Originally Posted by DS Motorsport
but i also got a question. I recently bought a new set of shocks because of breaking both front shocks. With the old ones i just fill them till the top, screw the lid on and the excessive oil will bleed out. But when i do that with the new ones, they are still too full, i can't compress them.
So then i just filled them halfway but than they are full of air, so how to fill the shocks correctly? The only change with the old shocks is that i now got the red bladders in them.
By right, they should not bleed when compressed normally and with all the caps tightened. Perhaps the small o rings in your old shocks has already worned out.
This is what I do to get consistant shocks left and right during rebuild... I fill up the shock body with shock oil. You may fill it up to the top but this may be unnessary as you'll soon find out. But before that, I make sure the cap at the bottom of the shock body where the small o ring sits is locked with a click. Make sure all air bubbles are gone by slowly pushing the piston up and down.
Then put just the rubber membrane on top of the shock body. Make the membrane sits flat on top of the shock body and let the excess shock oil flow out. Then mount the top shock cap and slowly screw it on on the shock body. Make sure the rubber membrane still sits flat on top of the shock body.
Do for both left and right shocks. There will be slight shock rebound. Check and see if they rebound at the same rate. If they aren't the same, choose the faster rebound shock and unscrew and open the cap at the bottom of the shock body that also holds the small tiny o ring. It will just be a single click counterclockwise. Then move the shock shaft upwards to compress and you'll see slight oil bleeding out from the o ring. Close this cap at the bottom of the shock body. Try and compare the shock rebound again for both left and right shocks.
I try to use the softer red membrane with the foam insert. It gives more consistant performance.