Aston owners, my doors stay open when they're opened fully if the vehicle is level, but if the vehicle is even on the slightest negative slope (rear of car is lower than front), the doors will not stay open on their own. I know the hydraulic pistons that keeps the doors open will age over time, but I never knew what these were supposed to act like when new. In my situation, do I have a lot of improvement to see by replacing these door struts, or do they always act like this? I don't want to set into another repair if I don't have much to gain. Car is a 2005 and to my knowledge, the struts have never been replaced.

 

I had the same situation with my 2010 with only 12,000 miles and I changed them and now they are perfect. I am really glad that I did it as these doors are heavy when you are parked on an incline.

 

to answer the title question....it's time to replace them just BEFORE they let the door slam into your already bruised shins.

and yes, they do act better, a lot better, once they are replaced, but you may never fully trust them depending on how much you've suffered from the effects of a set of worn out ones. they hold pretty well even on when stopped on an incline. BTW, you might want to think about the trunk lid and the hood lid too. they both have struts that will eventually fail to do their jobs. the last couple of days i was working with the hood up and it came crashing down a couple of times and nearly scared me to death. new hood struts will be ordered soon.

 

Thanks guys! Hood struts are acting almost as if it were a new vehicle, so they MAY have been replaced. Just replaced the trunk struts last month, since the trunk kept hitting my head. Since the doors are a little more involved, I was interested to know if I even had a problem but signs are currently pointing that I might. I'll make these part of my next order from UK.

 

If they are bad, replace them, it's not too bad of a job. Have a second person for the process will make it go easier but not required. There are some DIY vids and walk thru's out there. Be patient with the process, have the right basic tools. You will be happy with the results!

 

Go to an AM dealer and see how those doors open. Hood struts should last a little longer since the hood hopefully isn't being opened as much as the doors. I have a set of struts for the front doors, just need to figure out how I am going to do the work or find someone to do it.

I brought the car to a body shop to swap them and they declined. Were too scared to work on the car. I recently got jack pads, so need to find a floor jack and may try doing it myself.

 

Look on the DYI section of this forum. There are a couple of great write up listing the tools you need and the process with pics. Slow and sure .....be patient. Remember the second person to help position the door ( and get dropped tools- LOL) in the process will be helpful. Good luck!

 

I did mine recently got the gas shocks from Aston bits ....the boot and bonnet were a quick job,,,,,,the front doors on the other hand made me learn a few more words to add to my list of names I call staff who work for the traffic department 😁

 

Replaced mine. Fairly easy to do. And the difference was amazing. Mine were shot when I got the car so I'd been having to dedicate one hand to hold the door open entering and exiting. Took a week or so to realize I didn't have to do it any more. Didn't have a second to assist so used a broom to prop the door open when swapping out.

 

Ditto all of that, except I used bungee cords and attached to various things in my garage.

OP: You need new struts. Budget 45-60 minutes per side.