Originally posted by Trips
Try this for perfect TC3 shocks... First, soak the little foam compensators in shock oil before you install them. Don't just immerse them, hold them in the oil and squeeze em a few times each. Before you assemble the parts, go over each and every one of those plastic parts with an Xacto knife and make SURE there is NO mold flashing left over. It's better to remove a bit of the part than to leave ANY flash.
Once the shocks are assembled, fill the bodies with oil to the top. Work the pistons up and down a few times slowly to untrap any air underneath them. Add a bit more oil to each shock to get them to the top again. I like the oil to make a little "dome" sticking up past the top of the body.
Now put the shocks in a rack and go away for a while to let any remaining tiny air bubbles to slowly work their way up. After they've sat for a while, grab a shock, fill a cap with oil, and quickly screw the cap on to the body. Be careful to not cross thread the cap. Tighten the cap all the way hand tight and see if you can push the shaft all the way in. If you can, you didn't get enough oil in there. Remove the cap, add more oil to the body, refill the cap, and try again. If it won't go all the way, You're in good shape.
Loosen the cap one turn, push the shaft all the way in, count to three, then tighten the cap and let go of the shaft. Now check to see if you can push the shaft all the way in. You should be able to, and it should come back out most or all of the way on its own. Repeat for the other three shocks.
Trips
great advice!