if it falls on you.

I replaced the struts on my 93 sedan with the ScanTech replacement off of Ebay. They lasted about 2 days, and then the trunk lid suddenly fell onto my head and actually warped it (the lid, not my head...), so I had to bend the lid back into shape for it to close properly. The plastic, hooked ends on the struts suddenly broke and I would seriously advice against the ST replacements. I now have the old OEM struts back on the car, with no problems, even though they have 160k miles on them.
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'93 850, '91 RX-7 Convertible