Hmmm, I think I'm going to at TRY to repair them, but as a backup, I'll get myself some regular struts. Do you know if the struts from an 89 XT6 would fit in an 86 without much issue? Or should I go for something else?
One vote for Replace with Struts.
Did it with a wagon. Was so worth it.
Had an XT with same situation but never fixed it. My poor sister in law suffered that XT hardtail for a while before she’d had enough. Only reason to refresh or replace with same would be listening to your heart. My opinion.
I would bet externally interchangeable. Definitely different internals, but I suspect due to different assist amounts. I know the pumps have different volume and pressure specs.
I'd try it. YMMV