How to Install Ford Performance Hood Strut Kit w/ Ford Performance Logo (05-14 All) on your Ford Mustang

Step 1

Using the ratchet with an 8mm socket head, remove the AC condenser housing bolt shown in the photo below (circled in yellow). Next, use the drill and the step bit to countersink the housing. You don’t need to drill very far. DO NOT drill into the fender housing below the condenser housing. Once the hole is countersunk, use the 4mm allen key to screw in the supplied flat-topped screw, as shown. When installed the top of the screw should be flush with the surface of the black plastic housing.

Step 2

Retrieve the lower hood strut brackets from the kit. They are small, black, and identical. Using a 10mm socket, remove the fender support bolt directly under the hood hinge (circled in yellow). On the driver’s side of the car, this bolt will be directly adjacent to the condenser housing. On the passenger’s side, itwill be directly adjacent to the battery. Place the bracket over the side of the engine well facing downward, and replace the fender bolt, locking down the bracket. Repeat on the other side of the car.

Step 3

Using a 10mm socket, loosen the lower bolt on the hood hinge assembly (circled in yellow in the photo below) by roughly ½”, but do not remove it. Find the hood hinge brackets from your kit (refer to photo below). They will look the same, but they are side specific. The driver’s side bracket will be stamped with a “D”, and the passenger’s side bracket will be stamped with a “P” (circled in yellow in the photo below). Place the notched end of the bracket over the loosened hinge bolt between the bolt head and the hinge, not between the hinge and the hood. Then remove the top hinge bolt altogether, swing the bracket into alignment with the exposed hole, and replace the bolt. Snug both bolts down, and repeat this procedure on the other side of the hood. When finished, the bracket should look like the fourth photo below.

Step 4

Locate your two Ford Performance Struts. Fit the tube end of each one over the nipple of the bracket that you mounted to the fender frame in Step 2. Fit the rod end of the strut over the nipple of the bracket which you attached to the hood hinge in Step 3. If necessary, rotate the fitting on the end of the strut rod so that it aligns with the bracket nipple. You can differentiate between the driver’s side and the passenger’s side struts by the logos printed on each—you are free to mount them with the logos pointing outward or inward, depending on your preference. Once the struts are secured to the brackets, you may use the 10mm socket to remove the existing hood brace from the front of the engine bay if you so desire, or you can leave it in place. The install is now complete.