Alright SO. I have a set of Fox sled shocks I bought from another member. One shock has a broken retainer and was being held on with a clamp as a temporary FIX. Member I bought them from sent me replacement retainers with the shocks, so I decided I would replace the broken retainer with the new. Since I needed to take the shock apart completely, I will call this a shock re-service/rebuild. This thread also is to help out anyone that is in a similar situation, and I hope it does actually HELP
Here are the shocks Pre-Rebuild
Broken Retainer:
As you can see from the first picture, the left shock has the broken retainer
Next, I removed the spring, released all of the nitrogen, removed the shaft assembly and drained all of the oil
Now here is where I ran into the PROBLEM. In order to replace the retainer, I needed to take the top section of the shock off. The top section was on TIGHT, and I needed to find a way to take it off without damaging the shock.
So I spent some time thinking and came up with the idea of drilling a hole slightly larger than the shock body into a 2x4 and splitting it in half to create a "clamp". This clamp will be held in with a vice
Here is the "clamp"
Both pieces of wood clamping the shock (this picture is just the wood sitting there)
Next, I put the "clamp" in the vice with the shock inside. (Crappy cell phone picture)
Here I made the vice REALLY tight with the shock body inside of the "clamp", and then used a large wrench fixed at the top of the shock and started pushing until it finally came loose. I removed the top completely, replaced the retainer, and then re-assembled.
I also went a step ahead since I already disassembled the shock completely, and cleaned the inside of the shock. Applied new oil, re-assembled, and they are now ready for nitrogen.
This process didn't cost me anything, and I hope it helps people with a similar issue!
Here are the shocks Pre-Rebuild
Broken Retainer:
As you can see from the first picture, the left shock has the broken retainer
Next, I removed the spring, released all of the nitrogen, removed the shaft assembly and drained all of the oil
Now here is where I ran into the PROBLEM. In order to replace the retainer, I needed to take the top section of the shock off. The top section was on TIGHT, and I needed to find a way to take it off without damaging the shock.
So I spent some time thinking and came up with the idea of drilling a hole slightly larger than the shock body into a 2x4 and splitting it in half to create a "clamp". This clamp will be held in with a vice
Here is the "clamp"
Both pieces of wood clamping the shock (this picture is just the wood sitting there)
Next, I put the "clamp" in the vice with the shock inside. (Crappy cell phone picture)
Here I made the vice REALLY tight with the shock body inside of the "clamp", and then used a large wrench fixed at the top of the shock and started pushing until it finally came loose. I removed the top completely, replaced the retainer, and then re-assembled.
I also went a step ahead since I already disassembled the shock completely, and cleaned the inside of the shock. Applied new oil, re-assembled, and they are now ready for nitrogen.
This process didn't cost me anything, and I hope it helps people with a similar issue!
