Sokie Tech Hood Dampers

on mine you have to pull up just a little and the dampers do the rest. Takes some pressure to push it back down.

 

^^exact same as mine. Since I'm getting my strut brace on this Friday I may have the shop see if they can straighten up my right bracket since B2 pointed it out, and now bugging the crap out of me, lol. Exactly why I have other people handle my sh!%.

 

B2 pointed it out ????? sorry what does that mean ?
can't wait to get mine and like the earlier post it will make you raise the bonnet more to check the essentials like we all should

 

I posted a pic of my install on another thread and B2FiNity pointed out my right bracket was not on straight. I'm mechanically challenged...no cure on the market that I'm aware of. We'll see if it'll get much straighter on Friday; but it may not swing that way...some things naturally defy beliefs lol.

 

can you not take it of put it in a vice and "adjust" it ?

 

Since I'm getting another part installed this Friday I'll have the shop look at it. Works perfect as as; more just cosmetic appeal. I really don't have patience to work on cars and my attention span is virtually null on this stuff.

 

You shouldn't bend the strut, it has to be straight to work. Inspect the brackets, possibly one is bent a little? More pics would help others see what's off between the two sides.

 

For mine it's just one of the bracket that is sitting at an angle, I think what I needed to do was unscrew one of the ends of the strut to ajust where the ball snaps in to connect the strut to the bracket....if that makes since.

 

how do you take out the hood prop LOL.. i just installed my hood struts in last night

 

you can pry of the black sleeve on the anchored end of the rod and then remove the rod from the body, also remove the hood prop clip from above the hybrid drive unit , get a screwdriver in underneath to compress the clips holding it in place, fitted mine yesterday, I recommend using the big washer supplied in the kit to prevent the lower bracket twisting as stated above

 

I installed my dampers today onto my 2012 PiP. 30 minutes, taking my time. They work great.

Note: I ordered the ZW30 (Gen III) hood dampers from Sokie. When the package came, the label said "Prius 2009". Mystery was solved when I Googled the date of Gen III intro and realized that Gen III was indeed introduced in 2009... in Japan.

I also used the large flat washers on the lower (fender) brackets, along with the longer Sokie-supplied bolts. I re-used the OEM bolts for the upper (hood) brackets.

I decided to keep the OEM hood prop as it doesn't harm anything and it's out of the way up on the inside of the hood.

 

Update: everything works great after three weeks. However, I did note a body change.

There's a horizontal seam on the outside of the A pillars where the front quarter panels start and the roof panel ends. The seams on both sides of my car have gradually widened to twice their original width. Moreover, the quarter panel "tongues" on both sides, right where they dip under the roof panel at the seams, have a "in & out" flex now under finger pressure where before there had been none.

I do remember when I 1st opened & closed the hood with the Sokies mounted, there was a "creech" split-second sound that I couldn't localize. I now assume that the "creech" sound was the hitherto caulked/painted/oakum-stuffed panel joints had creaked open slightly under the fulcrum pressure of the Sokies pushing down & forward on the quarter panels as the hood swung through its arc.

The "creech" sound never reappeared. Over time, the increased body panel separation at both seams, did.

Looking at how the Sokies mount, I figure the lower mount pushes the quarter panels down & frontwards all the time. This likely caused the panel seam separation. The seam probably got as wide at it will go... of course, we'll see over time.

Anyone else notice this?

 

Just got these the other day and works as advertised. Install was easy too. I feel like this should come standard on the PC.

 

Mine look fine after a few months on there. No change in the gap or body panel fitment.

DadofHedgehog, are you sure you installed them correctly, and that they were listed for your Prius? Got pictures?
No disrespect intended, just trying to help.

 

RGR, I checked. Note my comment in an earlier post here about the "2009 Prius". The Sokies work well and for the regular Prius, they are white.

And frankly, I don't care whether the A Pillar outside panel seam is one mm or 3 mm wide. It's a car, ya know? Just wanted to share in case anyone else saw this.

 

it's all good, no worries

 

UPDATE - with regret I'll be taking my Sokie hood dampers off this week.

They work very well. Unfortunately, the Gen III Prius front quarter panels aren't designed with the required structural support to handle the force of these dampers. Over time, my passenger-side Sokie damper exerted enough force to crack off the rear top L-shaped plastic bracket mount integral to the headlight :-( I just noticed this damage today while installing something else under the hood. Considering the price of Prius headlights, the Sokies have to go.

Perhaps the short & lightweight Prius hood is just too light for the design parameters of the Sokies.

 

Hi doh, can you supply some pics please ?