Am I 'Stuck Down'?

bradders1979

Hi All,
I have an '05 Float RP3, with 1 years hard XC use on it. I was out riding yesterday, when I noticed that the riding position felt strange on my bike ('05 RM Element). I looked at the Shock and noticed that it was riding low in the travel.

From seeing the other posts on here, it seems that I am 'stuck down'? I popped the air sleeve off earlier (as if to do an air sleeve service), inspected all O Rings/Backups etc - everything seemed ok - so I just re-lubed with float fluid and reassembled.

Put the shock back on the bike. The bike just blows through the travel real easy, and does not extend back to full shaft length. What to do? Do I need a full seal change? Have a baby on the way next week (fingers crossed!) so if it is DIY'able that would be best!

Brad

supersonic

Is it losing air? What sag are you getting? Is this changing afte a ride?

bradders1979

Hi Supersonic,
No, does not appear to be losing air.
Pressure is set at 170 PSI as normal. When I sit in position on the bike it sags to approx 70% (usually 25%!). There appears to be very little 'spring' in the shock.
Cheers for any suggestions,
Brad

supersonic

Try more pressure and see what happens.

bradders1979

Same symptoms....More Pressure (250 PSI) does not alter the initial feel much, and still blows through the travel easily.

Brad

diy

Might be the piston ring seal allowing air to move round the piston, but I'd expect the shaft seal to leak air if that was the case..

Might be worth stripping it all down, just in case there is some dirt in the seal

bradders1979

The O rings did seem to be in good shape (no tears or nicks). I cleaned everything up nicely before refitting.
Maybe I'll phone Mojo in the morning? Got a feeling they'll just ask me to send it in tho - costly rebuild time coming up!!

Brad

supersonic

Could the pump guage be wrong?

nicklouse

stuck down is a different problem.

bradders1979

Pump gauge could be wrong, yes. Don't have another to compare it with though.
I'll call Mojo & TF Tuned in the morning & will report back.

Brad

bradders1979

UPDATE:
Purchased the Air Sleeve Rebuild Kit. Replaced all O Rings / Backups - BINGO!!
The new wiper seals are a slightly different cross-sectional shape to the old ones. I'm hoping that Fox uprated/improved them to stop this issue occuring again.
Thanks for your advice,
Brad

Anonymous

bradders1979 wrote:

Have a baby on the way next week (fingers crossed!) so if it is DIY'able that would be best!
Brad

Congratulations. But, if you're going to have a newborn baby, then that's probably as perfect a time to send your shock off to get serviced as you could ever hope to get.