Okay, here is my experiance with factory ford shocks and Monroe.

I replaced my factory shocks at about 120k and put on a set of Monroe sensitrac shocks. They where highly recomended and were supposed to be an improvement.

So while installing them i had noticed that the rubbers on the shock that go above and below the mounting location for the top stem of the shock had no centering rubber. Basically its a piece of rubber that goes through the hole with the stem of the shock to keep the stem from vibrating and hiting the mount.

So okay no big deal i put them on like i was supposed to and to no supprise i had rattles and clunks over bumps ever since i did that. and i lived with it. i never really noticed a difference in ride since my old ones were shot and these were a deffinate improvement over the worn out stockers... so i went on like this for 30k untill i finally had enough and was already doing some brake work...

So i decided to go back to the OEM shocks even though they were more..and let me tell you.....THEY ARE WORTH EVERY PENNY.... my truck has never ridden so nice...There is absolutley no more noise over bumps and it rides so plush..

So that is my experiance and i dont have any other shocks to base it off of but...i highley dont recommend Monroe Sensicrap...

Sorry it was kinda long...hope this helps generate some good conversation...

 

I too had a rather crappy experience with the sensitrac's with my 95 F150. I will never go back to a monroe shock for that reason also, instead I have had great results with Rancho shocks.

 

Rancho owns..

 

Bilstein is the best IMO, Rancho is made by Monroe btw.

 

bilstein's are really expensive though... correct me if im wrong..

 

gotta pay to play my man...

 

They (Bilstein) cost twice as much as some, yes. They've also, so far, lasted over twice as long as anything else I've tried and performed better the whole time. Worth every penny and then some.

This is a case of getting what you pay for (and then some).

 

Yep if only they made the bilstiens for a 2" lift..I had to settle for pro-comps they are way stiffer than stock, great off-road but are harsh on the pavement..I went to the bilstien racing co, and they reccomended autozone as one of there bigest distributers..they did,nt deal with the public direct..

 

I plan to try the Edelbrock shocks or the Bilstiens next on my truck. I have the Monroe heavy duty on my truck now. They are ok but I'm not impressed. They were better than the worn out OEMs. I like what I've read on the 2 brands I have picked. I'm thinking the Bilstiens would be the best. I have Hotchkis sway bars front & rear & they use the Bilstiens on their suspension kits.

 

What many miss on the front is the lower aftermarket shock mounting eyes are larger inside diameter than the metric mounting bolt.
This is the source of the banging.
The OEM shocks are metric sized.
Aftermarket shocks need the control arm lugs drilled and an SAE size bolt sized properly and a push fit to fill the aftermarket lower shock mount sleeve and the mounting lugs on the lower control arms.
This has been going on since before 1985, as least..
I have Rancho 5000 series on and like them for towing but needed to do the front mounting bolt change so they fit right and not bang.

 

What about Gabriel?

 

I put on pro comp 9000's. Used the metal sleeve out of my stock oem rancho's and pressed them in to the new front procomp's. Tight fit but it worked. The rears took the new sleeves and pro comp's without using the old metal sleeves.