Rockshox Monarch RT3 air can loose now wont hold pressure?

sanchez89

HI everyone,

during my jumps and drops course yesterday the air can sleeve on my 2011 Monarch RT3 shock started to loosen itself and let the air out.

The shock has 3 pedal platform (floodgate) settings, bit like pro-pedal, and when i noticed the leak, the lever was set to the max position.

the can had only come undone maybe a quater of a turn, a tiny bit of a rubber o-ring was sticking out and a small amount of green coloured fluid was present around the joint.

i retightened the can, pumped the shock back up to normal pressure, around 160psi. then carried on as normal, after a few runs down the trail the shock had lost all it pressure again and was sitting at the bottom of its stroke.

i had a quick ask in the LBS and they said id probably blown the seals due to the shock bottoming out alot, as its only meant for XC not downhill. but i dont understand why the air sleeve came loose??

and with the floodgate setting, surely there should be a blowoff mechanism similar to the fork lockout where it bypasses the system if a big enough hit has been received? if this didnt happen would that have contributed to its demise? the max setting effectively adds about 75psi to firm up the shock for climbing.

any ideas would be nice, otherwise its send it off to SRAM and repair for between a quoted 65-85 notes.

cloudynights

take shock of your bike, let the air out of the air can then unscrew the air can apart make sure all the air can seals are ok there are quite a few on the rt3 put a drop of fork oil into the air can then put it all back together making sure all seals are seated correctly, this shock does not lock your rear end out it just stiffens it up with the flood gate settings, if it loses air i would change all the seals including the damper ones, either do it yourself or send it away

sanchez89

cloudynights wrote:

take shock of your bike, let the air out of the air can then unscrew the air can apart make sure all the air can seals are ok there are quite a few on the rt3 put a drop of fork oil into the air can then put it all back together making sure all seals are seated correctly, this shock does not lock your rear end out it just stiffens it up with the flood gate settings, if it loses air i would change all the seals including the damper ones, either do it yourself or send it away

ok thanks matey, would i just need a full service kit to do it myself??

if there's any sort of information available with oil types/quantities etc. that would be great.

there's loads of stuff for servicing fox shocks so surely the procedure must be the same yeah?

i spoke to Swinnertons bike shop in Cannock and they think if the air can has come undone by itself it might be a warranty issue as its only 6 months old.

cloudynights

if air can is working lose then the thread must be faulty so yes a warranty job, best way to check is take shock off bike release air in air can then see if you can tighten up the air cannister by hand till it wont turn no more, nothing to he man approach just tight with a little effort, you can buy the seals for the air can think they cost about £30 try loco tuning their very helpful, if you go on rockshox web site and look under service you will find details how to service shocks, good luck

sanchez89

ok thanks matey. after work tomorrow i will release the air and unscrew the can and have a look at the threads and whatever seals i can see. it was only about a quarter of a turn, maybe less, unscrewed yesterday, but the pressure inside had forced abit of a o-ring out from inside. maybe its that 1 thats damaged.

thanks for your input, you have been a great help.

ilovedirt

Definitely a warranty job by the sounds of it. I used my old monarch shock for downhill and it held up fine.