Shock dissassembly

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Shock dissassembly

Post by terminatr »

Is there a how-to post/video on taking the shock apart?

I'm interested in changing the oil and potentially added a spacer to lower the bike.
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Shock dissassembly

Post by vlxk98 »

I recently did a seal head and oils change on my 95 200.

I searched on this forum and found several interesting posts, but for the life of me cannot point you to the posts I found.

Youtube turned out to be decent, most of thevideos are of shocks "almost" like ours.

The service manual was very helpful but not quite as detailed in the pictures as I would have liked.

Once I got started it is not nearly as daunting as it seems. The worst part was grinding the end of the shock shaft to get the nut off. I was a little timid with that! I got confused about which way the valve went but was able to go back to the Youtube videos and figure it out. Be careful with the shims, at first there doesn't appear to be very many but when you get them off the shaft there are a lot more than I expected!

Pay attention to how things come apart, take pictures to help remember, keep things clean.
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Re: Shock dissassembly

Post by KDXnoob1 »

The year might help others be able to provide info about your particular shock. I just finished rebuilding mine. 1985 model, heres the link, helpful people on here.
http://kdxrider.net/forums/viewtopic.php?f=77&t=13487
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Shock dissassembly

Post by canyncarvr »

vlxk98 wrote: Be careful with the shims, at first there doesn't appear to be very many but when you get them off the shaft there are a lot more than I expected!

Put the shims on a wire loop to keep them in their respective positions. Be sure to keep the wire ends twisted in such a way so the shims cannot slip past the twist.

If you are modifying the stack, use more caution than you think is reasonable to keep 'em straight. More than once I was SURE had taken due care, only to find a couple of shims still stuck together.

Same goes for forks.

There is no reason to take the nut off the shaft if a fluid change is all you're doing.

If you are replacing the seal head, try to get one from a suspension shop..MX-Tech, RaceTech or the like. I have NOT used one of the inexpensive (usually red) seals you can get (for example) from the bay, but I have read of considerable disappointment in their suitability.

Most rebuildable shocks are similar as was already said.

Back out the adjustment screws..AFTER you determine where they WERE. Their setting may well change, but at least you have a setting from which to start.

Cannister:
Release the pressure
Depress (push in) the valve cap
Remove the clip(s)
Remove the cap

Shock (spring already off):
Remove the dust cap
Depress (push in) the seal
Remove the clip(s)
Remove the shaft

On re-assy:

Slightly inflate the bladder
Grease the bladder lips!

Make a MESS! Make sure you have enough oil in the shock that you squeeze a good bit of it OUT when you put it together. Too much is better'n not enough. If you end up with ANY air in the shock body you have wasted your time.

Don't forget to put the stop bumper back on!

A freshly recharged shock is a treat. Do it once and you will find yourself doing it annually..like the 'expertz' tell you to. Over a years' time of riding it's easy to NOT notice how much its action degrades.

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Shock dissassembly

Post by GKBO »

OK I have an 86 shock and need a bit of help,seems like a good thread to "jack".
Image
Got it all apart except for:
Image
Getting the top off the shock.The Clymer manual say to pry it off with these holes,there's one 180 degrees over.I've tried doing that but what I've done hasn't budged it,anybody have any tricks to get it off?
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Shock dissassembly

Post by canyncarvr »

I don't know of a 'trick'. That cap usually comes off fairly easily.

Try the general 'It's F'n Stuck!' stuff: Penetrating oil. Heat (with the shaft IN as far as you can get it..keep heat AWAY from the piston). Tap it out with a drift/punch/nail-set (shock body held in a soft-jawed vise).

There is a YouTube vid of an Aussie 'servicing' this shock. It's a fun vid to watch..to find out what NOT to do. The guy was trying to put oil back into the shock body through the top. He hadn't taken the shaft out of the body. It was PAINful to watch. Did NOT watch it to the end. Don't know what he ended up with, but he wasn't headed in a good direction.

Get that bladder someplace safe (and clean)..NOT lying on a bench laden with various goos and bits of gunk!

Good luck with it!

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Shock dissassembly

Post by KDXGarage »

OK, it is late Saturday night, so this makes it OK, right? :lol:

I answered this on how I do it in another thread, so look over there.

One time, I had a bent shock shaft. I could not get the body and shock shaft seperated. I ended up using a "come-along" to get them apart. HA HA. LOL! :supz: :partyman:
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Re: Shock dissassembly

Post by GKBO »

That's fine Jason,answered there to :wink:Took CC advice on the bladder to.
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Re: Shock dissassembly

Post by GKBO »

OK I was going to ask if the top seal has a clip,CC already answered that in his first post.Yes there is,now I just need to get it down.Another easier said than done :sad:
I modded a nail set and it worked like a charm,thanks CC :bravo:
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Shock dissassembly

Post by KDXGarage »

Lubricate around the seal head to try to free up the o-ring. After 27 years, you are in for one hell of a fight without a seal head lowering tool.

GOOD LUCK!! You are going to need it!! :prayer: :prayer: :prayer:

I have "been there and done that".
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Re: Shock dissassembly

Post by GKBO »

A bit of "persuasion" got it done with P oil to :grin: Now the circlip is fighting me :doh:
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Shock dissassembly

Post by KDXGarage »

Good job. It can be a bear!
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Shock dissassembly

Post by canyncarvr »

Maybe I don't read too good....

The question concerning the shock cap, a reference to a come-along to separate the shock body/shaft would confuse me.

Cap removal doesn't involve a clip, separation fo the body/shaft does. An attempt to remove the cap with force applied to the shaft will destroy the shock.

Not a correction, Jason...hell...you know what you're doing. The sequence of posts in this thread would make me wonder had I'd asked the question about the cap, though.

Depressing the seal: As Jason said, there are tools for that purpose. RMMC has 'em. They aren't cheap, but scratching the shock shaft messing with some other jerry-rig method will cost you a helluva lot more.

You could fashion your own tool. Modify an oxygen sensor socket to fit it around the shaft, use a clamp to push the seal in? That said for future readings of this..seeing as you evidently already got it down.

With the seal depressed you should be able to soak that clip with a good penetrating oil. I see a can of somesuch in your pic..and you mention having used it. P-Blaster has worked for me when other 'p-oils' have not.

Don't forget vibration as a helper. That used to be on some p-oil cans/bottles..not on others. Get that clip soaking, use a punch or similar tool (maybe that nail set) and tap-tap-tap all around that clip.

Don't forget that TIME is your friend, too. Soak it down..tap it a bit..let it set overnight. I've read some stories about folks pretty much giving up getting a fastener apart having beat/pried/soaked it for quite awhile..they walked off leaving a ratchet on the thing..came back to find the weight of the ratchet was enough, with the oil they had applied, to move the fastener!


PROTECT THAT SHAFT! All it takes is maybe one nick or scratch to make it leak.


Having gotten the dust cap off OK...and the SEAL down (that's a biggie)...you'll get that clip.

JASON! A question for 'ya. This is bugging me...don't some shocks have TWO clips? I know I've seen two clips in SOMEthing (stacked) but I'm not remembering what it was. Thanks!

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Re: Shock dissassembly

Post by canyncarvr »

GKBO wrote:I modded a nail set and it worked like a charm,thanks CC :bravo:
Pretty much the same idea as what Jason said on the air-head thread..which I hadn't looked at 'til just now.

He's been messing with these old critters a long time.

You're welcome anyway......
:wink:

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Post by KDXGarage »

I had a 1987 KDX200 shock with a bent shaft. The circlip was out, but the seal head was wedged into the body. I had to come up with something to get the shaft out. Well, now that I think about it, I never cranked on it enough to get it apart. A few years later, I just cut the body in half with a hacksaw. It was all junk, anyway.

I think a 1983 Honda CR250R shock I once worked on had two clips. All the 1986 and newer KDX shocks are one clip.
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Shock dissassembly

Post by GKBO »

Time and using the cap tool got the circlip off :boogie: Now the seal is fighting me.Why am I surprised :whistle:
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Re: Shock dissassembly

Post by canyncarvr »

A repeat because it's worth repeating:

Jason cautioned to make sure any nicks in the body were removed before you pull the shaft out.

Amen!

You'll get it. Maybe it just needs a good cussin'. And if you already did that, a second helping can't hurt.


Looked at your carb bank off your rat-bike (it said). Have you tried Pine-Sol on that kind'a stuff? Works pretty good. Gott'a be PineSol brand as other 'piney' cleaners don't have nearly the same % of pine oil in 'em. Got that tip from an ADV post. Helluva lot less caustic than Berryman's (that you said you can't get anyway)!

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Shock dissassembly

Post by GKBO »

LOL I forgot about that sticker on the 78 GS1000 I'm working on,finally dawned on me this morning what you where asking about :doh: The VM26 's on that where varnished to immobility,had to spray them with penetrating oil to even get them apart.Didn't look as bad as that but I figured I needed something stronger than the Pine Sol I had soaked the 85 GS750 carbs in,which answers what you where asking :wink: So I started a thread asking about it http://www.thegsresources.com/_forum/sh ... p?t=178816 and found the Kleen-Flo recommended,REALLY vile smeeling stuff but it works,used it on the KDX carb.
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Post by canyncarvr »

Wow. That stuff did a good job!

Looks like it would take the lipstick off an insurance rep!! (that's s'posed to be a joke. Might not translate to Canadian 'eh?)

Thanks for that link. Fun to read about so many strange things..Lordco..Sally Anne....JB...places I've never heard of...and they're only a few hundred miles up the road! :wink:

That strainer you picked up: You prolly noticed the hole in the center rod? They come with a clip in that hole you could use for fishing the basket out. The clips suck. Just a piece of crummy wire..and they usually come out/get lost. Put in a key ring or maybe a piston pin clip (automotive-sized) and you will be able to easily pull the thing with a pair of hemostats (pliers aren't usually stainless). I used clips in my Duster that are about 700º around, made of spring steel that would work great. Can't remember the cottonpickin' name of 'em.. :? Yeah. Big-Help-R-Us.
They turned out really nice!
Ha!


Those are some strange carbys. The Keihins off my 700SC Honda don't have HALF that many parts! '86 is a long way from yours, though.

Those slides aren't coated? Dumb question. You wouldn't soak 'em if they had been. IF they had been, I'm sure they aren't now.

Meet Flo:

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Shock dissassembly

Post by GKBO »

Image
I finally got the shock apart :boogie: Had to sand out the burrs and other assorted junk in the body.
Image
One more question,do you undo this nut or the top one to get the head seal off?
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