HOW-TO: MRT Hood Struts Installation

DrTaco

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Hey all,

Just thought I would do a quick write up for any of you who are considering getting a pair of MRT hood struts for your 99-04 Cobras.

I know a lot of people WANT these, but are afraid of the installation. First off, this install is EASY!! MRTs require NO drilling and are a simple bolt-on modification. The Redline hood struts are the ones that require drilling, and are also amazing quality if you choose to go with them! I have used both, and I must say that so far the MRTs are my favorite.

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Needed for this install

1) 10mm Socket
2) 8mm Socket
3) Music to sing along with

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How To:

Step 1: Make sure your kit comes complete with the following items:

(1) Driver Side Bracket w/ball mount
(1) Passenger Side Bracket w/ball mount
(1) Driver Side Hood Bracket w/ball mount
(1) Passenger Side Hood Bracket w/ball mount
(2) Gas Struts
(1) Instruction Sheet (which you now won’t really need because of this write up, right?)

Please see picture below for kit components:

DSC01199.jpg


Step 2: Open the hood and prop it open with the stock hood prop. Pick any side (passenger or driver) to begin the installation with. I started with the driver’s side for this “How To”, but it doesn’t matter overall. Just make sure you only do one side at a time!!

Step 3: Beginning at the engine bay (not the now opened hood yet), use your 8mm socket to remove the single fender bolt that is found FORWARD of the hood hinge. See Pictures below:

DSC01207.jpg


DSC01208.jpg


Now, I’ll try and drop you guys little hints and tricks during this write up, and here’s the first one! Know that 8mm bolt you just removed from the engine bay? Well, the instructions call for re-using that bolt again to install the bracket. Guess what? There is a very HIGH chance that bolt will not be long enough to use to reinstall the bracket. It will simply not be able to “catch” because of the added gap causes by the width of your new bracket. I have heard you can just remove the spacers and make it work with brute force, but I wasn't feelin' that. So, to save yourself a headache later on, pay close attention to the following two pictures:

DSC01211.jpg


The top bolt is the stock 8mm bolt that you will remove from your fender, if your bolt looks the same/is the same length as the one in the picture above…guess what….you’re gonna need a new bolt! The bottom bolt pictured is one I picked up from Lowe’s and worked perfectly.

Here is the packaging that my new bolts came in, but feel free to use whatever you want. Just double check the threading on your new bolts compared to the stock ones! Remember, you’re going to need TWO of these new bolts for the driver’s side and passenger side

DSC01209.jpg


Step 4: Install the driver’s side bracket, lining up the holes in the bracket with the now empty hole where the fender bolt was removed.

*Please note…A LOT of people have messed up which bracket belongs on the driver’s side and which bracket belongs on the passenger side. You want to make sure that the attached ball mount on each bracket FACES TOWARDS THE ENGINE. Please see below picture for how the driver side bracket looks. If my middle finger was the fender, notice how the ball mount will point towards the engine.

DSC01200.jpg


Once the hole in the bracket is lined up with the hole in the fender, and the ball mount is facing towards the engine, go ahead and replace the stock fender bolt with one of your new bolts (if needed), securing your driver’s side bracket into place.

*Please note, in the below picture you will see my hood gas strut is already attached to the ball joint. Yours will NOT be at this point, I simply attached mine so there was no confusion how it should look when you’re done.

DSC01212.jpg


Step 5: Remain on the driver’s side and move your attention to the actual hood and the hood hinge that is held in place with 2 nuts that you will be messing with next.

DSC01206.jpg


Step 6: Using your 10mm socket, remove the nut closest to the front lip of the hood, and loosen (but do not remove) the rear nut.

DSC01213.jpg


Step 7: You will now have to make sure you attach the driver’s side hood bracket, and not the passenger side one by mistake. When attached, the open area of the bracket will point towards the engine bay...kinda like Pacman eating your engine…and the ball mount will point outward away from the engine bay.

DSC01214.jpg


Slide the rear of the driver’s side hood bracket into place between the loosened rear nut and hinge, and reinstall the forward nut back into place. Tighten the nuts down….securing your new bracket.

DSC01216.jpg


*I found the easiest way to slide the rear of the bracket into place was to approach it from the side, and then rotate it into place rather than trying to slide it down from the top. Make sense?

Step 8: Repeat steps on the passenger side.

Step 9: When all four brackets are secured, attach the struts to the ball mounts on either side by gently pushing the sockets onto the ball mounts until you hear and feel a click.

*You will probably have to momentarily un-prop the hood, while holding it with one hand, to line up the ball mounts and struts so they can be pushed into place.

Make sure the FAT ends attach to the hood and the thin ends attach to the fender. There is no special “driver’s side” or “passenger side” strut, so it’s up to you to choose which strut goes where. I made sure that the MRT logo could be read right side up when the hood was open, but that was just a personal choice.

DSC01217.jpg

DSC01218.jpg


Step 10: Last but not least, remove that ugly stock prop rod with your 8mm socket!

DSC01219.jpg


Lower the hood slowly and check for any problems. Then, open her up and watch your hood rise up by itself. Congrats! You did it in only 10 easy steps. Take your time and enjoy how your hood looks now. If you close the hood and there are any gaps or corrections that need to be made, you can bend the hood brackets and body brackets by hand or pliers to prevent any sort of rubbing or close up any gaps. If you get to this point and have any questions, just shoot me a PM or post here. Once again, this is an EASY install and for only a little over 100 bucks, it’s a pretty cheap one too. But it sure makes a world of difference.

Hope it helped and let me know if you have any questions!

Mark :thumbsup:
 

frisko4one5

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Just wanted to say great write up. Was very helpful and useful to me, especially the part about buying new bolts cause that's exactly what I ended up doing in order for it to grab. Struts are amazing and now I can work on my car a lot easier

Thanks a lot!
 

RTCOBRA2964

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Sorry to bump such an old thread but the pics helped me with the hood brackets and the replacement bolt #.

Thanks DrTaco and SVTP for the useful info!
 

RDWHINE

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I broke one of the studs holding my hood to the bracket so be careful when doing this guys!!!


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Real2000CobraR

Powerstroke God
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Thanks for a great write up. Very helpful that you supplied pictures of the longer bolts. Saved time at the hardware store.
 

allgo90

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do these alter the way the hood closes? Do you need to slam the hood or can it just be lowered down?
 

idhitit

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I broke one of the studs holding my hood to the bracket so be careful when doing this guys!!!


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Mine was feeling sketchy so I didnt try it and just sent it back. I would be one sad dude if one of those bolts broke. :whine:
 

SL0BRA650

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I just got done installing my hood struts, this write up made it extra clean and simple. Thanks for a good write up!
 

TP 112

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Just did mine and the write up was a big help with the correct bolt info. Very easy to install and a great mod to do. Thanks.
 

Drive XR7

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Good write up. These are great hood struts. They might even be too strong! I feel like I have to slam my hood down so it clears the latch. I also re-used my bolts and didn't need new ones.
 

D-MANN

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Excellent write up. Helped so much I didn't even use the mrt instructions. I went to NAPA for the two bolts. It ended up being a PAPCO #245-407 , M6x1.0x25
Used a course wire wheel on the threads to clean them up. Loosed the nut slightly working it back and forth just to make sure the stud did not break. All went well. like the one poster said a bit of wd40 would help but I didn't need any as the nut came off easy. Thanks for the write up OP
 

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