Moab Savage
03-19-2007, 12:50 AM
Moab here, with my suspension mod for much stiffer shocks. After I got my E-Savage, my stock shock (both fronts) started leaking. I took one to many jumps I guess. So I did some research online and went to work on improving my setup for a stiffer ride.
As usual the parts that I used:
- HPI Racing, Part No: 6819, QTY: 4 packs, Silicone O-ring Red NRS4, Cost: $1.50 per pack of 5.
- Trinity Shock Oil, Part No: TRI7655 (Hobby Town), 55 weight, Cost: $3.50.
- Green Fuel Tubing, Part No: N/A, Cost: $1.00 per foot.
Tools used:
Phillips screw driver
Small flat head screwdriver (really small)
Alan wrench
Towels (big and small)
Q-tips
Small bowl or container
Unfortunately, this is not a photo step by step, I will write you through what I did and show you some pics at the end. I didn't do this without any help, I got the basics for a shock tear down from this link:
http://www.misbehavin-rc.com/pit-lane/shocks/em-disassemble.asp
Note: I hope this isn't violating any rules for posting.
Anyway the E-Savage is about the same all the way through minus the e-clip from the above link.
First I unscrewed the upper cap from the resevoir body and drained the oil into a small bowl. There is a large O-ring there, which from my inspection, did not need to be replaced. So I carefully reused it.
I then compressed the steel shaft all the way till you can see a small nut which has to be removed, this is from the resevoir end where you just took off the cap. After that you can pull the steel shock from the larger resevoir body from the bottom. Be very carefull as there is a plastic diaphram piece that is connected to the shaft inside the resevoir body. If you take out the shaft carefully it should not be a problem to put it back and seat it properly into the plastic diaphram piece. However if you do mess it up, you can use the steel shaft to push the plastic piece out, careful how you handle this piece, the side that has a lot of little holes goes down towards the shaft when you put it back on.
I removed the stock rubber spacer (black) from the steel shaft and replaced it with a piece of the green fuel tubing which I cut using the removed spacer as a reference. I made the new spacer slightly longer (preference is up to you).
I then unscrewed the lower cap from the resevoir body, this is where I replaced the O-rings with the ones listed above. There are two O-rings per shock. Basically it goes O-ring, pastic spacer, O-ring. Be careful not to lose the spacer, cause you will reuse it. I used a very small flat head screw driver to get the O-rings and spacer out. I cleaned the spacer in the oil I had collected earlier. I also lubricated the new O-rings before installing them in the order I took them out.
I replaced the lower cap without fully tightning, and then inserted the steel shaft, making sure to properly seat the shaft into the plastic diaphram located within the resevoir body, I then pushed the shaft all the way to the compressed position, my green tubing shifted down of the bottom part of the shaft which did not hurt anything. I put the nut back on and tightened it back on.
I then extended the shaft to the full uncompressed position and filled the resevoir with 55 weight oil to about 90% full. I then compressed and extended the shock repeatedly to get out any air bubbles, which were not a lot if you filled the resevoir slowly. I then extended the shaft and filled the resevoir the rest of the way and reapplied the top cap and tightened it down.
I reapplied the remaining items and spring and did a final set of compressions, happy with my new stiffer shock. I then put them back on and did the remaining shocks.
Here are some pics of the after work. I wish I could show you the difference in the stiffness of the shock. I love it.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v691/EvoFoci/E%20Savage/PASSENGER-SIDE-SHOCK-REBUIL.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v691/EvoFoci/E%20Savage/DRIVERS-RIGHT-FRONT-SHOCK-R.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v691/EvoFoci/E%20Savage/FRONT-03.jpg
I hope this wasn't too confusing, I learned how to do this, by just doing it, so I hope this helps out. It wasn't expensive and after a test drive, it really makes a difference if you looking for a more stiffer ride. Anyway I hope this helps you out if your trying to improve your ride on a budget.
Moab out.
As usual the parts that I used:
- HPI Racing, Part No: 6819, QTY: 4 packs, Silicone O-ring Red NRS4, Cost: $1.50 per pack of 5.
- Trinity Shock Oil, Part No: TRI7655 (Hobby Town), 55 weight, Cost: $3.50.
- Green Fuel Tubing, Part No: N/A, Cost: $1.00 per foot.
Tools used:
Phillips screw driver
Small flat head screwdriver (really small)
Alan wrench
Towels (big and small)
Q-tips
Small bowl or container
Unfortunately, this is not a photo step by step, I will write you through what I did and show you some pics at the end. I didn't do this without any help, I got the basics for a shock tear down from this link:
http://www.misbehavin-rc.com/pit-lane/shocks/em-disassemble.asp
Note: I hope this isn't violating any rules for posting.
Anyway the E-Savage is about the same all the way through minus the e-clip from the above link.
First I unscrewed the upper cap from the resevoir body and drained the oil into a small bowl. There is a large O-ring there, which from my inspection, did not need to be replaced. So I carefully reused it.
I then compressed the steel shaft all the way till you can see a small nut which has to be removed, this is from the resevoir end where you just took off the cap. After that you can pull the steel shock from the larger resevoir body from the bottom. Be very carefull as there is a plastic diaphram piece that is connected to the shaft inside the resevoir body. If you take out the shaft carefully it should not be a problem to put it back and seat it properly into the plastic diaphram piece. However if you do mess it up, you can use the steel shaft to push the plastic piece out, careful how you handle this piece, the side that has a lot of little holes goes down towards the shaft when you put it back on.
I removed the stock rubber spacer (black) from the steel shaft and replaced it with a piece of the green fuel tubing which I cut using the removed spacer as a reference. I made the new spacer slightly longer (preference is up to you).
I then unscrewed the lower cap from the resevoir body, this is where I replaced the O-rings with the ones listed above. There are two O-rings per shock. Basically it goes O-ring, pastic spacer, O-ring. Be careful not to lose the spacer, cause you will reuse it. I used a very small flat head screw driver to get the O-rings and spacer out. I cleaned the spacer in the oil I had collected earlier. I also lubricated the new O-rings before installing them in the order I took them out.
I replaced the lower cap without fully tightning, and then inserted the steel shaft, making sure to properly seat the shaft into the plastic diaphram located within the resevoir body, I then pushed the shaft all the way to the compressed position, my green tubing shifted down of the bottom part of the shaft which did not hurt anything. I put the nut back on and tightened it back on.
I then extended the shaft to the full uncompressed position and filled the resevoir with 55 weight oil to about 90% full. I then compressed and extended the shock repeatedly to get out any air bubbles, which were not a lot if you filled the resevoir slowly. I then extended the shaft and filled the resevoir the rest of the way and reapplied the top cap and tightened it down.
I reapplied the remaining items and spring and did a final set of compressions, happy with my new stiffer shock. I then put them back on and did the remaining shocks.
Here are some pics of the after work. I wish I could show you the difference in the stiffness of the shock. I love it.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v691/EvoFoci/E%20Savage/PASSENGER-SIDE-SHOCK-REBUIL.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v691/EvoFoci/E%20Savage/DRIVERS-RIGHT-FRONT-SHOCK-R.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v691/EvoFoci/E%20Savage/FRONT-03.jpg
I hope this wasn't too confusing, I learned how to do this, by just doing it, so I hope this helps out. It wasn't expensive and after a test drive, it really makes a difference if you looking for a more stiffer ride. Anyway I hope this helps you out if your trying to improve your ride on a budget.
Moab out.