Door Strut Replacement DIY Guide
DISCLAIMER
As always, follow all safety protocols. Don't undertake this task if you aren't comfortable with it, fully understand it, and are capable of completing it. The information provided may be incomplete or inaccurate. You are ultimately responsible for anything you do. Neither Redpants, LLC or myself is responsible or liable for anything that may occur.
The doors of an Aston Martin stay open on their own thanks to gas struts that hold them in place but the gas struts wear out over time and need to be replaced. You'll know when it's time to replace them because the door won't stay propped open. This is more obvious during the winter due to the cold weather, and functionality may improve a bit during the warmer months. These gas struts are formally called "door check arms" by Aston Martin.
There are a couple ways to do this job. Aston Martin’s way, according to their Workshop Manual is to remove the doors. I’m not kidding. This DIY Guide shows how to do it my way, which is far easier.
Needed
New door struts
T30 Torx bit with ratchet or driver
Philips-head screwdriver
Small flat-head screwdriver
Floor jack and jack stands (or a lift)
Tools to remove the wheels
About 45 minutes per side
An assistant (optional)
Before you begin
This job might be a little easier with a second person, but can be done solo. If you have trouble moving the door from an arms-length, the second person will help during installation of the new door strut. Otherwise, it’s very easy to do as a one-person job. I wrote this DIY Guide assuming you have an assistant. If you don’t have an assistant, you can grab the door mirror arm and move the door that way during the steps where an assistant is mentioned.
Step 1
Brake the lug nuts loose on the front wheels. You don’t need to remove them entirely, just one spin will do.
Raise the car using a lift or a jack and jack stands, then take off the front wheels.
Step 2
Use the screwdriver, T30 Torx bit, and ratchet to remove the front fender liners, or at least pull the rear half out of the way enough to gain access to the area where the fender vents are located.
If you look inside, you'll see the gas strut (AKA "door check arm") in the fender, just below the mesh cover of the fender vent.
Step 3
Have your assistant open the door and hold it in a position that allows you to reach the rear end of the strut with the flat-head screwdriver. If you look in the picture above, you can see that the strut goes through an irregularly-shaped opening at the back side of the fender. I found it easiest to have the door opened slightly - while the strut is still in the narrower part of the opening, then use the bottom edge of the opening as a leverage point to pop the retaining clip with the flat-head screwdriver.
Below is a picture showing how to release the retaining clip. Make sure your flat-head screwdriver is long enough to reach the back end of the strut, but thin enough to get under the retaining clip.
Once the retaining clip has been popped loose, open the door a little more so the strut is in the wider part of the opening. This will give you room to pull the rear end of the strut down off of the mounting point. Be careful when you do this, as the retaining clip might pop back into place and you’ll have to start over!
Step 4
Use the flat-head screwdriver to pop the retaining clip on the other end of the gas strut. Once popped, pull down on the strut to remove it from its forward mounting point. You can now pull the gas strut out of the car.
Note: Be careful when pulling down on the door strut. The side repeater is located almost directly below it, and pulling down on it too hard may result in the door strut slamming down and breaking the side repeater.
Step 5
Have your assistant open the door so the mounting point on the door is aligned with the wider section of the opening in the rear of the fender. Install the rear end of the strut first - just push the strut socket onto the ball mount.
Note: You do not need to open the retaining clip when installing the new door struts. Opening the clip will make it easier to pop the socket onto the ball mount, but you risk misaligning the retaining clip. Leaving the retaining clip “closed” may take more force to get the socket seated on the ball mount, but will eliminate the risk of the retaining clip being misaligned.
Step 6
Have your assistant slowly close the door until the front end of the strut socket is aligned with the ball mount, then push it on.
Step 7
Test the door to make sure the strut is secure and functional, then reinstall the fender liner.
Step 8
Repeat Steps 2 through 7 for the other door strut.
And that’s it!