Meet the Redesigned "Latch-Safe" Maverick Hood Strut Kit by MRT

[White Thunder]

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Maverick Owners,

If you spend any time here on the forums, you know the "Stuck Hood" threads have become a major point of concern. We’ve seen the photos of binding latches, the stories of release cables popping out, and the "two-person" tricks just to get a hood open after installing aftermarket struts.

At MRT, we don't just "make parts"—we engineer solutions. We followed the discussions here closely, and we weren't satisfied with just providing a "fix" for existing customers. We wanted to eliminate the frustration entirely.

The Standard: Structural Integrity & Sturdy Design
Sturdy, no-drill, and structurally secure mounting points have always been the hallmark of MRT Hood Strut Kits. While many designs on the market rely on thin-gauge brackets or mounting points that put lateral stress on the hood hinges, our kit is built for structural integrity.

Zero-Mod / Zero-Drill: True to the MRT name, this is a 100% bolt-on install using factory hardware locations. There is no drilling into your inner fenders and no permanent modifications to your truck.

Structurally Secure Mounting: We utilize the factory hinges to ensure the pressure is handled by the truck's frame. This robust foundation ensures the hood stays exactly where it was designed to be, preventing the "hood shift" that leads to stuck hoods.

The Evolution: What’s New?
While our kits have always been sturdy, we have "retweaked" this design specifically for the Maverick’s unique dual-latch geometry.

Anti-Bind Geometry: We refined the mounting angles to eliminate the lateral "push" that causes the secondary latch to jam.

Cable Harmony: We have designed this kit to ensure your release cable stays in place. By maintaining perfect alignment and using structurally secure points, we eliminate the shifting that causes the factory release cable to pop out of its assembly.

Tuned Gas Pressure: We’ve optimized the strut valving specifically for the weight of the Maverick hood.

The Result: No More Stuck Hoods
The result is a practical engine bay upgrade that works flawlessly every single time you pull the release lever. By prioritizing structural integrity and secure mounting, we’ve eliminated the binding and bowing issues that plague other designs.

Designed, Engineered, and Manufactured right here in Plymouth, Michigan.


Starting At: $149.99
Our Price w/ Options: $99.99

2022+ Ford Maverick No Drill Hood Struts - $99.99

We’ll be hanging out in the thread to answer any technical questions you have. We’re proud of this one and can’t wait to get it under your hoods!

— The MRT Team

I had bought the kit when it 1st became available. I had to replace the struts once, because they seemed to guilt holding up my hood, but I’m very happy I did them. Reading this, I want to ask have there been any improvements to them? Like maybe better or stronger struts?

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[Dave O]

IMO Redline Tuning has the edge over the other manufacturers but to each his own…

 

[Mervin the Maverick]

Somewhat late to the party:

Made the purchase around the time of this thread but finding free time on a calm day to do the install is not as easy as it sounds.

I'm a doofus, so at the first opportunity I couldn't make sense of the brackets I'd received compared to the v 1.0 design, and seeing the one pic of MRT's in this thread showing the install of the redesigned ones... I got thoroughly mixed up and bailed on the install -until today. See pics if you get similarly confused:

What I've learned in the process:

• the redesign moves the ball joints for the struts pretty far forward compared to the prior design, out away from the hinge
• brackets go in with the joint as far forward as can be, keeping r/l on the passenger/driver side accordingly even if it's tempting to swap them -MRT knows what they're doing
• 10mm socket for fender bolts, using an 11mm box wrench to hold the new nut underneath on the driver's side; 13mm socket for hood bolts. Using the prop one last time, hood did not shift when undoing on driver's side, but sure did on passenger side
• despite what the video shows, there doesn't seem to be any way or point to having the driver's side fender bracket 'clear' the fender nut. Seems like a correct install clears the bolt and rests below the nut just as on the passenger side -trying to confirm this with MRT now
• with struts in place the hood opens MUCH shorter than it did with the prop -about 4" if not more. Not for the first time in my life, Tall Hobbit wishes he was Short Hobbit.

Hopefully this helps anyone similarly confused with this kit. My Oxford White does the best possible job contrasting the brackets from factory parts under the hood.

Thanks for the photos! I kind of put it on the back shelf because the instructions weren’t as clear as I had hoped. Thus is VERY helpful!

 

[TNFurb]

Somewhat late to the party:

Made the purchase around the time of this thread but finding free time on a calm day to do the install is not as easy as it sounds.

I'm a doofus, so at the first opportunity I couldn't make sense of the brackets I'd received compared to the v 1.0 design, and seeing the one pic of MRT's in this thread showing the install of the redesigned ones... I got thoroughly mixed up and bailed on the install -until today. See pics if you get similarly confused:

What I've learned in the process:

• the redesign moves the ball joints for the struts pretty far forward compared to the prior design, out away from the hinge
• brackets go in with the joint as far forward as can be, keeping r/l on the passenger/driver side accordingly even if it's tempting to swap them -MRT knows what they're doing
• 10mm socket for fender bolts, using an 11mm box wrench to hold the new nut underneath on the driver's side; 13mm socket for hood bolts. Using the prop one last time, hood did not shift when undoing on driver's side, but sure did on passenger side
• despite what the video shows, there doesn't seem to be any way or point to having the driver's side fender bracket 'clear' the fender nut. Seems like a correct install clears the bolt and rests below the nut just as on the passenger side -trying to confirm this with MRT now
• with struts in place the hood opens MUCH shorter than it did with the prop -about 4" if not more. Not for the first time in my life, Tall Hobbit wishes he was Short Hobbit.

Hopefully this helps anyone similarly confused with this kit. My Oxford White does the best possible job contrasting the brackets from factory parts under the hood.

Thanks for the post. I’d be interested, but lowering the opened hood 4” is a deal breaker for me and I’m not tall. 4” is a lot and I think it would really annoy me.

 

[metomwhou]

Does anyone know what the correct height the two adjustable factory hood dampers need to be? I've been trying to adjust them but can't seem to find the right height but also don't really know exactly what they're supposed to do...Just provide a resting place for the hood or apply pressure for the latch???

BTW, I think I'll be ordering the $8 jeep spring that my klutchtech kit didn't come with since I ordered it in april 2024 which is probably prior to them including it. I've been using a small box to help open my hood....

 

[Tbone289]

You basically want the bumpers to be tight, but not so tight that it is detrimental to closing the hood. Keeping them tight not only adusts latch tension, but also reduces hood flutter and improves hood stability during high speed buffeting on the highway.

The bumpers can also be adjusted relative to each other to align the hood height where it meets the top of the fenders if it is off one side vs the other.

 

[Glen Baker LLC]

Hood OpenIng height is probably the number one reason I went with the Redline Tuning struts they actually increase the opening height between 3” - 4” over the OEM hood prop.

Dave,
Thank You for posting.

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