Aluminium shock caps - how to use?

[ignis]

Hi,

GH aluminium shock caps have no:

• O-ring inside
• Bleeding hole

So how am I supposed to:

• Prevent shock oil from leaking out?
• Get rid of excess oil and air bubbles when rebuilding the shocks?

Thanks.

[Money pit]

I thinkg that 87Gn drilled the holes, and put the o-ring from the stock shocks into them. I am pretty sure he gave up on them though.

[Timmer]

Ya, I gave up too. milled the caps shorter cause wouldn't seal against bladder. Then the shock rod would puncture bladder causing leaks. I would stick with stock caps, I've screwed around with these caps enough.

[87 GN]

What he said


sorry no help......I did drill two very small holes in the top.....

http://traxxas.com/forums/showthread...=1#post4951311

[ignis]

Oh well, it's not a huge loss, but still leaves a sour taste in my mouth, never wanting to order anything from GH ever again

[87 GN]

Give them a go you might find something we missed........

[Timmer]

Like 87 said give er a go and share if you get it working good. Maybe do like stock caps and drill in the side? Your call though.

[ignis]

A reply came to an email I sent to GH:

Hello ***,

Our alum. shock caps replaces the stock shock caps. You will need the
stock damper set and o-rings for the alum. shock caps. Hope this helps. If
you have any others questions let us know.

Regards,


-- GH Racing

I guess it doesn't hurt to try and install them, and maybe, just maybe, they end up working perfectly. Worth a shot.

[87 GN]

O'Ring....that would be nice to know....why is it not included with the caps.....??

you have any others questions let us know.
But what size, ask him that.......please....
could be getting some where...
I'm think'n bladder then O'ring.....

Good work.....

[Timmer]

Nice! DITTO 87!

[ignis]

Yeah I've already sent them a message asking a few extra questions. Regardless of the reply, actual installation will have to wait 'till 3/4 because with Christmas and New Year my packages from eBay and AMain have been slightly delayed

[50togo]

Worst time of the year for buying parts!

[ignis]

Oh, I bought everything at the beginning of December, but it obviously wasn't enough, considering I live in Europe and had to get everything from American shops. Even including shipping and taxes it's STILL cheaper to do that than shop locally.

In other news, just got a reply from GH. That's right, only a few hours before New Year. That's dedication

To setup the shock, slowly fill the shock bodies, and slowly work out the
air bubbles prior to putting the cap on. The reason why our shock caps
don't have a bleed hole is because it makes more air bubbles in the
shocks.
As for the o-ring, the same one used in the stock caps .

[50togo]

That's good!
I have some shock caps with no holes

[black67stang]

i drilled holes in the top of the caps and put tef-lon tape around the threads on the shock bodys. its holding up for me so far

[Money pit]

Worst time of the year for buying parts!

I decided to do a whole rebuild now, too....

[MITCH316]

Stock shock caps have served me well....

[ignis]

So after some more searching, I ended up getting HR shock caps instead. And HR shock ends. Both products seem to be much better made.

HR shock caps actually have a bleeding hole, and come with O-rings. HR shock ends have O-rings as well to recrease tear and wear against spring retainers.

[87 GN]

pic........??
I have found O'rings for GH. filled a shock & waiting to see if it leaks......

[ignis]

They haven't arrived yet, so those are only the stock pictures from Hot Racing. Item description for the shock caps says that they come with 4 O-rings (for 2 shocks, so you get a set of extras).

[87 GN]

bleed hole looks huge....my be not....
do you know if the O,ring is over or under the blatter.......

put mine under the batter....

[ignis]

The bleed hole does indeed look a little on the large side. I'm more curious about how and what it's sealed with. Wouldn't want shock oil squirting out on every bump.

Don't know about the o-rings. I'll report back when I actually get the package.

[87 GN]

keep me updated.......
thanks....

[ignis]

Got the package with HR stuff.

HR spring retainers and shock ends are much higher quality than those from GH. Now, on the subject of shock caps..

I am a little dumbfounded, to be perfectly honest. HR shock caps do indeed have a bleeding hole. BUT! The whole is on the top of the cap (not the side like the stock shock caps), and there is nothing to close it with. It's simply a hole drilled through the whole cap. I'm not really sure what the intention was with this product, because I can't think of anything that would prevent ALL shock oil from simply leaking out.

Either I'm missing something incredibly obvious, or this is the biggest design flaw I've seen in an RC product since that one axle carrier I once bought for Kyosho Inferno that didn't have bearing cutouts.

[50togo]

Oil doesn't get past the bladder. Probably there so the bladder can breathe and move up and down. And the hole will let you know when the bladder has a hole

[87 GN]

The hole is a breather hole.. assemble the shocks & cycle, you can feel the air being pushed out...

Have any pic of all the parts, caps, O'rings etc......

[hottrodd1090]

i used these caps on all 4 shocks and 1 jump and blew all the bladders.you have to deburr the inside of the shock caps and put a piece of foam between the shock cap and the bladder.what happens is when the shock is compressed it forces the bladder into the hole in the top and causes them to rip.since i did the deburring and foam( like that comes in lipo battery boxes) i have no more problems out of them

[ignis]

The hole is a breather hole.. assemble the shocks & cycle, you can feel the air being pushed out...

Have any pic of all the parts, caps, O'rings etc......

Will post some pics tomorrow. I've assembled the shocks (using GH caps for now) , but I suspect there is some leakage even in their current idle state. I want to just leave them lying overnight and see what happens.

i used these caps on all 4 shocks and 1 jump and blew all the bladders.you have to deburr the inside of the shock caps and put a piece of foam between the shock cap and the bladder.what happens is when the shock is compressed it forces the bladder into the hole in the top and causes them to rip.since i did the deburring and foam( like that comes in lipo battery boxes) i have no more problems out of them

Could you please elaborate? What do you mean by "deburr"? What foam do you use, is that a Traxxas part?

[ignis]

So yeah, the GH caps leak. I left the shocks lying horizontally on a flat surface overnight, and in the morning there was a drop of oil on each of them. Gonna take the GH caps off and try the HR ones.

[ignis]

All right, pics.

HR (left) vs GH (right) caps:


Assembled shock using GH cap + spring adjuster and HR spring retainer + shock end:


Results of today's rebuild. Added a foam circle between shock cap and bladder (thx hottrodd1090) and one layer of teflon tape (is one layer enough, or should I add more?):


Shock cap + foam circle for comparison:

[87 GN]

You said the HR caps came with O'rings..?? correct...

[ignis]

You said the HR caps came with O'rings..?? correct...

Oh yeah... they did. But I have no idea what they're supposed to be used for. See for yourself:

[50togo]

For around the hollow balls
The hollow balls don't snap in like plastic

[87 GN]

^ Hummm yup prob for the shock rod ends, instead of metal spacers like I received you received O'rings: maybe
You will tell when you put it in the rocker........

http://traxxas.com/forums/showthread...=1#post4951311

[hottrodd1090]

Will post some pics tomorrow. I've assembled the shocks (using GH caps for now) , but I suspect there is some leakage even in their current idle state. I want to just leave them lying overnight and see what happens.


Could you please elaborate? What do you mean by "deburr"? What foam do you use, is that a Traxxas part?

i took a drill bit slightly bigger then the hole and just used my fingers to turn it then i took foam out of a battery box i got and cut it down to size and put in between the shock cap and the blue bladder.i do have to say sorry for taking soooooooo long to get back on here

[ignis]

i took a drill bit slightly bigger then the hole and just used my fingers to turn it then i took foam out of a battery box i got and cut it down to size and put in between the shock cap and the blue bladder.i do have to say sorry for taking soooooooo long to get back on here

I still don't quite understand exactly what it is you drill.

More pics: assembled and installed shocks + HR rockers + Tekno sways. Standard Traxxas 3x15 screws that connect push rods to rockers are too long for HR aluminium rockers, so I had to install some washers. But this is only a temporary measure, I imagine I'll have to order some 3x12 or 3x13 buttonheads from Tonys.

[87 GN]

look'n good still no leaks.....?

[hottrodd1090]

I still don't quite understand exactly what it is you drill.

More pics: assembled and installed shocks + HR rockers + Tekno sways. Standard Traxxas 3x15 screws that connect push rods to rockers are too long for HR aluminium rockers, so I had to install some washers. But this is only a temporary measure, I imagine I'll have to order some 3x12 or 3x13 buttonheads from Tonys.

the inside of the shock cap.they way mine seemed was they drilled the hole from the top of the cap down and it left burs on the inside of the caps breather hole so i just removed them and made sure it was smooth

[hottrodd1090]

BTW that thing looks awesome

[ignis]

the inside of the shock cap.they way mine seemed was they drilled the hole from the top of the cap down and it left burs on the inside of the caps breather hole so i just removed them and made sure it was smooth

Ah, I get it now. Question though, Since the bleeding holes are made to let excess oil escape, what purpose to they serve if you put a piece of foam between the holes and the bladder?

In other news, one of my shocks still leaks, despite foam and teflon tape. I'll have to take it apart, inspect the bladder, replace the foam and add a few more layers of teflon tape to be sure.