Rear shock rebuild..any special tools needed? /project thred

Gotanubike · Post by **Gotanubike** » 02:08 pm Jan 22 2014

I had a look at some there, I saw one that looks good but the chroming is stripped from the piston rod, and another from an 89 that might be worth the $170 including shipping/import..all of which would need servicing anyhow...also shipping across the border will set me back more than the shock itself costs unfortunately, most of which have import charges on top of shipping charges...

Also, I was reading in this thread a guy swapped an E-series shock into his 99 and it fit perfectly...does that mean all kdx 89-06 rear shocks are compatible? Something to keep in mind if I happen to find on locally/domestically

Post by **KDXGarage** » 08:04 pm Jan 22 2014

You may wish to inspect the bore of your shock. I assume it is junk.

Gotanubike · Post by **Gotanubike** » 12:32 pm Feb 22 2014

Pivot works 36 x 46 x 87 bladder $8.49 wow very deal

I'll be taking my chances here...At least I'll be able to keep my eye on the welds. If it starts to crack again I'll have to replace it.

Ready for reassembly

xcfruitcake · Post by **xcfruitcake** » 12:21 am Mar 01 2014

Gotanubike wrote:Pivot works 36 x 46 x 87 bladder $8.49 wow very deal

Ready for reassembly

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That's not a bad weld. Worth a shot to save the shipping for now. Still may be worth finding a way of getting a shock to rebuild before they gets harder to find and more expensive.

Gotanubike · Post by **Gotanubike** » 01:22 am Mar 01 2014

It is a good weld, not bad since my bro is only in instrumentation and doesn't weld that often.

It was caused from not having any rebound damping on the shock. Very hard on it as the suspension would snap back and "bottom up" so to speak each time the suspension would return..

Post by **KDXGarage** » 10:16 am Mar 01 2014

You REALLY should inspect the bore.

Gotanubike · Post by **Gotanubike** » 11:09 am Mar 01 2014

Are you referring to the shock body or the rebound adjuster valving? Or something else, not quite sure what you mean by the bore...

Post by **KDXGarage** » 02:19 pm Mar 01 2014

You ran it without oil, right? The piston band was moving up and down inside the shock with no lubrication. Therefore, I suspect the inside walls of the shock body are junk. I suspect they are scored or gouged.

Gotanubike · Post by **Gotanubike** » 02:27 pm Mar 01 2014

The piston band looks fine and rotates freely(at least I hope i should rotate) and the shock body walls don't have any scoring. When I removed the piston assembly from the shock body, it took a fair amount of wiggling and pulling so I guess that's a sign it's air-tight/sealed pretty well.

motogoalie1 · Post by **motogoalie1** » 12:27 pm Mar 02 2014

Jason wrote:You ran it without oil, right? The piston band was moving up and down inside the shock with no lubrication. Therefore, I suspect the inside walls of the shock body are junk. I suspect they are scored or gouged.

He drained the oil out on the first page. The bladder had a hole in it. OP sounds like hes on top of it

Gotanubike · Post by **Gotanubike** » 02:43 pm Mar 02 2014

Yeah but it should have close to a litre. I only drained a couple ounces out of it...

Where it all leaked out, I don't know. I may have a bigger problem on my hands than I thought. Time will tell when I put it back together.

I'll include the seal head removal processes here too

1.) Put the bottom clevis in a vice so the shock piston is pointed up and loosen the retaining nut off:

2.) Unscrew clevis linkage and remove the retaining nut you loosened. That's it, you can remove the spring bracket, dust shield and seal head out the bottom. Removing the piston requires grinding off the peening off the top and removing the valving assembly from the top

Gotanubike · Post by **Gotanubike** » 07:48 pm Apr 08 2014

Replace your old seal heads people! I needed to restart(more less) and take it apart to replace the seal head. It leaked slightly.

I went with an All Balls. I did a search for these ones on the forum and didn't find anything other than Jason had heard they are sticky against the shaft. I'll be sure to report back with how it feels after I get a N recharge and everything back together..

The O-ring seal didn't sit very well in it's spot

Hardest part is pushing it into the shock body!

DIYMirage, if you are reading, the carburetor bowl screws work great! I reckon I had one or two chances left before the philips head screws just completely stripped off on me

Gotanubike · Post by **Gotanubike** » 07:11 pm Apr 16 2014

Decided I'm going to tackle the fork seals before the season starts. There was muddy oil around boots I never gave much consideration. Just waiting on an All Balls main seals+dust seals kit. Anyone care to walk me through the process?

Probably not, well wish me luck..

Also, what is this thing on the front right side of the hub? It's filled with grease.

6 Riders · Post by **6 Riders** » 07:14 pm Apr 16 2014

that "thing" is the Odometer Drive Hub. I see you no longer have an ODO, so make sure to fill the whole up top with something to keep dirt and water out!

Gotanubike · Post by **Gotanubike** » 07:30 pm Apr 16 2014

Ohh right. Thanks, my guess would have been an automated bearing greaser or something. But only for one side that didn't make sense. Well whoever removed it was smart to cap the cable connection.

newbbewb · Post by **newbbewb** » 07:44 pm Apr 16 2014

sorry to thread jack. where did you get the black radiator shrouds, I like! /threadjack

Gotanubike · Post by **Gotanubike** » 07:46 pm Apr 16 2014

Aerosal auto paint and about 4 coats of enamel

The seat was dyed with duplicolour vinyl and fabric. It hasn't faded or come off since eary last season

Post by **KDXGarage** » 09:29 pm Apr 16 2014

I can help you through a fork seal change.

Main thing is to remove the compression adjuster assembly from the bottom, as well as the circlips holding in the seals.

After that, pouring boiling water over the seal area helps to save the bushings, but as I doubt those have been changed in 25 years, they are surely shot.

Gotanubike · Post by **Gotanubike** » 09:51 pm Apr 16 2014

What do I need to remove that giant hex nut from the bottom?

I assume the bushing is the first thing that contacts the seals when hammering the inner tube against them to knock them out?

Post by **KDXGarage** » 10:10 pm Apr 16 2014

10mm hex key / socket

well, without being thorough, remove top cap and drain oil / remove springs and spacers...then use something to hold the damping rod still and remove the compression adjuster assembly with the 10mm hex key / hex socket.

If you don't have a tool to hold it steady, then try to loosen it before taking the cap off, while compressing the fork some to try to get it to "bite" into the rod to hold it still.

Remove the damper rod and compression adjuster assembly.

Take off the circlip, then pour the boiling water / heat gun / brute force to separate the tubes. The inner bushing strikes the outer bushing, which strikes the washer, which strikes the oil seal, which strikes the dust seal, so you can spray oil on your clean shirt.

Do you still have the stock springs in there?!

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