DIY Liftgate Strut Replacement Videos?

[gadgetfreak2024]

Hi. Our 2011 X5 50i's trunk was becoming increasingly stubborn about opening and finally refused altogether. I figured one of the powered struts was going bad. I watched a few videos I could find about DIY replacement but I found them all pretty bad -- e.g., seemed to skip key steps or otherwise assumed you had more knowledge than I do about the inner workings of the strut assemblies, etc.

Does anyone know of a really good DIY guide (either step by step web site, or a video). I did finally get the trunk open by force and the left strut broke in two. So that's clearly the culprit, as the liftgate now opens but doesn't support its own weight on the remaining strut.

While I have your attention, a few other questions.

I believe the OE part # is 51247332695. Can anyone confirm?

Any preference for brand? FCP Euro has TRW, but it's quite a bit more expensive than what Rock Auto offers (Uro Parts, Tough Support and StrongArm). I'm just basically keeping this machine on the road as long as I can, so don't need to get the greatest ever.

Thanks for any advice on this!