stabilus hood strut fail
 

Just bought a new stabilus hood strut. I installed it, tested ok. Next day it wouldnt hold up the hood, and there was oil on the rod. Is this common?

Not common. My experience with Stabilus products are that they are typically high quality parts.

Agreed although MB-branded Stabilus parts seem to be higher quality. I wonder if S. sends the QC failures to the aftermarket? The OP should be able to return the failed strut for another.

I was able to return without any problems but I wondered if there was something I might avoid to keep it from happening. It seems like a pretty simple part to install.

Unlikely you did anything wrong, just got a DOA part. Hope the next one is better. BTW, was the part factory or aftermarket? Factory parts have all the Stabilus labeling but also say "Mercedes-Benz" and have the MB part number. Aftermarket parts lack the MB label and part #.

Jeremy

Aftermarket with no MB designation, the original did have MB branding. Both were the same lift group and appeared identical.

Pricing was comparable across the board: I just selected this seller because he was close and the shipping was quicker. So much for quicker....

Don't feel bad, I've done the same thing in a couple of cases. It's unusual for a brand-new part to be DOA but obviously not impossible as you have just showed. If you can get the factory part for not much more than aftermarket then I'd go that way. You might also ask PeachParts what they would send you if you ordered this part from them. They support this forum and presumably would have an interest in getting you good parts.

Jeremy