Roof struggling going up

[Graham]

Roof is struggling going up,its always required a little manual help that last little bit but much worse having not used it in over a year.I lubricated everything i can see and ran up and down several times but still not much better.How can i check external gas struts and how much part do they play in raising the roof in relation to the motors. What would be cost in dong so and what is the best way to remove them.

[g8dhe]

Yes the gas struts play a LARGE part! They basically take the majority of the weight leaving the motors only a small amount of work to do. The struts can be replaced by this company http://www.sgs-engineering.com/car-boot ... azda/bongo There are several threads on here about the method of replacing them, as the gas struts are surprisingly strong!
http://www.igmaynard.co.uk/bongo/forum/ ... 47#p644947

[francophile1947]

It will struggle more when the fabric is cold and stiff. Make sure you've lubricated both sides of the bottom runners and the chrome bit of the gas struts. Also, I assume that you are running the engine at the same time as raising the roof - the extra electrical power really helps.

[cmm303]

If you have a facelift Bongo, be careful that you get the correct strut. I recall that SGS' vehicle search used to only find struts for pre-facelift. Best match with your current strut number (printed on the strut).

[teenmal]

It will struggle more when the fabric is cold and stiff. Make sure you've lubricated both sides of the bottom runners and the chrome bit of the gas struts. Also, I assume that you are running the engine at the same time as raising the roof - the extra electrical power really helps.

You do not lubricate the chrome bit on the struts, give them a good polish with printer paper or similar.

[francophile1947]

It will struggle more when the fabric is cold and stiff. Make sure you've lubricated both sides of the bottom runners and the chrome bit of the gas struts. Also, I assume that you are running the engine at the same time as raising the roof - the extra electrical power really helps.

You do not lubricate the chrome bit on the struts, give them a good polish with printer paper or similar.

Yes, I should have explained further.
I always used a spray polish and then wiped it all off. That gave the struts a nice smooth surface, without damaging the seals with oil based lubricants.

[cmm303]

If you have a facelift Bongo, be careful that you get the correct strut. I recall that SGS' vehicle search used to only find struts for pre-facelift. Best match with your current strut number (printed on the strut).

Wrong
Correction, I should have said new shape.
Face lift refers to the small cosmetic changes made around '97 - no change to AFT
New Shape refers to more significant revamp around '99 - AFT raises higher, so struts are different.

Feel loads better now after my little confessional!