Honda Civic (2006-2010) Hood Damper (Gas Strut) Installation
Introduction
Hood dampers replace the factory prop rod with a pair of gas struts that hold the hood up on their own and let it rise and settle smoothly. This guide covers fitting a two-damper FAVES kit to the 2006-2010 Honda Civic, demonstrated here on an FA5 Si sedan. Coupe fender mounting points differ, and the plastic-trimming operations below are not required on coupe bodies. Running two struts rather than a single unit gives balanced, secure support and does not rely on adhesive tape to retain the brackets. The work is mostly straightforward, but it includes shaving a fender trim panel flat and starting a nut in a blind pocket behind the cooling plate, so treat it as a patience job rather than a hard one and leave the hardware loose until everything lines up. Adapted from a community writeup by obert on 8th Civic (https://www.8thcivic.com/threads/diy-hood-dampers.237831/).
Reference
Tools Required
- Razor blade or utility knife
- Flat-head screwdriver
- Phillips screwdriver
- Magnetic pickup tool
- Fender clip / trim removal tool
- 10mm wrench
- 10mm ratchet with deep socket
Parts Required
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FAVES two-damper hood strut kit for the 2006-2010 Honda Civic (brackets and dampers)
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Included hardware: long bolts with nuts for the fender brackets, short bolts with washers for the hood brackets
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Included grease for the damper socket ends
Safety Warnings
- ⚠ Once the stock prop rod is removed the hood is unsupported until the dampers are installed, so keep the hood held open or have a helper until the struts are clipped on.
- ⚠ Do not remove the hood-hinge bolts during this job; disturbing them can throw off hood alignment and gaps.
- ⚠ Grease the damper socket ends as directed so the ball joints do not seize or corrode in service.
Step-by-Step Instructions
1 Sort the kit hardware
Lay the kit out and identify each labeled fastener before touching the car. The long bolts paired with nuts secure the fender brackets, while the short bolts paired with washers secure the hood brackets. Keep the supplied grease and decal aside. Note that the printed instructions show bolts that differ from the ones actually in the box, so go by the hardware you were sent rather than the photos.
2 Remove the fender trim panel (left side first)
Work one side at a time and begin on the left. Pop the three plastic tabs holding the trim panel to the fender using a clip removal tool; one of those tabs is not reused. Take the panel fully off rather than just loosening it, which makes the trimming in the next step much easier.
3 Trim the fender plastic flat
Shave the raised plastic flat with a razor blade so the fender bracket can seat squarely against the surface. Coupe models skip this entirely. Once the bracket is bolted down the trimmed area is hidden from view, so a tidy functional cut is all that is needed.
4 Remove and notch the cooling plate
Take off the cooling plate to reach the captive-nut area for the fender bracket. Open up the end of the access hole in the plate so a pre-threaded bolt-and-nut can slide past it, because the nut cannot be started once the plate is back in position. When it goes back on later, make sure its front lip tucks under the grille lip instead of sitting on top of it.
5 Mount the fender bracket
Hold the nut in the blind pocket with a magnetic pickup tool, then feed the long bolt through the bracket and start the nut a few turns by hand. Expect a couple of attempts to line it up. Leave this joint loose for now so the bracket can still shift while the rest is positioned.
6 Attach the hood bracket
Remove a single 10mm bolt from the upper hood area, set the hood bracket in place, and refit it using the short bolt and washer centered in the bracket slot. Keep this fastener loose as well until the damper is on.
7 Grease the damper sockets
Work a little of the supplied grease into the socket at each end of the dampers. This protects the ball-and-socket joints from corrosion so the mounts stay free over time. Both ends are adjustable, though the standard length usually seats without any adjustment.
8 Snap the damper onto the ball studs
Press each damper socket onto its matching ball stud until it clicks home. Either end can go first. Confirm both sockets are fully seated so the strut cannot pop off under load.
9 Tighten the upper mount and refit the cooling plate
Snug down the top hood mount first while leaving the lower fender joint loose, so the cooling plate can slide back into place under the fender bracket. Reinstall the notched cooling plate now that its enlarged hole clears the assembled bolt.
10 Tighten the fender mounts
With the plate refitted, tighten the left and right fender mounts. Because the lower nut is no longer reachable, wedge a flat-head screwdriver against the bracket to load the bolt while you turn it; once it starts to bite, pull the screwdriver out and finish tightening fully.
11 Repeat the install on the right side
Carry out the same sequence on the right: trim the fender plastic, notch the cooling plate, mount the fender and hood brackets, grease and clip on the damper. The only added task on this side is the washer-bottle filler neck, which must be reseated and reassembled correctly before you close up.
12 Remove the stock prop rod and verify
Pull out the factory hood prop rod, which the new dampers make redundant and which cleans up the engine bay. Leave both hood-hinge bolts undisturbed so the hood keeps its original alignment. Finish by checking that every fastener is tight and that the hood opens and closes smoothly on the new struts.
Pro Tips
- 💡 Choose a two-damper kit over a single-strut version; two struts hold the hood evenly and do not depend on double-sided tape to retain the brackets.
- 💡 Leave all bracket fasteners loose until the dampers are clipped on and everything is aligned, then tighten in sequence.
- 💡 The trimmed fender plastic is completely hidden once the brackets are bolted down, so it will not be visible on the finished car.
- 💡 Follow the hardware in the box rather than the bolts shown in the kit's printed photos, as they differ.
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