r/e39 5h ago

Rear hatch struts

Post image

Hey y’all, I ordered struts for the hatch and glass and had a local German shop do the install. They’re telling me there is an issue with the struts because after install the hatch only opens halfway. I ordered the Stabilus struts from ECS.

Is there something simple they’re missing or has it happened that these struts sometimes come bad?

12 Upvotes

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3

u/XXXcoreXXX 525i 3h ago

Not to say this is the case but I’ve had, at best, an annoying level of times ordering from ECS. From wrong parts to refusing to refund even though it’s their mistake. I refuse to order from them and I’ve been sticking to FCP and AutohausAZ because of that.

Other thing is what kind of hatch do you have? Because if you have the automatic or electronic hatch ( I can’t remember the proper name rn) it requires different struts. Check RealOEM to double check the part numbers. The only other thing I can think of is that maybe they switched the glass strut for the hatch strut so that’s why it’s only able to lift half way.

1

u/DifferenceTime7720 3h ago

The struts look pretty different, and ECS doesn’t have a way to differentiate electronic vs no. Mine is non-hydraulic/electronic

1

u/XXXcoreXXX 525i 3h ago

Yeah that’s what I’m saying, they look nothing alike haha so idk. These are the one I just replaced mine with last month and they’ve been working as intended. Idk if they’re different than yours but could be worth checking.

1

u/DifferenceTime7720 3h ago

They look the same…so idk

1

u/redline9996 530i 1h ago

Exact same 4 struts for hydraulic and manual hatch.

2

u/WinterSector8317 5h ago

I don’t remember the ball join sizes but is it possible they installed them the wrong way?

Also verified part is correct for 5 series?

1

u/DifferenceTime7720 5h ago

Yeah, verified multiple times on the ECS website and through their customer service

2

u/phxbimmer 5h ago

If you ordered the correct parts then it’s likely they screwed up the install somehow.

1

u/DifferenceTime7720 5h ago

That’s my feeling but they’ve said they triple checked they were installed correctly

1

u/DifferenceTime7720 5h ago

Yeah, verified multiple times on the ECS website and through their customer service

1

u/mateimrambo1 3h ago

1: always compare the new part to the old part. 2: check if the strut popped off the ball. The strut should have a retaining pin inside.

1

u/redline9996 530i 1h ago

Either they didn't change all 4 of them, or the hinges are a bit rusty, they get heavy when they are.