REAR SUSPENSION/TRACK/TRACTION
7.31
Fox
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Shock Maintenance
RESERVOIR SHOCK REBUILD NOTES
Mount the reservoir in a vice with soft jaws by clamping on the fitting where it exits the reservoir end cap. Take
care not to crush the hose or damage the fitting. Let the shock hang freely.
Disassembly
De-pressurize the shock/reservoir. The shock must be completely de-pressurized before disassembly. Re-
move the button head screw from the air valve. Using the safety needle, bleed off the nitrogen charge from the
shock. Push in on the shaft. The shaft should not re-extend. If it does, the shock still has pressure and should
be discharged again. It will make removing the wire ring (next section) easier if the shock is discharged with the
shaft in.
Remove the reservoir end cap with air valve. Push the reservoir end cap into the reservoir far enough to ex-
pose the wire retaining ring-about 1/8 inch. Using a pick or your finger nail, push on end of the wire ring out of
the groove and farther into the reservoir. Work more of the wire ring out of the groove and remove it from the
reservoir. Pull the reservoir end cap out by grasping the air valve with pliers and pulling straight out.
Remove Internal Floating Piston (IFP). Pull the IFP out of the body using the IFP depth setting tool. Remove
the IFP bleed screw from the IFP. Have a towel ready to keep the oil around the IFP from dripping. Also, be
prepared to catch the piston ring as it may slip off the IFP as it clears the body.
Discard oil. Remove the reservoir from the vise and pour the oil into a waste container. Purge the oil from the
shock body by hanging the reservoir over the waste container and stroking the shaft in and out until the shock
body is drained. Do not re-use shock oil. Place a clean towel in the reservoir to prevent drips while removing
the shaft assembly.
Remove bearing with shaft assembly. With the body held in a vise, and the reservoir (if aplicable) hanging
freely, use a 1
〉
open end wrench and loosen the bearing cap. If body cap comes loose first, try re-tightening the
assembly firmly and loosen again. If the body eye or cap (if aplicable) continues to loosen first, use the body
clamps. Clamp at least 1.5
〉
away from the bearing. Make sure that the body and clamps are clean to get a good
grip. Also, to avoid marring the body, wrap one layer of paper towel in between the body and the clamps. Remove
the shaft assembly from the body. Have a towel ready to keep the oil around the damping piston from dripping.
Also, be prepared to catch the piston ring as it may slip off the piston as it clears the body. Place the assembly
on a clean towel. Place a clean towel in the shock body. Remove the shock from the vise and set aside.
Removal of body cap. Usually, the body cap is not removed when servicing a reservoir style shock. Also, the
reservoir end cap with the hose, and the hose itself generally need not be removed.
Remove damping piston and valving. Mount the shaft assembly in a vice holding on to the eyelet. Remove
the nut. Remove the top-out washer, valving, and piston using care not to mix up the valving. Place the stack
on a clean towel and separate the rebound stack (top), damping piston, and compression stack (bottom). Spread
the stacks out in a line in the order they were stacked. If the valving configuration is known, or the new valve stack
has been predetermined, skip the next section. With all of the valves laid out, measure the OD and thickness
of each valve. Record the measurements. These measurements are the basis of which shock tuning can be
made.
Assembly
Reassembling the valve stack. Having layered a revised rebound and/or compression valve stack with an asso-
ciated piston orifice hole, reassembly the stack on the shaft. Place a top-out plate (1.25
〉
OD) on the shaft first
with the flattest side up. Next, load the compression stack. The top most valve must have a 1.300
〉
OD. PUt
the damping piston on next. The compression side is down (the six larger holes are not cut out on the compression
side). Next load the rebound stack. The first valve must be 1.250
〉
OD. Place a back-up washer (.620 OD) on
top. Hand tighten the lock nut. Using compressed air, blow on the stack to ensure no debris is in between the
valves. Torque the nut to 15 ft. lbs (21 Nm). Do not over tighten.
REAR SUSPENSION/TRACK/TRACTION