What Shocks?

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expat

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84 2wd Toyota Pick up.
I will be refreshing a bunch of stuff in the new year, the old shocks still perform well, but they are 30 years old!
I'm not looking for anything special, just something that will work and last a reasonable time.
(I have in the past had cheap Monroe's give up in less than a year)

See lots of Sensen shocks, I have never heard of the brand, are they any good?
 
Are oem shocks still available? I would only install sensen shocks on beater vehicles. It cheap so if they go bad, you don't lose all that much.
 
The main questions Id ask are:

How long do you plan to keep the truck?

How hard are they to replace?

Id say OE or the company that makes OE... Or else Bilstein.
 
Sometimes when a car is really old, dealers will deeply discount the prices of parts. Maybe if you check a few Toyota dealers, you will get a good deal.

Take a look at the OEM shocks and find a manufacturer's name on them. If it says "KAYABA" then that means they were made by KYB, and hopefully new KYB shocks are the same. I have read mixed reviews about the current generation of KYB shocks.

Sensen is another company that makes stuff in China. I wouldn't take the chance of using their stuff.
 
Sensen shocks are rumored to be very firm, which be a no for me.

I put the "better" Monroe's in the rear of my 04 RAV4 3 years ago. What I found weird was they use SAE nuts instead of metric. I believe they have a lifetime guaranty. I'm giving Monroe a chance but I had back luck with them in a Dodge Caravan many years ago. If they lose me this time , it's for good.

Tokico made the original OEM in my RAV4, but OEM are too high in price when I checked.
 
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I'd say after 30 years you got your money's worth out of the shocks and any shock will improve the ride and control because you don't feek shocks as the wear out - but you feel what you lost when you replace them with new. Having said all this, I would skip over Monroe Sensa tracs and go with their REFLEX mono tube shocks. I've used sensa tracs and they work nice but only lasted a few years. This time I tried the better REFLEX model shock and they still feel tight and new after 2 years. This would be a good choice for the money. If you are willing to spend more on a "possibly" better Belstien or KYB then go ahead you won't go wrong with those either except spend more for them. I've got Belstiens on my Buick Grand National and Corvette and they are ok but even those wore out the same as other shocks.

Stay away from Senson...cheap garbage and may not even last a year.
 
Thanks!
I really don't like our local dealer, but will look around to see if there are some OEM shocks available.
If not, I'll likely go with KYB.
 
Originally Posted By: expat
84 2wd Toyota Pick up.
I will be refreshing a bunch of stuff in the new year, the old shocks still perform well, but they are 30 years old!
I'm not looking for anything special, just something that will work and last a reasonable time.
(I have in the past had cheap Monroe's give up in less than a year)

See lots of Sensen shocks, I have never heard of the brand, are they any good?

Sensens are made in China but claimed to carry Japan made internals. Who knows.
But I would suggest you get either Tokico or KYBs if OEM ride is your objective.
 
Good luck with sensen, IMO the biggest scam in town.

failed on me twice already (my clients), costing them RE&RE.

won't be fooled 3rd time round.

Would rather go with gabriels, monroe and the likes.

Q.
 
Looking around the selection available for your vehicle at RockAuto (one of my main choices for parts), the hands-down winner to me is the KYB GR-2/excel. $25/ea front, $28/ea rear. So $106 all-around. Buy them now and you can get them $86 all around, they have a close out on some single items. That's a steal for a shock this good. I've used these as an OE replacement on a Lexus ES300 and they are fantastic. This may not be the best choice if you load it heavily/often, though that may be more a spring issue for you to consider. It is likely your OE shocks are KYB, they have been Toyota's shock supplier a LOOOONG time. They are good.

I've used higher-end Monroe's on an SUV I have, and have been disappointed with premature wear (getting soft in 3 years/20k miles). I actually looked a week ago to see if I could get KYB excel-GR2 for that vehicle and pitch the barely used Monroes, but not spec'd for it. Price-independent, the choice might be the KYB mono-max, but that's $216 all four corners.
 
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Originally Posted By: expat
84 2wd Toyota Pick up.
I will be refreshing a bunch of stuff in the new year, the old shocks still perform well, but they are 30 years old!
I'm not looking for anything special, just something that will work and last a reasonable time.
(I have in the past had cheap Monroe's give up in less than a year)

See lots of Sensen shocks, I have never heard of the brand, are they any good?


Gabriel Ultras. Use them on almost everything these days, great performance at a great price.

Worked fantastic on my daughter's Mazda Ranger 2300, really tied it down without making it ride rough. Excellent shocks!
 
Shocks are over emphasized. They control spring oscillations. The springs have the most impact on ride quality. I have always used Gabriel Red Riders. They are inexpensive and last a long time. Don't waste your money on expensive shocks.Unless they are leaking or bouncy, leave them alone.
 
Originally Posted By: GMBoy
I'd say after 30 years you got your money's worth out of the shocks and any shock will improve the ride and control because you don't feek shocks as the wear out - but you feel what you lost when you replace them with new. Having said all this, I would skip over Monroe Sensa tracs and go with their REFLEX mono tube shocks. I've used sensa tracs and they work nice but only lasted a few years. This time I tried the better REFLEX model shock and they still feel tight and new after 2 years. This would be a good choice for the money. If you are willing to spend more on a "possibly" better Belstien or KYB then go ahead you won't go wrong with those either except spend more for them. I've got Belstiens on my Buick Grand National and Corvette and they are ok but even those wore out the same as other shocks.

I've had good luck with Monroe Reflex shocks and struts on my Equinox.

Stay away from Senson...cheap garbage and may not even last a year.
 
KYB is good affordable, so are Monroe and Gabriel on their better quality range.

Tokico went bankrupt and I heard a lot of parts availability issues a while back. If you decide to go Tokico I'd buy it from a reputable distributor as their warranty only goes through the original retailer.
 
KYB gas adjust (or Monomax for trucks). Fairly priced if you shop around. It is a monotube shock. I have a Grand Marquis and it did wonders for the suspension. Next would be Reflex (have those in my explorer, but I would consider Monomax when those go). Avoid budget shocks (Monroe) if you can.
 
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Bilstein shocks are great, and they'd be my top choice!

The OE shocks were probably made by KYB.

Avoid Sensen, It is Chinese junk that won;t survive 10k If you think Monroe is bad, just wait until you try Sensen! It's also worth noting that Monroe's Reflex shocks are actually good.

Gabriel Max Control and KYB Monomax would both be great second choices to consider after Bilstein.
 
Originally Posted By: SteveSRT8
Originally Posted By: expat
84 2wd Toyota Pick up.
I will be refreshing a bunch of stuff in the new year, the old shocks still perform well, but they are 30 years old!
I'm not looking for anything special, just something that will work and last a reasonable time.
(I have in the past had cheap Monroe's give up in less than a year)

See lots of Sensen shocks, I have never heard of the brand, are they any good?


Gabriel Ultras. Use them on almost everything these days, great performance at a great price.

Worked fantastic on my daughter's Mazda Ranger 2300, really tied it down without making it ride rough. Excellent shocks!


+1 Ultra's work great on my Dakota too. I bought mine at Autozone and they also honored a $20.00 off $100.00 Pep Boys coupon I had printed off the Pep Boys web site. If you decide to go with Ultra's from Autozone, print this out and ask if they will honor it:

http://www.pepboys.com/sale_specials/coupons/20off_100_merch_cp/

Coupon is good through Dec. 31st.
 
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