Normspeed Posted September 14, 2009 Report Share Posted September 14, 2009 I was getting the P24 and teardrop ready for a few days up in the mountains. Got everything all loaded, pumped up the air shocks to the max, thought it was odd that some thin oil blew out of the filler when I aired them up. A few hours later, the car was lowered again. Guess one of them let loose. Can't really complain, they were Hi Jackers, only $60 a pair, 2 year warranty, and they are over 5 years old with over 20,000 miles of rough duty. So I'll be headed for the lake the old way, with my trusty Bronco, teardrop, and Porta Bote. I'll deal with ordering a new set of Hi Jackers when I get back in a few days. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plymouthy Adams Posted September 14, 2009 Report Share Posted September 14, 2009 Monroe shocks are probably more common than Gabriels and oft times in stock at your local..they are about 5-12 bucks higher sometimes, at least on my last comparison..try Monroe #MA727 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rolliejoe Posted September 14, 2009 Report Share Posted September 14, 2009 Air shocks were horrible on to the upper shock mounts on Mopar A-bodies, seems they put most of the stress on those upper mounts. I had 2 Darts with previously installed air shocks that had the upper mounts break out. What does that have to do with a P24 Suburban? Probably nothing... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plymouthy Adams Posted September 14, 2009 Report Share Posted September 14, 2009 I in the past and I admit this was many years ago, I had air shocks on a couple A bodies and they were of the Monroe brand with no problems on install or beating the mount bushings..I have only used Gabriel once and they did not hold up as well..there is another option, coil over shocks..but am not sure how well these would last in Norms situation as it seems he does keep the P24 fairly loaded when traveling Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Normspeed Posted September 18, 2009 Author Report Share Posted September 18, 2009 Tim, thanks for the Monroe number. Coil overs won't work for me because the car is lowered and I like the way it looks. I only use the air shocks when I hook up the trailer. Teardrops have a lot of tongue weight due to the axle being located to the rear. When I went on my road trip this year, I had so much gear in the wagon, in addition to the trailer on the back and the boat on the roof, that the only way I could get the car to a good level stance was to jack up the rear til there was no weight on the springs, then pump the air shocks to the max for my compressor (about 130 psi). The shocks were listed as 200 psi max, but after all the miles I think I just stressed them too much. They did last through the whole trip though, and got me home safely. You can see how high it sat when I took most of the load out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don Coatney Posted September 18, 2009 Report Share Posted September 18, 2009 Norm; When I bought my P-15 7-8 years back one of the first things I did was install rear air shocks. Reason I did this was pure foolishness as I was not hauling any excess weight (except myself) nor pulling anything except my ego. Month after I installed these shocks my original engine crapped out so my car sat in my garage for a year and a half. Once I satisfied my ego with a full race Desoto engine and a Charger differential bolted to some rebuilt leaf springs I was once again on the road. Shortely therafter one of the locating pins in my rear springs sheared (might have been due to the burnouts I was doing in my driveway to once again satisy my defunct ego) and caused failure of one of my rear air shocks. Long story shortened. I have one air shock. I do not recall the part number but I can collect it when I return home and send it to you if it will work for you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Normspeed Posted September 23, 2009 Author Report Share Posted September 23, 2009 Don, thanks for the generous offer. I did some shopping around and found I could get Monroes from RockAuto or another pair of Gabriels from the local Auto Zone, for about the same price. I would have preferred to try the Monroes, but they don't carry the lifetime warranty. When I bought the first pair of Gabriels in 2004, they only had a 2 year warranty, but Auto Zone now offers a lifetime warranty on the Gabriels. So, knowing that some day in the future I'll likely blow out another one, I went with the Gabriels. I picked them up today, $70 including tax. It should be a quick install, since I can re-use the already installed air lines. Thanks again for offering. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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