will the rear hatch gas struts from a 96 teg fit a 98?
its a different part number through honda, but they didn't change much from one year to the next, did they?

 

They should, it's the same chasis.

 

This is a just a guess, but perhaps Honda used different struts to account for the differences in weight between the '96 and '98 hatches. I know they include different trunk springs with the OEM Civic rear wing because of the weight that it adds. Again, just a suspicion.