Ron Helmuth

I got the budget version from Redline. I am perhaps a bit overly proud to point out I helped Redline bring these to market simply by finding a Michigan 3rd gen owner to be the guinea pig for fitment and testing. That lucky guy got a freebie hood lift! Jason (burtman industries) is simply a reseller of their fine product, and is well known and respected on this forum and T4R.org.

By the way Redline was looking to make a version for the 1st and 2nd gen Runners and not sure if that ever came to happen. We simply could not find an older Runner owner near their facilities in Michigan to agree to a freebie. If you guys know a Michigan owner of a first or 2nd gen Runner or truck you could maybe bring them all together...but I digress...

The higher end version is simply a stainless steel body casing which perhaps looks a little dressier but serves the same function.

Just a side note. Because our Runners so rarely need to have mechanical work actually performed underhood, I take a quick second to "recharge" my struts each time I lift the hood. I simply raise and lower it while holding the latch hook-perhaps 5 or 6 times, up down up down (repeat) to activate the strut action and keep it charged so to speak.

I get more compliments on such a simple upgrade-particularly by the dealership mechanics, than almost all my other mods combined. That and the painted rear spoiler really catch people's eye that know the 3rd gens.

Ritzy4Runner

iTrader: (1)

Had a request for this mod so I thought I would bring back up for newbies to see. To update this mod, it has been over 3 years and not one issue with the lifts or failure of the rivets. All solid and working like new! Still don't have any idea on how to make this a stickie but maybe someone who knows how can help me post it in the Wiki and as a stickie Enjoy!

Jason B

I do have these avail and they are nice.

I have to say, great job Ritzy. I wanted to do my own for years, and never got the time to finish is. That's an awesome write-up.

Ritzy4Runner

iTrader: (1)

Thanks Jason, I appreciate your compliments and the Burtman Industries site is a great resource. I would have gotten one of your kits but at the time I was a bit short on cash so wanted to try to figure out how I could do this on a "shoe string" budget using bone yard sourced parts and finding the Land Cruiser lifts with the angle of the mount and how it fit perfectly into the hood forms of our gen 3 4runner hoods was just too providential. It was a challenge to find the parts that would work and then to make it fit under the hood using one of the factory mounting nuts in the fender, really is an easy mod compared to some that I have done!

Update again ... still working solid! These babies are super heavy duty and they came from Toyota! If I ever need to replace them, shouldn't be too tough but I'm thinkin that with the light weight compared to the Land Cruisers heavy rear lift gate, I will never have to replace them.

Rics97toy

Thanks for all the information!
I did upgrade the rivets to M6 rivet nuts because the rivets popped out when closing the hood. I went with the cheaper hood lifts from Amazon Lift Support Depot for a FJ80 $35 for a pair and if anyone wants to use rivet nuts I used the Amazon Tacklife 14” Auto Rivet nut tool for $57 that come with M6 rivet nuts.

Ritzy4Runner

iTrader: (1)

Great idea on the rivet nuts. So this is just an update. 11 years later ... still solid, no wear through on the rivets and sleeves. Solid operation in any weather, hot or cold. Hoping as always that some of my fellow Yota Techers can use this mod. Yes, the Land Cruiser rear gate lifts are getting harder and harder to find, but if you can find a pair that have any life left in them, they will probably out last your ownership of your 3rd Gen! Thanks to all who have commented or "value added" to this thread.

RustBucket

iTrader: (1)

Thanks for the update, Ritzy! I installed hood struts this year using the Spiker Engineering kit. The designer is active over on T4R.org. It's a nice kit that functions very similarly to the mod you came up with back in '08.

I love how the hood struts push the hood further up than the prop rod so you have more room to work. And the "ooooooh" and "aaaaaah" factor is great.

Ritzy4Runner

iTrader: (1)

I wanted to update this thread again, yes there are numerous aftermarket kits out there, but as mentioned previously, Land Cruiser rear lift gate struts are getting harder and harder to find after 20-25 years! They still show up so keep an eye out for them.

I can also mention that I changed out my hoods about the time I did this post courtesy of Death Cougar. I purchased a 3rd gen scooped hood from him. Had to drill out the four pop rivets into the hood to remove it and install my scooped hood. pretty simple and took me all of 5 minutes to drill them out. Even managed to save the "shims". Used same procedure for marking the location on the new hood, drill, shim, install and done. Oh yeah, the old prop rod got to help out again and now once again lives peacefully in its clip! Mod On!

Rics97toy

I love factory lift supports but they are pricey so if you need strut lift supports try www.liftsupportsdepot.com. There pricing are very reasonable and I am currently using them on both my 3rd Gen and my FJ80.