Monroe Sensa-Trac Load Adjusting Rear Shock 'Coil-overs'??

RayGumm

Original poster
Member
Apr 16, 2014
630
Check these out.

Anyone ever heard of/seen them? I am thinking of using them to replace my badly worn out stock rear shocks. Apparently they are designed for 'towing' and as such give the back end of the truck a 1.5 - 2 inch lift. I like that aspect! No bad reviews, all reviewers on Advance auto gave them 5 out of 5 stars (6 reviewers) and NO cons whatsoever.

You guys' thoughts? if all are fairly good, I'm pulling the trigger today, pickin them up and installing tonight. With a $40 off coupon code I can get them for right at $90.

I am doing these in lieu of getting the Bilstein high performance (non-OEM) shocks. Anyone think these are just as good/not as good/the same as the Bilstein HiPos?

Let me know!!

Thanks all!
 

HARDTRAILZ

Moderator
Nov 18, 2011
49,665
The shock mounts are not meant to take those kinda forces that would be applied to lift the truck.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 07Denali

RayGumm

Original poster
Member
Apr 16, 2014
630
HARDTRAILZ said:
The shock mounts are not meant to take those kinda forces that would be applied to lift the truck.
So.. These are bogus shocks? Seems weird that they would be an 'exact fit' with no bad reviews.. What gives?
 

HARDTRAILZ

Moderator
Nov 18, 2011
49,665
I have ridden in a silverado with them and they took them off after a couple months cause the ride was so bad. Real firm, but that was a lightweight pickup bed. I think someone on ORTB gave some away or returned them before installing a couple years ago.

I am sure they fit. Those reviews do look good. But were they still happy after 10-20K miles when the added forces of helper springs bent the lower mount? Do the springs keep up the lift? For how long? Our much bigger heavier springs have failed people, including me, and collapsed over time. Will these little springs hold up better?

They may work perfect for you, but the shock mounts were designed for shock forces and the spring mounts were designed for springs IMHO.
 
  • Like
Reactions: RayGumm

RayGumm

Original poster
Member
Apr 16, 2014
630
HARDTRAILZ said:
I have ridden in a silverado with them and they took them off after a couple months cause the ride was so bad. Real firm, but that was a lightweight pickup bed. I think someone on ORTB gave some away or returned them before installing a couple years ago.

I am sure they fit. Those reviews do look good. But were they still happy after 10-20K miles when the added forces of helper springs bent the lower mount? Do the springs keep up the lift? For how long? Our much bigger heavier springs have failed people, including me, and collapsed over time. Will these little springs hold up better?

They may work perfect for you, but the shock mounts were designed for shock forces and the spring mounts were designed for springs IMHO.
I smell what you're steppin' in. I wouldn't be removing the stock coil springs - those stay in. I would only be swapping these in to replace the stock shocks. So wouldn't the brunt of the weight still be going to the stock coil springs that I am leaving in?
 

HARDTRAILZ

Moderator
Nov 18, 2011
49,665
Yes but if the shock ones lift...they are taking all the weight off the big springs mostly
 
  • Like
Reactions: RayGumm

RayGumm

Original poster
Member
Apr 16, 2014
630
HARDTRAILZ said:
Yes but if the shock ones lift...they are taking all the weight off the big springs mostly
Ahhh.... Physics at work. Makes sense. Welp, I'll be continuing my search. Thanks sir!

This is exactly why I use this forum. I might have just saved myself the headache of a sagging lift over time and/or bent/broken shock mounts. Hurrah for GMTNation! :smile: Time to donate some of that savings I just acquired...
 

HARDTRAILZ

Moderator
Nov 18, 2011
49,665
They can't be all bad but they scare me a bit. I even thought about it but just did not want the risk
 

RayGumm

Original poster
Member
Apr 16, 2014
630
HARDTRAILZ said:
They can't be all bad but they scare me a bit. I even thought about it but just did not want the risk
Risk = Bad to me. Especially since it's a kid hauler and the wife drives a LOT too. Not to mention the fact that this TB is our only vehicle currently, can't really risk it being out of service for any length of time.


djthumper said:
I like the Airlift leveling kit, but eventually I am going to get a real lift kit anyway, so no point in getting leveling air springs if I will have to get rid of them when I get my true lift just so I can use these 'fake coilovers'. Beyond that, $$ is tight enough as it is.. took a bit of convincing just to get wifey to agree to the Monroes. Back to the straight OEM replacements I guess!! :undecided: Thanks for the suggestion, though!
 

RayGumm

Original poster
Member
Apr 16, 2014
630
So after a fairly exhaustive search I found these - Monroe Reflex Monotube Shock Absorbers. A bit higher quality (and price) than the 'economy' versions of the Monroe or KYB shocks on Advance's website. No lift, no fake 'coil-over' and good reviews with no cons. After comparing them to the load assist coilovers, they seem to be almost exactly the same shock with a little less travel and no outside spring. Sounds good to me. Pullin the trigger. I can get them for about the same $90 with my coupon codes.

I would have just ordered Bilsteins from Amazon, but they are a good $40+shipping more for the pair, and I really wanna just get them slapped in tonight. I drive 150+ miles round trip to work everyday, and I am tired of bouncing around over every bump and tiny hill and corner. Just gonna pick these up tonight and slap them in before diner. Easy Peasy.

Thanks for y'alls opinions. Saved me future headaches, I'm sure.

Sorry fot the double post... :eek:
 

HARDTRAILZ

Moderator
Nov 18, 2011
49,665
Sounds like good research n a good decision
 

The_Roadie

Lifetime VIP Donor
Member
Nov 19, 2011
9,957
Portland, OR
Buy the best, cry once.
 

djthumper

Administrator
Nov 20, 2011
14,950
North Las Vegas
You are going to pay more in the long run if you are going to be doing a lift as well.
 
  • Like
Reactions: dmanns67

HARDTRAILZ

Moderator
Nov 18, 2011
49,665
Gonna need longer shocks with the lift
 

RayGumm

Original poster
Member
Apr 16, 2014
630
HARDTRAILZ said:
Sounds like good research n a good decision
I'm aware. I really did want to wait to replace the shocks until I could easily afford the lift, but alas safety, ride quality, and not completely destroying my tires became priority...

That being said, I love the ride these shocks provide. They're nice. 200 ish miles in and it's like driving a different vehicle. :smile:
 

rocketsound

Member
Jul 18, 2014
14
I also use the Monroe Reflex shocks on the rear, and wow! what a difference in ride quality (2005 TB EXT)
Easily twice the diameter of the stock shocks, also look good!
I would highly recomend them.
 

linneje

Member
Apr 26, 2012
404
RayGumm said:
So after a fairly exhaustive search I found these - Monroe Reflex Monotube Shock Absorbers. A bit higher quality (and price) than the 'economy' versions of the Monroe or KYB shocks on Advance's website. No lift, no fake 'coil-over' and good reviews with no cons. After comparing them to the load assist coilovers, they seem to be almost exactly the same shock with a little less travel and no outside spring. Sounds good to me. Pullin the trigger. I can get them for about the same $90 with my coupon codes.

I would have just ordered Bilsteins from Amazon, but they are a good $40+shipping more for the pair, and I really wanna just get them slapped in tonight. I drive 150+ miles round trip to work everyday, and I am tired of bouncing around over every bump and tiny hill and corner. Just gonna pick these up tonight and slap them in before diner. Easy Peasy.

Thanks for y'alls opinions. Saved me future headaches, I'm sure.

Sorry fot the double post... :eek:
I also got the Reflex, and I am happy with the purchase, however I have only had them for a few months so I can't really comment on the long term quality. In my opinion they are better than the SensaTrac for my purposes, as I use it for towing.
 

hockeyman

Member
Aug 26, 2012
726
To bring this topic back up, I bought and installed a set of the Monroe coil-overs in my '03 Envoy XL. Did the job last week. It did raise the rear up by about 1.5" and I had to readjust the headlight beams, but the ride isn't as harsh as I expected. Installation was a bit challenging though because I had to figure out a way to compress the coil spring/shock to get them installed correctly, and that was without a coil spring compressor. The rear coil springs are still in-place though. I did not remove them and they still carry a specific load when sitting on all 4's.

Anyhow, I installed them because I'll be using my envoy as a taxi to pick up relatives from the airport over the spring and summer. Many of visitors coming and the trip from my house to Ft. Meyers airport is about 112 miles round-trip. With anymore than three people in my envoy at one time, the rear sags and my mud guards hit the ground while going over bumps and such... And yes, I installed brand new OEM height rear coil springs back in 2013 that I purchased from rockauto. I needed a bit more lift though.

I will be going back to the OEM shocks, but only after using the coil-overs for a few months.

I can post pics -if anyone is interested. Nothing really much to see though, other than what you'd expect.
 

Grimor

Member
Mar 28, 2013
954
i had these on my truck for about a month, topped out a lot with the lift blocks. still have them if i plan on dragging the boat / trailer around a lot. but day to day ride i had to go with something longer
 

Forum Statistics

Threads
23,273
Posts
637,499
Members
18,472
Latest member
MissCrutcher

Members Online