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Monroe shock absorber warranty? Two blown and leaking!


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My shocks are just over a year old, 6000 miles and two are blown. ;(

 

6E90740A-EE4D-4A70-95A2-79D002CD69FA.thumb.jpeg.4b77325201d25577978a56394c1830d8.jpeg

53A6A9DB-6645-4C6D-B0D1-2C0343CA2FFD.thumb.jpeg.df14b10fe5d4d3091d4fb4f9d9935ea3.jpeg

 

I think this is the correct part. ... http://www.monroe.com/en-US/e-catalog/555001/#

 

Can anyone confirm? The regular automotive Gas Magnum shocks have a lifetime warranty, any idea about these RV units? I have not yet called the Ollie factory.

 

https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/71ITrU+GhyS.pdf

 

Is there a better shock available? These not impressive, nor are they especially cheap ($38 at Amazon),

 

Thanks.

 

John Davies

 

Spokane WA

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SOLD 07/23 "Mouse":  2017 Legacy Elite II Two Beds, Hull Number 218, See my HOW TO threads: https://olivertraveltrailers.com/topic/john-e-davies-how-to-threads-and-tech-articles-links/

Tow Vehicle: 2013 Land Cruiser 200, 32” LT tires, airbags, Safari snorkel, Maggiolina Grand Tour 360 Carbon RTT.

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John,

 

I'll get out there and have a look at mine. Yikes! It may be time to upgrade to a KYB or Bistein model I bet you could cross reference at the parts store.

 

BTW, how much tire pressure are you running. No flex in the tires puts more load on the shocks. I've been running 60 PSI, but the last trip I came home at about 45 psi. I went about 120 miles through Saline Valley on dirt, gravel, sand, rocks and washboard. Lowered the pressure to 25 as we started in and only filled them back up to 45 for the final leg home on the highway. Overall trip to the rally was a little over 6,000 miles.

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John


"I only exaggerate enough to compensate for being taken with a grain of salt."


LE2 #92 (sold),   Black Series HQ19   

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I contacted Service and they told me:

 

Monroe shocks are shipped to RV manufacturers and have no Monroe warranty. The shocks are covered in the 1 year Oliver trailer warranty.

 

It would be good to know if shocks bought locally or online would have the Lifetime Warranty. Maybe I will email Monroe.

 

I am just outside that time, but Jason graciously agreed to send me two at no charge. Thanks to Oliver Service!

 

As far as tire pressures go, I am running 60 psi at all times. If I venture onto potholed gravel I will lower them to 30. So far the unpaved roads I have used are not rough.

 

Well, I cannot log in to Monroe, I created an account and it will not accept my info. There is no email or phone number. Can someone please go here, log in and ask if the 555001 shocks have a lifetime warranty if purchased individually?

 

http://www.monroe.com/en-US/tech-talk/

 

Thanks

 

John Davies

 

Spokane WA

 

 

SOLD 07/23 "Mouse":  2017 Legacy Elite II Two Beds, Hull Number 218, See my HOW TO threads: https://olivertraveltrailers.com/topic/john-e-davies-how-to-threads-and-tech-articles-links/

Tow Vehicle: 2013 Land Cruiser 200, 32” LT tires, airbags, Safari snorkel, Maggiolina Grand Tour 360 Carbon RTT.

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John, that seems really unusual. I've got 12.5k on my trailer now, and it's seen it's share of rough roads, but the worst I can say about my shocks is that the front ones have a ton of road rash and corresponding rust starting to form on their front sides. No leaks at all.

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  • 1 year later...

Check my shocks today. One of them is blown. I hope to have it taken care of by Oliver when I take it down for service in 2 weeks. The other item in need of replacement is bathroom vent van. RV is still under warranty until December. I have hull number 412.

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  • 1 month later...

Oliver service once again was great. I did have a blown shock that was replaced, vent fan replaced and bathroom mirror was replaced. The mirror was flaking. I did pay to have wheel bearing repacked. I have been told that service will move to a another building as well possibly in the spring.

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  • 7 months later...

Our OEII is less than 2 years old and all shock bushings are pretty severely cracked - probably have been that way for some time. Trailer has about 6,500 miles on it.  Nothing off road or weird. 

Edited by GarryandKristi

Garry and Kristi

Apex, NC

2018 Oliver Elite II Hull 372

TV 2015 Ram 1500 3.0 L EcoDiesel

image.jpeg.aed3a6aa6cd2b2679a4845e1ea98a981.jpeg

 

 

 

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12 hours ago, GarryandKristi said:

Our OEII is less than 2 years old and all shock bushings are pretty severely cracked - probably have been that way for some time. Trailer has about 6,500 miles on it.  Nothing off road or weird. 

Maybe the nuts were overtightened? Compare them to the second picture in this thread. They should be squeezed to eliminate any gaps, plus a little bit more, but not super tight.

John Davies

Spokane WA

Edited by John E Davies

SOLD 07/23 "Mouse":  2017 Legacy Elite II Two Beds, Hull Number 218, See my HOW TO threads: https://olivertraveltrailers.com/topic/john-e-davies-how-to-threads-and-tech-articles-links/

Tow Vehicle: 2013 Land Cruiser 200, 32” LT tires, airbags, Safari snorkel, Maggiolina Grand Tour 360 Carbon RTT.

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On 6/28/2020 at 9:15 AM, John E Davies said:

Maybe the nuts were overtightened? Compare them to the second picture in this thread. They should be squeezed to eliminate any gaps, plus a little bit more, but not super tight.

John Davies

Spokane WA

Likely overtightened. Looked pretty “squeezed” when I last looked. 

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Garry and Kristi

Apex, NC

2018 Oliver Elite II Hull 372

TV 2015 Ram 1500 3.0 L EcoDiesel

image.jpeg.aed3a6aa6cd2b2679a4845e1ea98a981.jpeg

 

 

 

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  • 1 year later...

Doing some underside inspection on our Ollie Elite II (2019 Hull #461) and I noticed the rubber shock bushings on the original shocks are showing signs of cracking.  We are done with our travels for this year so I’ll probably be replacing the shocks in the spring.  Anyone have recommendation for a good aftermarket shock?  Found some on Amazon from Lippert but I’d prefer something a bit higher quality. 
 

4D2A4515-9D04-4816-B361-649DAD5504E5.jpeg

 

 

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17 hours ago, FrankC said:

Doing some underside inspection on our Ollie Elite II (2019 Hull #461) and I noticed the rubber shock bushings on the original shocks are showing signs of cracking.  

 

On 6/28/2020 at 7:15 AM, John E Davies said:

Maybe the nuts were overtightened?

While winterizing a few days ago I noticed that the rubber on these shocks are cracking (trailer is 6 months old), and also the shock absorber bolt seems pretty close to the edge of the frame flange.  Do these things seems normal to you?  

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IMG_9600.JPG

2021 Oliver LE2
Ram 2500 diesel

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Went out and checked my shock bushings today.  My Elite is just over five months old with less than 2K miles on it.  My bushings appear to be over-torqued and are starting to crack.  They also appear to be fastened very close to the edge of the bracket on the frame like the photo provided by Fritz.

It looks as if there is a calamity of errors here.  Improper installation and poor engineering.  

When bushings of this type are compressed to the point that there is no flex left in them, they no longer serve the intent of their design.  The rubber bushings were also designed to have 360 deg. contact on their faces.  They were not designed to hang over the edge of a bracket causing them to deform.  Bracket and bushings are mismatched. 

I don't know if the responsibility for this issue lies with Dexter, Oliver, or shared between the two.  At any rate I am going to open a service ticket on this while still under warranty.

Mike and Yasuko

2021 Legacy Elite Hull #820 

 

 

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46 minutes ago, LongStride said:

My bushings appear to be over-torqued and are starting to crack.  

On mine, the bushings do NOT appear over-torqued/excessively squeezed, but they are still cracked.  Looks like the bushings that come with these standard shocks are just a really crappy low quality material that degrades quickly. 

9B780069-5AD8-46EC-8339-5AA54B97168D.jpeg

 

 

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I agree Frank that your bushings don't appear to be over torqued.  You may be spot on about crappy materials though.

The compression of yours and those in the first photo of the thread look to be about right.  The ones in the photos sent by Fritz are definitely over torqued.

In all cases, the bushings are not meant to hang over the edge and deform.  

Mike and Yasuko

2021 Legacy Elite Hull #820 

 

 

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14 minutes ago, LongStride said:

In all cases, the bushings are not meant to hang over the edge and deform.  

On yours, does the frame bracket have a hole that the threaded shock mount passes through?  Or is it an open slot all the way to the edge of the bracket?  I’m just surprised that the threaded rod of the shock is that close to the outer edge of the bracket in the photo that Fritz showed.  The brackets on mine have just a round hole so the shock can’t get that close to the edge of the bracket. 

 

 

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I'll need to investigate further tomorrow morning.  I just took a quick look under there to see how much they were compressed and if they were cracked.  That is when I noticed that they were close to the edge of the bracket.  

I suspect that it is a slot because there is plenty of room inboard of the bracket, and why would they put the hole so close to the edge?  Of course it could be that the bracket was manufactured with the hole too far outboard and no one noticed.  We shall see.

 

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Mike and Yasuko

2021 Legacy Elite Hull #820 

 

 

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Update...

I went out this morning hoping to find that the bracket was indeed a slot and that the shock could be loosened and pushed inboard a bit.  No such luck.  

It is a hole, and its centerline is only 1/2" from the end of the bracket.  There is no logical reason for this.  The hole could easily have been another 3/8" inboard which would have allowed the rubber bushing to have 360 deg. contact with the bracket.

It would only make sense that the hole was punched in the bracket prior to it being welded onto the subframe assembly.  That being said, this is either a manufacturing defect or a poor design.

Now that I have taken a closer look at the bushings I don't believe that they are over torqued.  It doesn't help that they are deformed because they hang over the edge of the bracket, but the cracking is likely due to poor quality rubber than anything else.

IMG_3881.thumb.jpeg.adb0a2331e2205e340c79110d563be06.jpeg

 

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Mike and Yasuko

2021 Legacy Elite Hull #820 

 

 

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  • Moderators
1 hour ago, LongStride said:

Is there a way to adjust the size of a photo when you attach it, or do you need to resize prior to attaching?

Try this:

left click on the three dots located in the upper right of the post with the picture you wish to edit - the picture should turn a blue color.  Then right click while holding down the "control key".  A "pop-up menu should appear in which one of the choices in the middle of that menu is edit picture.  Left click on that and another menu pops up that allows you to move the picture and/or re-size it.

I don't think this is an Moderator only function - but - I could certainly be wrong.

Bill

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2023 Ford F150 Lariat 3.5EB FX4 Max Towing, Max Payload, 2016 Oliver Elite II - Hull #117 "Twist"

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On 10/18/2021 at 4:48 PM, LongStride said:

It is a hole, and its centerline is only 1/2" from the end of the bracket.  There is no logical reason for this.  The hole could easily have been another 3/8" inboard which would have allowed the rubber bushing to have 360 deg. contact with the bracket.

It would only make sense that the hole was punched in the bracket prior to it being welded onto the subframe assembly.  That being said, this is either a manufacturing defect or a poor design.

Now that I have taken a closer look at the bushings I don't believe that they are over torqued.  It doesn't help that they are deformed because they hang over the edge of the bracket, but the cracking is likely due to poor quality rubber than anything else.

Same situation with my 2021 model.   I was greasing the chassis this week and took one of the nuts off.   Only the top of the shock has this problem, the lower end is fine.   No serious cracks in the rubber yet.    Perhaps some heavy duty fender washers between the rubber and the brackets would improve the rubber life. 

 

C257CA68-ECF4-4F89-BD30-599B51433479.jpeg

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“Ramble” - 2021 Legacy Elite II #797;  2020 Ford F-250

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I agree that adding fender washers is a great idea.  Any other means would require modifying the bracket which would be a royal PITA.   

In looking at various photos in this thread it would appear that this issue has been around for a few years.  That being said, I can only imagine that Dexter is aware of the problem and just won't lift a finger to correct it.  That's unconscionable.  It is just a simple bracket and and a design change would cost them very little.

Mike and Yasuko

2021 Legacy Elite Hull #820 

 

 

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Yep, fender washers, they are available in a really thick version, about 0.1” - I would get some of these. A local nut and bolt supplier will sell them individually. Fastenal shows these:

1/2" x 1.375" OD Thru-Hardened Yellow Zinc Finish Steel USS General Purpose Flat Washer

I am guessing about the hole size….. please verify first! But if you don’t replace the bushings at the same time, the old ones will probably fail immediately. 😤

Have you opened a service ticket?

John Davies

Spokane WA

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SOLD 07/23 "Mouse":  2017 Legacy Elite II Two Beds, Hull Number 218, See my HOW TO threads: https://olivertraveltrailers.com/topic/john-e-davies-how-to-threads-and-tech-articles-links/

Tow Vehicle: 2013 Land Cruiser 200, 32” LT tires, airbags, Safari snorkel, Maggiolina Grand Tour 360 Carbon RTT.

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  • Moderators
1 hour ago, John E Davies said:

I am guessing about the hole size….. please verify first! But if you don’t replace the bushings at the same time, the old ones will probably fail immediately.

The stud size is 3/8” according to the spec sheet for a Monroe 565025 Gas-Magnum 65 Shock Absorber which was original equipment on my 2017 LE2.  I think saving the original bushing washers would be a better option than a fender washer.  So maybe I’ll save my old ones when I replace the shocks.

There is a link to the complete product page at the bottom.

Mossey

  • Specifications
    SHOCK ABSORBER
    Compressed Bumper Stop
    No
    Compressed Length
    8.625
    Dust Shield
    Yes
    Dust Shield Material
    Metal
    Extended Bumper Stop
    Yes
    Extended Hydraulic Lockout
    No
    Extended Length
    13.5
    Lower Mounting Code
    S4
    Lower Mounting Type
    Stem Mount - 2.3/8" Stem Length X 3/8"-16 Thread Pitch
    Parts Pack
    P01134
    Travel Length
    4.875
    Upper Mounting Code
    S4
    Upper Mounting Type
    Stem Mount - 2.3/8" Stem Length X 3/8"-16 Thread Pitch
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Mike and Krunch   Lutz, FL  
2017 LEII #193 “the dog house”

 

 

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   I've been following this (since first seeing it and then reading the older posts)... but is this doesn't seem to be "Dexter problem" but rather an Oliver problem.   They welded and put together the frame.  It certainly looks wrong... and its evidently been happening for a while?  Has Oliver been made aware of this?    Sure would like to see them rectify this soon!

2022 Elite II, Hull #1097  Elli Rose 🌹 and she has the solar panels with the 390Ah lithium batteries.  Our tow vehicle is a 2019 Ford Lariat F-150 4wd, 3.5L Eco-boost, 3.55 rear end, with the Max tow package.  Elli Rose also has the street side awning and several walnut and cherry mods on the inside.

        TravelMap.png.b89ef2d7bc27b1ea3b58f831ca5bd799.png

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17 minutes ago, Dave and Kimberly said:

   I've been following this (since first seeing it and then reading the older posts)... but is this doesn't seem to be "Dexter problem" but rather an Oliver problem.   They welded and put together the frame.  It certainly looks wrong... and its evidently been happening from the beginning?  Has Oliver been made aware of this?    Sure would like to see them rectify this soon!

Oliver purchases the galvanized steel suspension sub-frame.  I believe it is from Dexter or some other third party.   But it still may be Oliver’s problem if the subframe is being built by the third party to Oliver’s specs.  Oliver manufactures the main aluminum frame in-house. 

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