Most Liked Positive Review
Best I could find at this price
At 132,000 miles my Sienna's shocks were leaking, so time to replace. These were easy to install, (with air wrench) but the upper mount was quite a bit different than the OEM shocks. I believe I installed everything in the proper order, but a small instruction sheet would've been nice for verification. The OEM were half plastic, these are all steel. Not sure if that is better or worse. They seem to be fine, but I also have air bags in my springs because I tow a camper with my Sienna so those obviously firm up the handling. Overall I like the value of these shocks and it is refreshing to see something made in the U.S.A.
Most Liked Negative Review
What a Hassle
I installed these on a 2009 Sienna. As others mentioned, there were no instructions for how to place the bushings and you cannot use the OEM shocks as a guide because they are quite a bit different from these Monroes.
The real issue was with the top mount nut and bolts threads. They felt as though they had been cross-threaded but they were not. I contacted Monroe about both the bushings and the threads. They provided the answer on the bushings - install large washer then bushing, insert shock into the top mount and from inside the vehicle, insert bushing, washer, then nut. Although it is somewhat obvious, I do not want to guess and a little 4x4 sheet of instructions would have saved me time on hold waiting for a Monroe technician.
As for the threads, the tech said they should be a little diffficult because of the coating on the threads. Mine were more than a little difficult. But I had no option but to crank the nuts on. The second one was a little easier because I used my impact to screw the nut on prior to installing it on the vehicle then removed it. Even this did little to make it easier to reinstall the nut when putting it on the vehicle. I could see little metal shavings but it was not cross-threaded - I know what cross threads look like.
I also added a bit of lube to the threads helping it to go on so the second one was easier than the first. But I am still left with the impression that I received two shocks with faulty threads on either the nut or bolt - maybe the nuts inner diameter was a hair too small for the bolts diameter? Don't know. I'll use another brand next time.