1992 2.1 Sd Auto Estate

[Dieselman]

I spoke too soon. The tailgate gas lifter ball joint was seized solidly and broke/had already broken off the strut casing
After freeing off the ball joint I thought it might weld onto the gas strut...it nearly did, but then the casing melted sufficiently to release the gas...
New gas strut required...

[Dieselman]

As mentioned the gas strut ball joint snapped off due to being seized

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Welding it back on was going well until the third tack melted the pressure container and the gas leaked out.

P# for gas struts is:
96026964 80
The originals were Stabila Lift O Mat 890146, which are no longer available, but other ones are, though they are not identical in either end fittings, or gas pressure, which originally gives a force of 683N. Having searched I settled on a pair of Quinton Hazel QTS128381, which are physically identical and have a force of 680N.

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Fitting is pretty straight-forward, raise and prop the tailgate, unclip the spring clip and pull/work the pin out of the ball socket, then pull the socket off the ball joint on the car body/tailgate. I had to replace the ball on the very seized side where the strut snapped off, as the ball was worn and the pin bent.

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Clean and grease the balls then having removed the spring clip on the new strut, clip the socket onto the ball, then refit the spring clip.

Even the side that was not seized had a fair amount of rust in the ball joint socket, which made it difficult to separate from the ball.

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The tailgate now self lifts once lifted from the fully closed position, instead of requiring manual lifting to raise it, as the new struts are providing more force than the old ones were.

While in the tailgate area I looked into why the central locking wasn't reliably unlocking and found corroded electrical contacts on the lock unit.
Cleaned and greased and it is now functioning.

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Observations on the Estate:

The boot is vast, I have to climb in to reach items against the seat back. The covered side containers are useful for small item storage, such as a bottle of lhm, some diesel additive, a Hi-viz vest, etc.

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I've just checked the capacities and payload info for 2.1td:
Saloon: Boot Volume seat up: 460L, seat folded: 1460L, car payload: 530Kg.
Estate: Boot volume seat up, below parcel shelf: 720L, seat folded: 1960L, Car payload: 630kg.

When unloaded, the ride quality isn't as good as an Xm saloon, due to the rear suspension and spheres being set for increased payload, along with stiffer anti-roll bars.
In all other ways this car is performing well in daily use, even in cold temperatures. The engine and drivetrain first appeared very lethargic, but after 100 miles, both are now operating with a bit more verve.

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