Anyone using Monroe 34803 Shocks on B3 Front?

[1949 Wraith]

I was thinking of trying the Monroe 34803 on the front of my B3. Has anyone any experience with this model on a B3?

 

Specs are 21.00" extended and 13.25" compressed with a 7.75" range. My truck is sitting at 16.5", so about 4.5" above and 3.25" below.

[Radarsonwheels]

I had a set of the blue monroes on my 54 when it had the stock 3/4 ton chassis. Dunno the p/n they were spec’d for my truck off rockauto and cheap like $15 a corner. They were fine. I also had a set in my handmade/dakota setup. 

 

The thing is that these trucks have bench seats with big old springs in them and fairly stiff suspensions. You can’t really corner hard enough to need really great shocks without flying around the cab holding on to the wheel for dear life. And bumps get soaked up a lot just by the seat springs. 

 

So as long as your shocks keep a bump to one bounce and don’t let your springs keep bouncing up and down a bunch of times after the first hit they will be fine and you won’t think about them again. 

 

I think if you spend a little more money you can get a shock with a little more fancy valving inside that will be softer on rough roads and smooth out small imperfections while still having enough stiffness to help corner flatter.

 

Of course comfort is important but really a lot of the shock’s job is keeping the tires planted on the ground too... but if they cost $60 for four of them what do you have to lose? 

 

Try them out. Any shock should control the bounce of the springs and keep it from oscillating. The real test will be turning a loose or bumpy corner at speed- do the tires unload and make it sketchy? If so you need to drive slower or spend more money!

 

good luck

 

radar

 

 

[JBNeal]

additional information - Shock Absorber Replacement P#s 

Edited December 1, 2019 by JBNeal
revised link

[1949 Wraith]

I finally installed a set of the 21" Monroe 34803 shocks on my '51 B3B and was very happy with the results. My previous shocks really only had issues with worn rubber bushings.

Liked the ride improvement, so I think I will order and change my rear shocks with the shorter 18" Monroe 34904.

 

Both model of shock go for around $27, after discount, at Rock Auto.

[Radarsonwheels]

Price went up! Still a bargain. Happy motoring I’m glad it worked out for ya

[1949 Wraith]

13 hours ago, Radarsonwheels said:

Price went up! Still a bargain. Happy motoring I’m glad it worked out for ya

Just checked the Monroe 34803 shocks at Rock Auto are $24.50 after applying the 5% discount code

[1949 Wraith]

Update on the Monroes. They helped my ride quite a bit, so I thought I would change my rear shocks. Just installed some Gabriel 61500 ProGuard on the rear. My original rear shocks were sitting at 15.5", the ProGuard 61500 are 20.23" extended and 12.37" compressed so about 3" below and 4.5" above. These would probably work on the front as well.

 

The best part is that they are $7.99  each on Amazon.com and they are not the base models.

[JBNeal]

I was looking at the specs for the Monroe 34803 and Gabriel 61500 shocks and am curious if ya had any trouble installing these replacements as they list 5/8" inside diameter bushings, and the B3s have 11/16" diameter studs...also, looking at the specs for the Monroe 66858 and Gabriel 82065, it looks like the 34803 might be over 1" too long on the retracted length, and the 61500 might be almost 1/2" too long, so ya might bottom the shocks out if ya hit a dip too hot...but I reckon the bigger issue is how them shocks mount on your studs, I'm not sure if there is any difference between American and Canadian models, but the shock bushing should mount tight enough on the studs to not slop around but not too tight or the bushing will tear up from too much compression + torsion from the shock hoop and mount stud, kinda like an Indian burn on your arm...

[1949 Wraith]

I did not have any issues installing the bushings over the shock stud mounts with a little WD40.  I did not come across any common modern shocks with bushing IDs that were not 5\8". I can see that there will be possible fatigue on the bushings, my hope is that they will conform to the 11\16" stud at least for a while.

I chose shocks with a dampening range that should be adequate for my truck. I don't plan on carrying heavy loads as the over rider springs have been removed on this truck.

 

These modern large volume dampening, nitrogen gas shocks list applications for 70-80's pickups and jeeps, so I am hoping they will be adequate for my use. So far I am very happy with the results for under $80 and I will go the same route again, possibly machining the studs if needed.