Charging fox shocks?

shootr · Sep 10, 2003

it may not have actually lost it's pressurized charge.
it may have actually broken the high speed blowoff valve, if this is the case it will have virtually no rebound or compression damping, feeling very springy, as the fluid will move freely in and out of the resevoir.
If the pressure charge is lost the shock may be noisy (similar to the sound of twin tube shocks), did your shock casing fail, did you blow a seal, is it leaking fluid?
these would be indications fo a cause of loss of pressure, as pressure has to have somewhere to exit. in any case if you HAVE lost pressure, you will need to have the shock repaired.

I believe that you can purchase the RC new from jenson for less than 200 bucks.

SK6 · Sep 10, 2003

the PSI required is 120 psi.
I got that from Fox.

Call a motorcycle place and ask them if they are able to do it. Larger motorcylcle shops should be able to do it, or direct you to the place that works on MC shocks.

gorgechris · Sep 10, 2003

I found Fox's maintenance work to be professional, fairly priced, and quick. Call and get a P.O., schedule the work, and send it off. It beats monkeying (nudge-nudge) around with it for weeks on end, only to have it worse off than you started.

SK6 · Sep 10, 2003

I would normally agree, but after having my Fox Vanilla R sent out for a recharge and rebuild, three runs on it and the inner seals blew.

They finally had to send me a new one with the big hit valving.

shootr · Sep 10, 2003

Here is the one surefire way to solve your problems.

Pick up the phone, call Craig Seekins
this is the number :
860-537-4306
This will solve ALL your shock problems.

BTW. This is Avalanche downhill racing...and don't ask him to repair your fox.

Remember, you get what you pay for.

ohio · Sep 11, 2003

Originally posted by shootr
BTW. This is Avalanche downhill racing...and don't ask him to repair your fox.

Remember, you get what you pay for.

FWIW, while avalanche are the highest quality shocks on the market, craig has been having a hard time keeping up with orders, and his service is suffering pretty severely... a lot of folks have been disappointed lately with the service they expected to recieve after shelling out $550 for a shock.

This wasn't the case early on, and it should be noted that the shocks do not NEED service for failure, because they simply don't fail... but it's still an issue, and I wouldn't say anymore that people are "getting what they pay for."

SK6 · Sep 11, 2003

Originally posted by Joe33
Yeah back in the day Ive had moto shocks charged but I thought I heard in a older thread that fox uses a different nozel? "I hav'nt looked myself because they got some kind of glue in it." Have you ever charged one or heard of anyone charging one without going through Fox?

Anyways thanks for the 120psi info, that will come in handy.

Some moto shops have a nozzle that will fit. The vast majority of them don't. But since they have Fox's for moto, you could have them order one for you, as long as you can convince them that it would benifit the shop.

I have NO idea what the cost is.

shootr · Sep 12, 2003

very true Ohio,
I have begun to hear grumblings out here in Whistler too,
None regarding the shock, but all regarding the wait for changes to valving or other types of services.
That said, when they are on and correctly valved...I have yet to see a better unit...
(but I have a feeling that something may be in the works...........)

mplutodh1 · Sep 12, 2003

Originally posted by sirknight6
Some moto shops have a nozzle that will fit. The vast majority of them don't. But since they have Fox's for moto, you could have them order one for you, as long as you can convince them that it would benifit the shop.

I have NO idea what the cost is.

It isnt a special fitting, Fox will make you think it is but all they are is a rubber self sealing gasket(like thingy... no way to really describe it) Most experienced dirt bike suspension shops should have this fitting for their nitrogen setups. It is simply a needle fitting that is inserted into the rubber. Only thing is they might need to use a smaller needle than they generally use in the Moto stuff as they are rather wide... they might have one though, I know we do.

I have experience with charging shocks with similiar fittings (WP dirt bike shocks with stock caps, old Ohlins Yamaha shocks & ohlins) not to mention rebuilding my own fox shock twice.

Call up your local Dirt bike shop and ask if they have the nitrogen charging needle used on Ohlins and WP shocks, if so they can do it for you most likely.

mplutodh1 · Sep 12, 2003

Originally posted by Joe33
When you rebuilt your fox shocks did you have any problems with them coming apart again? When I rebuilt mine It took 3 tries to finally get the thing to stay together. In the end I had to clean one of the threaded areas and put lock tite on it, then let it sit overnight, for the other I had to use teflon tape because the oil would saturate the threads when I screwed the cap back on.

Also how did you fill them with oil? I ended up just backing the compression nob out and filling it as much as possible from the bottom then screwing the end cap on. "I was'nt to sure if that left any air in or not". Do you know of any better ways to do either of that?

Well I have been working in the dirt bike suspension industry for about 7 years now so I have learned some tricks, although working with a mini fox shock isnt the exact same, sometimes the tricks work.

I actually rebuilt a Vanilla R so it doesnt have the remote resi. which would possibly be easier to work on. First off, I hope you measured where the internal piston was because you will need to set it back in a similiar location otherwise you run the risk of having too much oil or too much nitrogen pressure. Second, as for filling, here is what I suggest doing, take the rod assembly out of the shock along with the piston from the resi, fill the resi up to the brim, then press the piston down into the resi to where you found it when you took it apart, (make sure its not at the far ends, top or bottom cuz it wont pressurize safely) pushing the piston into the resi should displace fluid into the shock body tube.. go slowly. With the piston in the resi. set the shock body in a vice with the opening facing upwards.... fill the body with oil about 2/3rds of the way up the tube.. possibly a little more, insert the rod assembly into the shock body, go slowly when you push down as this will move the piston in the resi slightly if done correctly. Get the rod in to wear you can screw down the sealhead. Once the shock is togehter, put the shock on its side with the resi facing upwards.. kind of at a 45 degree angle in the vice, this may be difficult as the soft aluminum is hard to work with in a vice, just be careful. Unscrew the compression adjuster, be warned a little air maybe trapped in the shock so it might squirt a little oil at you. Once you have the comp adjuster opened up, slowly stroke the rod in and out of the shock, this will purge the bubbles from the shock, trapped in the rod and body tube assemblies. (depending on how full you filled the shock you may need to purge a little oil out of the body to do this properly) if you hear a slurping noise as you are stroking the shock continue to do this, push it in let it sit for a few seconds, pull it back out, do the stroking slowly as fast pushes and pulls can cause the fluid to bubble, creating more air you have to purge. Once the noises have gone away to the best of your ability, extend the shock rod to full top out. Now fill the shock with oil from the comp adjuster. Every once in a while, grab a wrag, place it over the hole and remove the shock from the vice, tip it upside down as to allow oil to flow into both the body tube and the resi, continue this 2 or 3 times, once you feel you have the shock filled, reinstall the comp adjuster and make sure everything is snug, you should then be ready to pressurize.

Just a warning, I have never actually had a Fox RC apart, this is all from experience with with the Vanilla R I rebuilt and dirt bike shocks, I know the workings of the RC so this all should work, if you run into a problem call up Fox.

As for keeping the shock tight, I only had a problem with the lower eyelet assembly unscrewing from the threaded body tube, unfortunately there isnt much you can do about this but loctite it...they are small shocks, and assembled very carefully at the factory, most home mechanics dont have tools to work on them properly and safely.

mplutodh1 · Sep 14, 2003

Originally posted by Joe33
Thanks again for the directions I dont think I would of had much success without them.

Not a problem, always willing to help. You might try this, go buy a few small hypodermic (sp?) needles (not sure where, we had them laying around from when the shop owner had to give meds to his bird) The fitting we have in the shop has changeable needles so when you break one you can fix it, if they have this same type of fitting, get the longest hypo needle you can and see if it will fit into the nitro fitting, its worth a try, installing a schrader can be a bear on these shocks, and with the soft aluminum you may run the risk of it snapping out if it hits anything... but if it is your only way... Good luck.

Universe · Sep 14, 2003

Originally posted by ohio
FWIW, while avalanche are the highest quality shocks on the market, craig has been having a hard time keeping up with orders, and his service is suffering pretty severely... a lot of folks have been disappointed lately with the service they expected to recieve after shelling out $550 for a shock.

This wasn't the case early on, and it should be noted that the shocks do not NEED service for failure, because they simply don't fail... but it's still an issue, and I wouldn't say anymore that people are "getting what they pay for."

Odd. I sent in my shock for servicing and it was finished a couple days after arriving.

Avy Rider · Mar 15, 2009

I've also had nothing but the best service from Craig. In my personal experience I most certainly got what I paid for and then some. As long as you're honest about your riding abilities (speed,lightness on the bike etc) he can valve your Avy to perfection and it will have just the right range of tuning with the adjusters that you need. No sense in having the adjusters capable of insane ranges of tuning when you just paid a pro suspension tuner to set it up in the first place!

The speed that you ride at is crucial as it will determine how stiff your valving needs to be. The faster you hit objects at speed the more your shock will need to be able to respond to the sudden flow of oil and not blow up.

IH8Rice · Mar 20, 2009

guy....a 6 year old thread.....really?

Pau11y · Jun 22, 2011

IH8Rice said:
guy....a 6 year old thread.....really?

A "just because you said it" bump :rofl:

Charging fox shocks?

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