Heki Rooflight Struts

[lloydsboy123]

The gas struts on my Heki rooflight have failed and from what i can find out its a common problem. I have sourced replacement struts from SGS Engineering, which are more robust and a lot cheaper than original parts.

My problem is that I cannot remove the faulty struts.

With difficulty I have removed the plastic cover caps from the strut lower end retaining pins but I cannot remove the pins.

Does anyone have any experience of replacing the struts and can point me in the right direction.

I,m frightened that I will break something if I use too much force.

[gravon42]

I took mine off to clean last year. Remove the metal clip and the pin comes out fairly easy.

The hardest part is removing the plastic clip without damaging it too much!

[Lefthand Down]

http://www. caravantalk. co. uk/community/topic/79943-removal-replacing-a-gas-strut-on-heki-2-rooflight/?hl=%2Bheki+%2Brooflight+%2Bstruts&do=findComment&comment=846879

 

This topic may help?

[Doosan]

This may help http://www. swift-owners-club. com/support/oem-handbooks/dometic/repair-heki-2. pdf

[lloydsboy123]

This may help http://www. swift-owners-club. com/support/oem-handbooks/dometic/repair-heki-2. pdf

Thanks, thats what I was looking for I think ? I,ll give it a try this week.

[lloydsboy123]

Thanks, thats what I was looking for I think ? I,ll give it a try this week.

i have now replaced my Heki Rooflight struts with just a little cursing.

For anyone planning to do the same here,s how its done. To remove the old strut, pop off the metal cap on the retaining pin at the top end and push the pin back just enough to release the strut. You will not be able to do that at the bottom because the head of the pin sits flush in a recessed hole which is covered by a plastic cap. Do not try to remove the plastic cap. Firstly its a waste of time and secondly you will only damage it. Instead drill a small hole from the outside of the frame and drift the pin back through with a small nail or similar. This will not only release the rod end of the strut but will also push out the plastic cap.

Fitting the new strut is a simple reversal of the procedure and the hole which you drilled can be plugged with silicone sealant.

These are lovely rooflights but are let down by poorly designed strut fixings which could have been much simpler.

The whole job took me about an hour but how to get the bottom pin out did cause a bit of head scratching.

[Caballero]

i have now replaced my Heki Rooflight struts with just a little cursing.

For anyone planning to do the same here,s how its done. To remove the old strut, pop off the metal cap on the retaining pin at the top end and push the pin back just enough to release the strut. You will not be able to do that at the bottom because the head of the pin sits flush in a recessed hole which is covered by a plastic cap. Do not try to remove the plastic cap. Firstly its a waste of time and secondly you will only damage it. Instead drill a small hole from the outside of the frame and drift the pin back through with a small nail or similar. This will not only release the rod end of the strut but will also push out the plastic cap.

Fitting the new strut is a simple reversal of the procedure and the hole which you drilled can be plugged with silicone sealant.

These are lovely rooflights but are let down by poorly designed strut fixings which could have been much simpler.

The whole job took me about an hour but how to get the bottom pin out did cause a bit of head scratching.

 

Thank you, did mine on Thursday 20 min all in

[CarlSurgey]

i have now replaced my Heki Rooflight struts with just a little cursing.

For anyone planning to do the same here,s how its done. To remove the old strut, pop off the metal cap on the retaining pin at the top end and push the pin back just enough to release the strut. You will not be able to do that at the bottom because the head of the pin sits flush in a recessed hole which is covered by a plastic cap. Do not try to remove the plastic cap. Firstly its a waste of time and secondly you will only damage it. Instead drill a small hole from the outside of the frame and drift the pin back through with a small nail or similar. This will not only release the rod end of the strut but will also push out the plastic cap.

Fitting the new strut is a simple reversal of the procedure and the hole which you drilled can be plugged with silicone sealant.

These are lovely rooflights but are let down by poorly designed strut fixings which could have been much simpler.

The whole job took me about an hour but how to get the bottom pin out did cause a bit of head scratching.

 

I found that the lower pins are not tightly fitted and can with a little jiggling be removed without resorting to drilling a hole. If I had a magnet that might have pulled them out. If you are replacing with exactly the same struts then just unscrew the piston rod from the end. I used a set of struts from SGS engineering, half the price of the robbers on a well known online auction site and better quality.

[WispMan]

As this seems to have worked and is a useful source of info, I have pinned it for others to use.

[Steamdrivenandy]

Had mine replaced under warranty two weeks ago, the dealer said they were leaking. We'd not noticed. Maybe the dealers have an easier way to do it?

[Lindatows]

Thank you everyone for responding. I'd tried all day to open that PDF document without success. Opened first time when I clicked on link above. At least I shall sleep tonight. Hope my query helps others.

 

Kind regards.

[Jango2020]

Hi there, was wondering if anyone knew where I could obtain the lower pins on the heki 2 gas struts. I've got a broken one but the strut itself is fine. Dont want to spend on a new strut that I dont need in order to just get the fixing pin. Cheers.