GIO Nitrogen Performance Shock Repair 101 - Page 7

waynev · 10-31-2009, 01:46 PM

Well i had both of my shocks apart today, 1 was an easy fix, the other not so much.

Before servicing the shocks MAKE SURE THERE IS NO PRESSURE left inside.

Removing that snap ring, to do this you can either push down hard on the red cap, if it won't budge try the method in this pic, use a 14mm socket to clear the schrader valve and only use slight pressure to move it far enough to get a small screwdriver in there to snap the ring out.

Next, remove the schrader valve with a 10mm wrench, or socket if there's enough hex sticking out, i could only use a wrench on mine.

Get a 8mm x 1.00 x 35-40mm long bolt and some washers, find a pc of metal, wood, etc with a hole in it, i used a T-square because it was in view. Use the method in this pic and screw the bolt in till the red cap is flush with the gold can. Make sure the shock is UPSIDE DOWN or you'll have oil all over.

Now that it is flush, give it a wiggle and it will come right out, here are some pics of what you'll be seeing, once again keep the shock UPSIDE DOWN so you don't spill the oil.

Now in the first pic there you can see that there is major deformation in that rubber pc, there is supposed to be 2 high spots on that rubber pc that is supposed to seal it, one of them is missing 3/4 of the way around and that is the shock that i couldn't fix.

On the shock that i could fix i noticed a small shard of rubber laying on the 2 rings so i thought that was the seal problem, i cleaned it and reinstalled everything, it still leaked, then came the trick that i have used many times on my china made RC airplane engines.
The problem lies in bad QC and sometimes a groove that is a little too deep will cause problems, my fix is simply some DENTAL FLOSS to make up for badly machined parts, in the next 2 pics the rubber has been removed from the red cap and the groove has been wrapped with dental floss.

Once it has been wrapped, slide the rubber pc. back on and push it back into the shock, it should be quite tight, if you can't get it in by hand then remove a couple of turns of the floss and repeat, push it all the way in and replace the snap ring, install the schrader valve ( make sure o-ring is still good ) and then it's ready to see if the seal has been made.

This worked for the shock with the good looking rubber, the one with the deformed rubber pc. would just not seal and will have to be replaced.

I was also concerned about the oil level, 1 shock reservoir was about 1/2 full of oil and the other one hardly had any in it, not too sure on that one but i'm guessing that the one 1/2 full would probably be correct.

Well good luck to you and hopefully this too will solve your shock problem.

10-31-2009, 01:46 PM	#1
waynev Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: London, Ontario Posts: 1,097	GIO Nitrogen Performance Shock Repair 101 Well i had both of my shocks apart today, 1 was an easy fix, the other not so much. Before servicing the shocks MAKE SURE THERE IS NO PRESSURE left inside. Removing that snap ring, to do this you can either push down hard on the red cap, if it won't budge try the method in this pic, use a 14mm socket to clear the schrader valve and only use slight pressure to move it far enough to get a small screwdriver in there to snap the ring out. Next, remove the schrader valve with a 10mm wrench, or socket if there's enough hex sticking out, i could only use a wrench on mine. Get a 8mm x 1.00 x 35-40mm long bolt and some washers, find a pc of metal, wood, etc with a hole in it, i used a T-square because it was in view. Use the method in this pic and screw the bolt in till the red cap is flush with the gold can. Make sure the shock is UPSIDE DOWN or you'll have oil all over. Now that it is flush, give it a wiggle and it will come right out, here are some pics of what you'll be seeing, once again keep the shock UPSIDE DOWN so you don't spill the oil. Now in the first pic there you can see that there is major deformation in that rubber pc, there is supposed to be 2 high spots on that rubber pc that is supposed to seal it, one of them is missing 3/4 of the way around and that is the shock that i couldn't fix. On the shock that i could fix i noticed a small shard of rubber laying on the 2 rings so i thought that was the seal problem, i cleaned it and reinstalled everything, it still leaked, then came the trick that i have used many times on my china made RC airplane engines. The problem lies in bad QC and sometimes a groove that is a little too deep will cause problems, my fix is simply some DENTAL FLOSS to make up for badly machined parts, in the next 2 pics the rubber has been removed from the red cap and the groove has been wrapped with dental floss. Once it has been wrapped, slide the rubber pc. back on and push it back into the shock, it should be quite tight, if you can't get it in by hand then remove a couple of turns of the floss and repeat, push it all the way in and replace the snap ring, install the schrader valve ( make sure o-ring is still good ) and then it's ready to see if the seal has been made. This worked for the shock with the good looking rubber, the one with the deformed rubber pc. would just not seal and will have to be replaced. I was also concerned about the oil level, 1 shock reservoir was about 1/2 full of oil and the other one hardly had any in it, not too sure on that one but i'm guessing that the one 1/2 full would probably be correct. Well good luck to you and hopefully this too will solve your shock problem.
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