Sachs Shock Rebuild Kit (is there one?)

[Dirtdame]

OK I took the shock apart today. Only a few drops of clean oil had gotten by the floating piston in the reservoir. So I'm not going to worry about replacing the piston o-ring this time around.

But I'm scratching my head trying to figure out how to get the piston out of the reservoir. I tried using the "pliers" method, but the piston has no lip or anything to get a grip on. I can't get it to budge. It's not stuck. I pushed it farther in with my finger.

I saw that blakelpd5 used a puff of compressed air through the dis-assembled clicker port, but I really don't want to take the clicker apart. I don't have an air compressor anyway.

Anyone have an alternate solution?

I'm afraid you'll have to blow it out of there from behind the piston. You can order a bladder cap that replaces the piston and cap for your shock. This will help the shock dampening work better, and will also make it a lot easier to service the shock in the future. W.E.R. carries them and they run about 70 dollars. I have one on my TE450, and I'll probably get one for my WR300 also.

 

[Aaron8]

I can't personally think of a good solution for this. You somehow have to pressurize it. Maybe with the cap off where the oil goes in, you can use your lungs to blow in there? I have NO IDEA if that would even budge it, but maybe worth a shot.

I hope you at least have a bike pump, as you need to pressurize that cylinder before you begin the filling / bleeding process.

Thanks for your response. Believe it or not, I tried that earlier. And just now again. No go, sadly.

Yes I do have a bike pump for the re-assembly sequence. And I've found a local shop for the final nitrogen charge. I've been scouring the interwebs looking at Sachs rebuilds. Everyone seems to get their pistons out without mention of how they've done it.

 

[Aaron8]

I'm afraid you'll have to blow it out of there from behind the piston. You can order a bladder cap that replaces the piston and cap for your shock. This will help the shock dampening work better, and will also make it a lot easier to service the shock in the future. W.E.R. carries them and they run about 70 dollars. I have one on my TE450, and I'll probably get one for my WR300 also.

Thanks Dirtdame. Yes I've run across the bladder upgrade in my searches. I'll look into that this week!

Sooo, blow out the piston how? Do you mean through the clicker port, as blakelpd5 suggested? Do you have another method? Thanks all for your responses. Much appreciated!

 

[PC.]

To get the piston out seal the bottom edge of the shock body (I use a rubber pad) and blow compressed air into the reservoir where the compression knob was. Remove the knob and valving behind the knob if you haven't already done so. Also, be aware the piston will shoot out fast, so blow it into something soft.

 

[dartyppyt]

To get the piston out seal the bottom edge of the shock body (I use a rubber pad) and blow compressed air into the reservoir where the compression knob was. Remove the knob and valving behind the knob if you haven't already done so. Also, be aware the piston will shoot out fast, so blow it into something soft.

PC, meaning so it doesn't give you a black eye!

 

[steadydirt]

OK I took the shock apart today. Only a few drops of clean oil had gotten by the floating piston in the reservoir. So I'm not going to worry about replacing the piston o-ring this time around.

But I'm scratching my head trying to figure out how to get the piston out of the reservoir. I tried using the "pliers" method, but the piston has no lip or anything to get a grip on. I can't get it to budge. It's not stuck. I pushed it farther in with my finger.

I saw that blakelpd5 used a puff of compressed air through the dis-assembled clicker port, but I really don't want to take the clicker apart. I don't have an air compressor anyway.

Anyone have an alternate solution?

Maybe brakeclean the surface, make sure it is dry and hot glue[you know the sticky craft stuff] a bolt or something similar on the face of the piston- might hold enough after cooling for a moment to put the assembly out?

 

[Blakelpd5]

Maybe brakeclean the surface, make sure it is dry and hot glue[you know the sticky craft stuff] a bolt or something similar on the face of the piston- might hold enough after cooling for a moment to put the assembly out?

I like the idea of hot-gluing something to the bottom of the piston to get it out, however, I'd be concerned about using brake cleaner around the O-rings on the piston. I don't think brake cleaner & an O-ring under high pressure go together real well..

 

[Aaron8]

Maybe brakeclean the surface, make sure it is dry and hot glue[you know the sticky craft stuff] a bolt or something similar on the face of the piston- might hold enough after cooling for a moment to put the assembly out?

Thanks so much for your response. It's worth a try. I'll be careful with the solvent!

 

[Aaron8]

So I tried the glue method. I just used what I had at the tool bench. Maybe with the correct glue it would have worked.

So I removed the high speed clicker knob, and the cap that holds the low speed screw assembly. Then I removed the entire low speed assy from the cap, and screwed the cap back in.

This is similar to what Blakelpd5 did, but I didn't remove the low speed needle/screw from it's holder. Same idea, though.

Stuck a needle style bicycle pump adapter (like you fill basketballs with) through a rubber stopper for the "air fill" port I created in the clicker cap. I got lucky here-the stopper was perfectly shaped for a nearly air tight seal.

Strangely enough, the open end of the shock body was the hardest part to seal! After many failed attempts, what finally worked was some thick-ply compactor bag plastic, lots of tape, and a strong hand to cover all that!

With my sons help, the bicycle pump, and a lot of swearing, that piston finally came out. Got it back together, got a nitrogen charge for $5 on a Sunday (thanks AS RACING Santa Clarita, CA!!!), and it's back on the 310.

Thanks everyone for your help.

 

[Brian Scott]

Hi everyone. I came across this thread while searching for tips on reassembling the shock. Removing the reservoir/diaphragm/piston can be accomplished quite easily even if it's pushed all the way down, but only after the oil is drained and the fork rod assembly is removed. Insert long needle nose pliers (keep them closed) until the tip touches the face of the piston, then open them until the backside of each tang touches the side of the piston. Use two hands to keep the pliers open; one hand for each handle, and exert a lot of outward force to keep them open and to generate enough friction between their tips and the side of the diaphragm to allow you to slowly and carefully pull the diagraph upward. You'll hear a slight sucking noise as the diaphragm moves upward. If your needle nose pliers are too short, then add a little bit of oil into the shock, re-insert the fork rod assembly and move it down a few inches slowly to position it, then push it down quickly so that it briefly compresses the air between the valve assembly and the reservoir/diaphragm/piston thus pushing it upward enough to allow you to reach it w/the pliers. This methods works like a champ for me.