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Blown Rear Shock?

Old 11-18-17, 10:21 PM
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Blown Rear Shock?

I have an older (2011?) Fox Float RP23 boost valve rear shock.

I was wondering if I have blown it. It leaks air very slowly and I myself do not have a shock pump so I was riding it with about 35-40% sag and it has been bottomed out quite a few times. There is a very small amount of oil leaking out of the seal too.
The main problem with it is that the propedal and rebound work fine but when I bounce on the bike the shock goes up and down 3 to 5 times before it reaches its neutral position and stops.

If it is blown would getting a rebuild kit with new seals fix it?

Thanks
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Old 11-18-17, 11:48 PM
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if you have to ask here for advice, i'd advise you to take the shock in, or ship it to Fox, for the needed rebuild.

and yes, it needs rebuilt.
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Old 11-19-17, 08:43 AM
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Spend on a shock pump, for sure. Air-sleeve maintenance and a new o-ring might solve the oil leak. The word "blown" doesn't mean much. There are two types of service that I'm aware of on a Fox shock: 1) Air-sleeve maintenance that is simple and fast, and 2) A rebuild that requires more in the way of tooling and expertise.

FWIW, it's not unusual for a shock to bleed down over time, and I've been running a shock all summer that's been leaking tiny amounts of the air-sleeve oil. I just wipe mine off each ride, and the tiny bit of oil getting through seems to help with stiction.
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Old 11-19-17, 09:31 AM
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You need to get a shock pump. That's the first thing. Then if it's still leaking you have an issue.

The good news is that rebuilding a RP23 is cheap and easy. Rebuild kits are widely available for ~$20, and you don't need any special tools.
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Old 11-19-17, 07:05 PM
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Thanks guys, I have a friend who has a shock pump and I have used it to pump up the shock to the proper pressure. I don't think the shock has ever had a rebuild since it was new. What exactly is a rebuild? I am going to get an air-sleeve seal kit to see if that helps. If it does not I don't need to ride the bike for a while because, unfortunately, it is winter.
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Old 11-19-17, 07:37 PM
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Originally Posted by fanders
What exactly is a rebuild?
This page might help:

https://www.ridefox.com/service.php?m=bike

A full rebuild includes getting into the damper assembly, which means discharging and recharging the nitrogen that's in the damper, which is more than most riders are able to do from home. Whereas the air-sleeve maintenance mainly involves unscrewing the big air can and changing out a few o-rings and seals:

https://www.ridefox.com/service.php?m=bike

I do my own air-sleeve maintenance, but I leave the full rebuilds to a shop in the nearby city that does that sort of work.
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