Oil service interval reset Audi A4 B8Changing tailgate dampers
This project shows how to change the shock-absorbers that support the tailgate. When these shock-absorbers refuse to work, you can easily notice it because the trunk doesn't open properly or shuts itself when you lift it. Although the procedure is easy to do you should be careful when taking off the shock-absorbers as the trunk door is very heavy.
The first step is to put some sort of supporting stick to keep the trunk door open. It is advisable to ask someone to help you keep the door open so that you can change the pieces with no risk of the door falling on your head.
Once the door is in a safe position you can remove the shoch-absorbers. A little piece of advise here:
don't remove both of them at the same time - it's always better to do it one by one as, although broken, the shock-absorber can still hold a bit of the weight.
To remove the shock-absorber you should first take the metal piece on its ends off to be able to remove it from the ball joint. To do so I used a screwdriver as it is shown in the pictures. The mechanism is the same in both ends of the shock-absorber.
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The original shock absorbers (BMW) are of the brand STABILUS LIFT-O-MAT series. I consider them one of the best choices, as I've tried other options that exert excessive force and/or doesn't stop gradually but rather abruptly (when the hood is opened in the final section). It seems silly but if the door opens abruptly it may not be as pleasant as it should. Below you can see the shock-absorber mentioned above:
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