New rear shocks. 1999 Mountaineer.

[kitra]

Howdy Ford SUV owners. I recently replace the whole rear axle assembly at 78,600 miles. The old one burned up after the Dealer replaced the pinion seal. Had the bearings so tight, the rear-end was smoking hot. I noted the original shocks seemed OK as it took some effort to compress them during re-installation. Drove a 3350 mile trip and didn't notice any bouncing down the highway. The owners here said the original shocks just have to be worn out. I ordered rear shocks from Rockauto and bought the Monroe Sensa-tracs for around $18 a piece, shipping extra. Anyway, those who told me my original shocks were tired were certainly correct. Installed the new rear shocks yesterday and once I cut the plastic retaining straps, it was a challenge to compress them while I installed the lower bolt. They aren't helper shocks (no external spring around them) but it sure looks like the back is a bit higher now. After buying these shocks, I searched the web and many said they are crap. Apparently are good for 20-30K miles. Since I bought rockauto wholesale supplier shocks, they apparently have no warranty instead of a lifetime warranty. I wouldn't know how to collect on a warranty anyway on a mail-order purchase? The front shocks are on the way from Amazon.com. Can't wait to see how it handles with new ones on all 4 corners. Anyway, thanks for telling me I needed to do the shocks as they were way overdue. Happy motoring.

 

[gijoecam]

For the warranty, you can call Tenneco Automotive, the parent company of Monroe, and talk to their tech support folks. They can be replaced at no charge when they're worn out so long as you have the original receipt. They stand behind their products if you ask them to.

 

[Joe Dirt]

I've had Sensa-Tracs on a bunch of vehicles. I don't really know of too many people that have had Sensa-Trac issues. But they do indeed stand behind them...

Also- the strength of your rear leafs will control the sitting height of your vehicle, the shocks will have no influence on that...

 

[aklmfreak]

I've had Sensa-Tracs on a bunch of vehicles. I don't really know of too many people that have had Sensa-Trac issues. But they do indeed stand behind them...

Also- the strength of your rear leafs will control the sitting height of your vehicle, the shocks will have no influence on that...

when i put new Edelbrock Performer IAS shocks on the rear of my 2000 Sport it raised the rear of the vehicle as well

 

[Joe Dirt]

shouldn't, the shocks are only dampeners. If you can push them closed with your hands, they shouldn't be able to lift your truck up by themselves, they're not stronger than the springs.

I put Sensa-Tracs on my 4door, and they didn't raise it. Might have something to do with the monoleaf on the Sport combined with the IAS and the overtravel of the Extreme IAS on the Edelbrocks?

 

[aklmfreak]

shouldn't, the shocks are only dampeners. If you can push them closed with your hands, they shouldn't be able to lift your truck up by themselves, they're not stronger than the springs.

I put Sensa-Tracs on my 4door, and they didn't raise it. Might have something to do with the monoleaf on the Sport combined with the IAS and the overtravel of the Extreme IAS on the Edelbrocks?

i've got the Performer IAS for Explorers with Lowered Ride Height
the stiffness of my shocks and the fact that they come out of the box with a retaining strap around them would lead me to believe they could raise the truck a little bit.... i've tried to push mine closed by hand and while it IS possible, it's quite a workout... i know they're not DESIGNED to do the job of springs, but the compressed gas inside the shocks could still take a little bit of weight off the springs as it pushes the shocks towards the extended position

 

[gijoecam]

The gas pressure does, in fact, cause them to act like a spring of sorts, but the primary reason for the gas charge is to keep the oil from foaming.

The new shocks aren't putting that much load on the rear end... An Average male can lean on them and push them back together, so that's what? Maybe 100 lbs of force on each side? The rear axle has around 1500-2000 lbs on it. A couple hundred pounds of force from teh shocks isn't going to make a significant difference.