You can buy just the sensatrac shocks without the coil spring. The ones with a coil spring are called load assist shocks. Regular sensatrac do not have the spring.

 

I just put the sensatrac's in my truck and I love them. they give me a nice ride

 

They appear to be about the same price as KYB's

 

Which kyb? Remember just because a shock is expensive doesn't mean it will give you a smooth soft ride. If the shock is more geared towards of roading then you'll get a more firm ride.

I just put on a set of kyb gas a just shocks and while I like them I don't think it is the ride your looking for.

 

They are listed under "increased handling/performance" Gas-A-Just

KYB #KG5470
KYB #KG5472

 

Those are what I just put on, they will provide a stiffer ride than stock.

As a note too, if you do go ahead with those shocks, the nut they provide is wrong. They provide a 3/8" UNF nut, when really the shafts are threaded M10-1.25 Fine Thread. You will need to pick up new nuts to complete the installation, and make sure to get a jamb nut to keep them locked in place.

 

No I'm not that ignorant haha if you say they are stiff I am going to stay away. I looked into the sensa-trac it wants to keep spitting load-adjusting Monroe's at me what was the number of the soft Monroe's you speak of?

 

I'm guna pitch one last thing...has anyone shortened both ends of their over-load spring and flipped it upside down on their axle over spring setup? I'm not sure what the capacity is rated at for a RWD pre-97 short bed Dakota but I never haul around more then a few hundred pounds max. I read all afternoon online that people remove them completely but it does risk axle-wrap so I figured cut and flipped it would be there god for bid I did need some of it.

Every time I ride with even a little weight in the back it gets me back on this subject. Today I brought two 45lb packages to the post office, one on each side up against my rear window in the bed, it rode beautifully and obviously with 90lbs no squat...actually I can probably get a good 300lbs in there before it starts to squat and that is the maximum I ever want to be able to move. Even a little weight in the rear seems to help counterbalance the front and take a little weight off it like a seesaw, smoother bumps and even without a front anti-sway bar the 90lbs in the rear helped with reducing body roll during turns. Now I'm curious...does a softer leaf stack ride the same as a slightly loaded one? Seems like I would not get my seesaw affect on the front end with just soft leafs in the rear and no payload.

 

I'm not sure where you are looking, but I just went to Monroes website, punched in 1991 Dodge Dakota 5.9L, and it gave me this:

4WD Front Sensa-Trac Light Truck Shock 37068 2
RWD Front Sensa-Trac Light Truck Shock 37066 2

4WD Rear Sensa-Trac Light Truck Shock 37069 2
RWD Rear Sensa-Trac Light Truck Shock 37067 2

Double check the numbers that they'll work for your specific truck, but that should be it. Rockauto also lists them.

I've only ran sensatracs on a car, and never on my truck, so I can't say myself how they compare to my KYB Gas-A-Justs, but judging from what I've read online, the KYB's seem to be stiffer than Monroes, and definately stiffer than stock. I find they ride nice, but you seem to want it to ride like a car, not a truck, so I can't say how happy you'll be.

 

a softer leaf stack will ride smoother, but unless you are already riding on the overload spring, removing it or flipping it won't make a difference other than lowering the rear about half an inch due to the thickness of the spring. Maybe you could remove one of the main leafs and see how it rides. If it is too soft, you can always just put the leaf back in the pack.

or, you could buy a few bags of sand and keep them in the bed to make it ride smoother.