I've put a lot of work into this poor little rig over the past year but am completely baffled by this recent development.

I noticed about two weeks ago that the shock (Monroe Gas-matic) on the passenger side had snapped at the weld point between the mounting ring and the tube and the tube was left hanging from the top mount. I live in the mountains and the roads are rough, so I didn't think too much of it even though I only bought these shocks in April.

I replaced it under warranty last week and drove a little bit on it and today upon waking up and going out to the truck, found the driver side shock in the same condition: snap at the weld between the mount ring and tube!

It's factory stock height so I'm confused as to what would cause this. I just replaced these in April and am really not sure what could make both sides do this. I know they aren't the most amazing shocks in the world, but two broken welds in exactly the same way on both sides in under 6 months and not even 2000 miles of driving!? I barely drive this rig, and while it is on pretty rough dirt and mountain roads about 50% of the time.....where do I start troubleshooting?

The shocks it had when I bought it were quite worn and took a tougher beating from abuse on dirt roads and mountain passes for about 7000 miles before I replaced them!

 

hi, same thing happened to my truck. monroe gas matics. had them installed last march. first one broke in less than 2mos. I had it replaced under warranty but broke after two weeks.
Well, I think I know whats wrong with mine. the mounting ring is thinner than the mount on my truck.It wasnt an exact match. They had some spacers installed 2nd time around. Still it broke after 2weeks.
I be looking for another brand. It seems the welds on the ring are pretty weak.

 

Sounds like quality issue with that brand-model. Try Gabriels mentioned on my post.

 

My 93 stock height yota needs new shocks. After 4 years, the KYB monotubes are leaking. WTF, I don't go rock crawling anymore, just the crappy 20 year old pot hole roads in Honolulu.

 

Lets see some pictures of these failed shocks??

Either the Robot had a bad hangover that day

poor quality steel

Something wrong in the way they were installed causing them to break.

wrong shocks in the correct box

 

brand does seem to be the culprit. i'll check out the gabriels. looking at the broken welds, they seem quite shallow and cheaply tacked. dagnum robots.

 

Would also be interested in pics of the broken shock.

 

Frickin' Chinese robots! LOL!

 

I've had the same set of ProComps on my 91 2wd pickup for 6 years and no leaks and no problems.

 

I have never had any problems with my Monroe or Skyjacker Shocks

Then my driving style may be more sedate !!

I have replaced broken shock mounts ripped right off the top of the frame.

 

I am NOT a sedate driver, I have taken my 4Runner wheeling multiple times and I installed some old (sitting on the shelf for a long time) monroe sens-a-track (or something) and about 5000 miles now, no problems.

I'd first pay close attention to the mounting quality and also make sure they are using the right ones for the weight of these things.

 

I'm new to this forum, ran across this thread trying to get answers myself. Here are some pictures of mine that has broke.

 

I have a feeling that there is some twisting or bending of the mounting point. Although the shocks should bend and twist a little bit, they aren't rigid...

Interesting...

 

Welcome

Thanks for the pictures .

It looks like the rear just dropped down past the the maximum shock extension and ripped the shock apart.

Then it looks like the shock was welded right on the seam where the eye was welded.

Interesting!!

Not saying you did anything wrong .

 

Looks like awfully tiny joints!
Yes, bushings should allow sideways bending and shock should have enough vertical give, UNLESS, shock is too short or too long for the travel. then you put undue tension or compression on weld.

Got stock Height?
Checked actual travel (full-droop and compressed) versus shock specs?

 

[QUOTE=RAD4Runner;52220376] Got stock Height?
Checked actual travel (full-droop and compressed) versus shock specs?/QUOTE]

Everything is stock.
I lifted the back of the truck up today until the tires were off of the ground and everything looked good on the other shock as for travel. Not sure what to look for though.


I went by Les Schwabs to see what they would have to say and they think there are bottoming out causing the break. That doesn't make sense to me because there are bump stoppers on the frame, so I don't see how it would bottom out and break a shock.

 

I saw a run of shocks that were Monroe do the same thing. These were air ride shocks and various grades. This was about 6 months ago. Probobly a bad run that were not welded correctly. I just put a set of the blue ones on the back of my truck today, so we will see how they hold up. By the way they said Made In The USA on them, possible the welding robot was made in china though. Lol

The ones we had coming in under warranty were Reflex and Sensa Trac models. We had about 6 of them over a period of 2 weeks, with the oldest set being a set of auto ride shocks on a tahoe that were nine months old.

 

Well, I'm replacing my 4 year old KYB Monotubes (rear) and KYB Gas-Adjust (Front) with Bilsteins I just ordered.