HELP...Shock problem
 

I was changing the oil in my shocks. No matter how many times I run the piston up and down the bubbles just keep on coming. Could that be a bad seal at the bottom of the shock? It's a new truck, so I would hope it wouldn't be a bent or scratched shaft. Any suggestions?

As long as it is not leaking oil I wouldn't worry about it.

You do have to wait for the air bubbles to come to the surface. Running the shock up and down just makes the air bubbles smaller (you're airating the shock oil) and it takes longer for them to come out. At this point you're better off dumping the oil and starting over unless you let them sit for hours.

My process goes like this. With the shock fully extended, fill 3/4 of the way. Then SLOWLY compress the shock at least halfway. At this point you can fill the shock to near the top and then set it aside to sit for 5-10min. After 5-10min the air bubbles should at least be at the bottom of the piston if not already through the holes in the piston. Either way SLOWLY extend the shock and whatever air bubbles that were under the piston will come out. IF YOU SEE ANY AIR BUBBLES DO NOT COMPRESS THE SHOCK AGAIN UNTIL THEY RISE TO THE SURFACE OF THE OIL! Once they reach the surface just fill as needed and put the caps on. If you think there are more air bubbles just slowly compress the shock at least halfway and let it sit again for 5-10min then slowly extend the shock. Repeat as desired or needed.

I extend all the way, fill to near the top, slowly bring up the piston and very slowly extend again so that the air comes out in the fewest bubbles possible. Then wait for like 30sec or longer and do the same.

If you have small bubbles you moved the piston too rapidly.

Also note that when you're pouring fresh oil from the bottle, wait for the bubble at the tip of the bottle to escape inside the bottle. Otherwise you pour that air bubble into your damper which will take more time to pop.

I do what they said and then after I fail I pay my neighbor to do it for me :)

Lol. That's the easy way out. It can be a pain. The key is once you compress the shock (raising the piston to near the top of the shock) you gotta let it sit. This lets the air bubbles that are under the piston rise to the bottom of the piston if not through the holes in the piston. Then when you extend the shock slowly (lowering the piston) any air bubbles will come out the holes in the piston and then eventually rise to the surface of the oil.

How long you have to wait is dependent on the thickness of the oil. I can do big LST shocks pretty quick as they're 40wt or less and the bubbles rise fast enough to see them move. Thicker fluid like 80wt takes awhile.