Replacing Tailgate gas struts Lexus RX300/350/400h

Great guide and thanks for taking the time to do it. However, for those who aren't quite so handy or just don't want to take the risk of damaging the ball, if you can do without using the tailgate for a couple of days, you can send your old struts to SGS and they will take off the brackets, refurb and paint them and place them on your new struts before sending them out to you. I paid £94.76 for two new struts with my own refurbed brackets attached.

Had struts from SGS and they failed after a week, had them re-gassed at SGS and they failed again within six months.  SGS would not issue a refund so had to purchased genuine replacements from Lexus. Beware of cheap parts they are not always the best way to go.

Just wanted to say thanks for these great instructions. 

Like @Hawthorne I had problems with gas struts from SGS. They were terrible quality and didn't lift the boot properly so I returned them. SGS were truly awful to deal with, trying to make out that I'd ordered the wrong parts. Had to pursue a refund through PayPal and I'm still out of pocket for the return postage. Terrible company will never deal with them again. 

I eventually got some decent replacements from https://www.autodoc.co.uk/ (brand is Stabilus). They took a while to arrive but are much better quality and were about £40 cheaper.