Looking for hood support struts

[Mr. Fix-it]

I'm sure this is the wrong place to look, but I am looking for the support struts or shocks to hold my hood up. I am currently using a short piece of 2 X 2, Works great, just a little inconvenient to have to go to the trunk every time I need to check under the hood. I am al running the risk of damaging the underside of the hood.
Thanks loads.

toglen@live.com

[nordwulf]

The EPC list these as gas springs - part number 53 60 821.

A quick search shows places where you can but these.

Saab Hood Damper Lift Strut Support 5360821 | eBay
Saab OE 5360821 | Hood Shock | Stabilus 5360821 | Free Shipping

[saab95er]

You can buy the supports at various part stores. I got mine from AutoZone...pretty cheap also.

[Mr. Fix-it]

Thanks saab95er,

I just traded my 2" X 2" hunk of wood for a mini pair of vicegrips. $48.00 at Ebay doesn't seem real bad, but I can't figure out which one is bad (He He).

I think that I will check with Autozone.

[Burnsside42]

Replace both if your car has two. By replacing one you will only cause the 1 new one to fail early due to having to work harder than the other failing one. Other option is go to a junk yard and pull some. And if you don't want to go to a yard yourself - see if the fellas @ ePartsLand - Welcome would help you out.

[Mr. Fix-it]

I am happy to say that I was able to condense the size of my hunk of wood considerably. I started to use a very small pair of vice grips that I bought some years back and never had a use for them.
That said, I did find a supplier that is sending them to me for $18.95 each. So I guess I will get them in a couple of days.
A couple of years back I had my alternator replaced. Seems that I remember the starter making it difficult to get the alternator through the small space. Therefore the starter must be located below the alternator(genius I know). Today I detected a solid knock under the hood just as the starter stopped starting the engine. My guess is that it's caused by the bolts holding the starter becomming loose. An acquaintance told me that he would slide under the front area and try to tighten the bolts.