[mopar_man]

Originally Posted by CREWZIN

As far as brands of struts and shocks, there's too many to recommend just one.

This is coming from my friend who's managed a parts store for several years:

Monroe is a marketing company, not a shock-absorber company. They produce five levels of product: Absolute trash (Monroe-matic), garbage (Gas-matic), brand-new worn-out shocks (Sensa-Trac--if you ever see one of these cut open, you'll cry if you bought 'em), overpriced (Gas Magnum--identical to the Gas-Matic with nothing more than a larger oil reservoir which makes absolutely no difference), and relabeled versions with astounding price tags (Rancho). And I sell Monroe--as well as Gabriel, another brand of which I'm not overly fond but they're better than Monroe.

There are only four shock-absober companies that I recommend: KYB, Koni, Penske (be prepared for serious sticker shock), and Bilstein. Penskes are the only American-made shocks--or at least US-owned--of those four of which I'm aware,

Another friend who has been a master mechanic for even longer agrees. Tokico makes shocks for lowered vehicles and most guys on the Cruiser forums recommend them.

Originally Posted by Matt42

Can the remains of the factory installed and broken off fittings be removed and replaced with zerks?

There shouldn't be any fittings on factory parts. They're all sealed units.