quick shock filling tip.. saves time..

[beason]

this weekend i was trying to repair a shock on my hyper.. well i had to take it apart a few times.. each time having to let it set to get all the air out of the oil. i found a shortcut that may even help the racer guys if you have to do a rebuild between heats. i took the shock body and lightly clamed it in some vice grips (just to hold it) then set my trusty hair dryer beside it blowing on the shock body. this heats up the oil which in turn makes it thinner which lets the air bubbles surface WAY faster.. you still need to move the piston to release the air under it, but mine went from white bubbly oil to chrystal clear oil in about 5 min as opposed to a few hours or more. i didnt run the dryer that long, just enough to get it hot, then shut it off. these were metal body shocks so it may not work as well with plastic ones.

just a little tip I've found. if its been posted sorry, i havent seen it.

 

[Plaidfish]

I always have the bubble cloud in my shocks when I rebuild them.....I never really noticed a difference from when I let them sit overnight.....I just pump them gently till all the little bubbles are close to the top then I do a few half pumps to get more of them out......top off and cap the shock......do those tiny little bubbles really cause issue?

 

[RatzoRC]

They can if there are a lot of them.
After they pop, it can leave a small air gap.

 

[Lessen]

I've always found that if you move the piston extremely slowly you'll never get that clouded bubble effect to begin with. If you move the piston slow enough the bubble doesn't get the chance to break coming out of the piston hole. move it slow enough and you'll get one or two big bubbles to come up through the holes... then maybe a few more smaller ones, but it only takes a couple minutes for those to surface.

 

[beason]

well the thing is i was "borrowing" oil from some shocks i have as backup for my savy. so the oil was cloudy to begin with.

 

[Lessen]

ahhh. I hear ya. pain in the ass waiting for all those little bubbles to come up.

 

[mr_bob]

I just have a question doesn't heat break down oil????

so it might be faster but you might also shorten the life of the oil.

 

[Plaidfish]

Does anyone use shock stands???? I've never used em....are they helpful when rebuilding??? I mean do they actually have value or is it just a throw away item like most of those plastic tools.....

 

[Lessen]

Personally, I think they're just a gimick. when I rebuild shocks I do them one at a time as I stated above. If I did it right I won't hear any gurgling when compress the shock.

 

[robmob]

a block of styrofoam works well for a shock stand. Just stab the shock end into it then twist it 90 degrees. This will hold it tight enough so you can move the shock body up and down without removing it from the stand. I have done 8 shocks at one time using this method. Works like a charm.

 

[OverDrive]

I just pump them gently till all the little bubbles are close to the top then I do a few half pumps to get more of them out......top off and cap

Pardon?!?

lol

 

[beason]

mr bob the oil used in these shocks is just like automotive oil.. sure heat will break it down but it takes exessive heat and long periods of time to do so.. ~150-200 deg for 10 min isnt gonna fase them..

 

[dougc]

Also heating the bottle in the microwave could do that same thing.

 

[mr_bob]

ok i was just bringing that to your attention

but it does sound like its way faster

 

[Plaidfish]

Pardon?!?

lol

Jealous?????

 

[rc10 20%]

do you think grease from a grease gun would work in a shock??? i have some very krappy shocks, and i really dont want to waste money on them. i also dont want new ones yet until my car is stress free for at least a couple of days

 

[beason]

oh no man.. grease is WAY to thick. the oil used in the shocks is thinner (normaly) then motor oil