Brand new leaky oil shocks

[justinmccall]

Can anybody help me with getting oil into my Thunder Innovation 1/10th shocks? The shocks leak profusely from the lower end cap just around the shaft. I've bought 4 shocks and every single one leaks. I even took it back to the shop and they kindly oiled them for me, but they still leak terribly.

Are they just bum shocks or am I missing something here?

 

[RonP90]

Is the lower end cap threaded? If not, I recommend finding some that are.

If they are threaded, you may be able to stuff another o-ring in there, and that has worked for me to almost completely stop leaks. Reality is that they will always leak, all oil shocks will leak, but you can lessen it greatly.

 

[justinmccall]

Is the lower end cap threaded? If not, I recommend finding some that are.

If they are threaded, you may be able to stuff another o-ring in there, and that has worked for me to almost completely stop leaks. Reality is that they will always leak, all oil shocks will leak, but you can lessen it greatly.

Thanks, will try that. They are threaded and I do have an oring kit, so will see what i can muster

 

[nino]

Some manufacturers use O-ring, spacer, O-ring configuration... Sometimes it just takes a thicker spacer/washer (or add one if there isn't one).

Never heard of them so they could be crappy. Which truck is that?

 

[turbo27]

I have Multiple RCs 1 Arrma, and 6 Traxxas.I never had a shock leak, - not counting crashes, . Ps, If they are leaking so bad, they can recycle the oil, Almost sounds like the threads are off somehow. But all 4? not likely, unless they are all junk. Wondering who put the shocks together in the 1st place? Sounds like a missing gasket at the bottom of the shock. And is the leak originally coming from the bottom? or leaking to the bottom from the top?. Wish I could Good luck.

 

[RonP90]

I have Multiple RCs 1 Arrma, and 6 Traxxas.I never had a shock leak, - not counting crashes, . Ps, If they are leaking so bad, they can recycle the oil, Almost sounds like the threads are off somehow. But all 4? not likely, unless they are all junk. Wondering who put the shocks together in the 1st place? Sounds like a missing gasket at the bottom of the shock. And is the leak originally coming from the bottom? or leaking to the bottom from the top?. Wish I could Good luck.

6 Traxxas without a shock leak!?!?

Where are you getting your magic Traxxas shocks? And are you sure that they weren't just completely empty, like usual?
Surely you don't mean ZERO seepage.

I had issues with my Merv shocks, like everyone else. Switched to HR alum shock bodies, and problem solved. But after a few hard romps on dusty trails, you can clearly see where they seep, and I think that's just physics. It's not much loss, barely any at all, but it's there.

 

[Nitro-Injected]

I have Multiple RCs 1 Arrma, and 6 Traxxas.I never had a shock leak, - not counting crashes, . Ps, If they are leaking so bad, they can recycle the oil, Almost sounds like the threads are off somehow. But all 4? not likely, unless they are all junk. Wondering who put the shocks together in the 1st place? Sounds like a missing gasket at the bottom of the shock. And is the leak originally coming from the bottom? or leaking to the bottom from the top?. Wish I could Good luck.

It's hard to leak shock oil when you never run your shelf Queens.

 

[turbo27]

Seepage is 1 thing leaking profusely is another. I get the GTR shocks. The seem to hold up well.

 

[RustyUs]

Some manufacturers use O-ring, spacer, O-ring configuration... Sometimes it just takes a thicker spacer/washer (or add one if there isn't one).

Never heard of them so they could be crappy. Which truck is that?

Over the years, that has been an issue with many brands of shocks. Whether it be spacers being too thin, too thick, or QA being off... it happens.

 

[Lumikko]

Try shimming them.

O-rings sometimes swell or shrink and it could be that the wrong size was installed in the first place.

These X-rings were too loose on my Pro4/MT10 shocks so I added a shim to squeeze them along the axis, pushing the seal tighter against the shaft. I got away with a regular washer this time but 0.2 mm shims are great for these situations.

 

[RustyUs]

Try shimming them.

O-rings sometimes swell or shrink and it could be that the wrong size was installed in the first place.

These X-rings were too loose on my Pro4/MT10 shocks so I added a shim to squeeze them along the axis, pushing the seal tighter against the shaft. I got away with a regular washer this time but 0.2 mm shims are great for these situations.

View attachment 170839

I am/was not/still not a fan of x-rings. There were a ton of users having leaky shocks on top of the line race bred buggy/mini truggy. The problem was so bad, the company made a revision to the shock build process (adding spacer). Even with running change and new platform being released, shocks were still leaking. the big mod that many users did... switched to regular o-rings. That regular o-ring mod/replacement provide additional thickness/squish needed to grab/seal the shock shafts.

That was five years ago. I'm just now crossing my fingers that the issue has been resolved once and for all on new kit that uses same shocks/x-rings. So far, so good. I have a hunch that an additional running change was done to the thickness of the spacer (between x-rings).

Can anybody help me with getting oil into my Thunder Innovation 1/10th shocks? The shocks leak profusely from the lower end cap just around the shaft. I've bought 4 shocks and every single one leaks. I even took it back to the shop and they kindly oiled them for me, but they still leak terribly.

Are they just bum shocks or am I missing something here?

What is the diameter of the shafts?

 

[Lumikko]

My post may have looked like an endorsement of X-rings on a second read but that was not my intention. O-rings work well (good O-rings beat bad X-rings for sure) and they can be shimmed all the same.

Shock seals are very, very simple things. The trick is to get a precise fit between the shaft and seals and the seals and shock body. In my mind, there are no ”shocks prone to leaking”, just shocks that aren’t built right. If the mfg didn’t do that, then you finish the work and the shocks will not be leaky. Unless there’s something like a hole on the side of the body, or shafts with such a rough surface that they destroy the seals.