GIO Nitrogen Performance Shock Repair 101

[PCD]

Originally Posted by waynev

PCD, if the rubber looked bad to start with then you probably weren't going to get a good seal anyways, but if you re-read my 1st post it says you must be able to put them back in by hand, if you needed a clamp then you added too much tape in the groove.

One thing to remember is the nitrogen is supposed to be sealed in that rubber cap, the seals on the outside of that cap is what keeps the oil from leaking out and the nitrogen from leaking into the oil. IMHO i think those rubber caps are defective.

No argument from me. I'm with you from the first post onward. Its a dual purpose rubber sac, supposed to seal on the OD and ID.

Maybe i did not word my post correctly. If you re-read it though, I said I used a C-Clamp and a flat washer to insert the red cap and boot evenly so as not to install it cocked.

I used two finger pressure to push it in. With the C-Clamp.

The air was leaking out, not the oil. The VERY slight rubber shavings will attest to the fact the oil is not going anywhere, and should confirm to you that there was enough material in the O-ring groove to create a very tight seal. The leak is from the machined undercut in the red piece.

Now, let me tell you what I think..those cans are one of two things...either a shit swaging job, or they used a roller on a lathe, OR a hydraulic die.
Have you ever used or seen a hydraulic fitting swaging machine? Foot pedal, die opens up, insert shock can, let off pedal, hydraulic pressure seals it forever. I think as well as maybe a poorly machined piece, they did not "squeeze" it enough. Mine came out by hand for goodness sakes.

8mm bolt and yanked. Out it came.

I've seen more than a few and actually have one at work. It uses a collet to swage down the dia.

I suspect these things are oil filled, assembled, and then are supposed to be swaged down permanently on the yellow can. I dont for a second think these were ever designed to be "repaired" or modified. Build em, seal em, ship em.

We do hydraulic crap even larger OD than this..just a small little machine stuck in the corner, used once in a blue moon.

If I wasnt so stupid today I would have looked for a similar sized die and given it a whirl.

Look at the marks on the gold can. I've been around machine shops for over 30 years and know what I'm looking at

[waynev]

Fair enough.....it's funny that your's came out so easy and mine i had to use the puller to get them out, i know that the QC in china is not the best, altleast i managed to get one sealed up, hopefully gio comes thru on replacing the other.

My Performance rear shock is on it's way this week, i hope it holds pressure.

[TurboT]

Originally Posted by waynev

Fair enough.....it's funny that your's came out so easy and mine i had to use the puller to get them out, i know that the QC in china is not the best, altleast i managed to get one sealed up, hopefully gio comes thru on replacing the other.

My Performance rear shock is on it's way this week, i hope it holds pressure.

I have two coming this week I hope to 'bleep' they're not screwed like everyone else's.. but I'm not holding on to much hope. If the specs were wrong in the machine, they're all crap. Probably didn't expect us dumb north americans to check the pressure, just put them on and go with it..

[waynev]

Well being that i could only fix 1.... i did notice that the blue caps on the schrader valves were both a totally different shape, size, thickness and knurl pattern, so it's possible that the two shocks were manufactured in 2 different runs, also 1 was 1/2 full of oil and the other didn't have much in the reservoir......hmmmmm.

[PCD]

Originally Posted by waynev

Fair enough.....it's funny that your's came out so easy and mine i had to use the puller to get them out, i know that the QC in china is not the best, altleast i managed to get one sealed up, hopefully gio comes thru on replacing the other.

My Performance rear shock is on it's way this week, i hope it holds pressure.

Let me clarify after rereading my post wayne. They did not come out as easy as I made it sound, I did have to jog em back and forth, but thats about it. Crimping or swaging issue maybe. Very loose all things considered.

The rear shock is something I had not considered either. I'll keep my fingers crossed!

[PCD]

Originally Posted by TurboT

I have two coming this week I hope to 'bleep' they're not screwed like everyone else's.. but I'm not holding on to much hope. If the specs were wrong in the machine, they're all crap. Probably didn't expect us dumb north americans to check the pressure, just put them on and go with it..

Wait!!! The ones I see now are BLACK springs and our defective ones are RED springs...sure, may mean nothing, but ion the other hand maybe its a new run!!

[waynev]

Hey that's only a picture, even the new 110cc mini you bought still has the picture of the 50cc up on the website, but hey you never know, maybe the new batch is black, and knowing my luck if they replace the 1 shock i'll end up with 1 red and 1 black lol.

[PCD]

Originally Posted by waynev

Hey that's only a picture, even the new 110cc mini you bought still has the picture of the 50cc up on the website, but hey you never know, maybe the new batch is black, and knowing my luck if they replace the 1 shock i'll end up with 1 red and 1 black lol.

Thats actually a very good point, but that being said, I DO hope you and TurboT get your shocks from a new lot.
Bit of a shame though because everyone knows that red springs add 10%hp and 12% torque compared to the "stock" black ones.....

[waynev]

LOL

[TurboT]

Those black pics have been up for a couple weeks, but I don't know when everyone ordered their's...although they do show them actually on a unit in some of the photos that haven't been there before... <crossing my fingers>

[waynec]

So John has offered to send 2 shocks but will require a $30us fee.
Still love my Beast but....

Its a shame really as this has been quite a lot of fun. The auction, watching the prices, picking a bid price and then waiting for your prize to arrive. Made me feel young somehow.

I guess the funs over.

waynec

[PCD]

Originally Posted by waynec

So John has offered to send 2 shocks but will require a $30us fee.
Still love my Beast but....

Its a shame really as this has been quite a lot of fun. The auction, watching the prices, picking a bid price and then waiting for your prize to arrive. Made me feel young somehow.

I guess the funs over.

waynec

I just came off the site because this got me wondering...has anyone seen a parts warranty anywhere? I know he has 6 months on the bikes themselves, parts only and you eat shipping, but I was looking for a parts only warranty.

Anyway, take off the 20 bucks shipping and you are paying about 11 bucks CAN for the replacements. Of course we paid 5-7 times that for them in the first place, all in.

I know waynec, not the point, nor the principal and you should be paying nothing.

I've only been dealing with him a month but I found out quickly he almost never loses out. You might get a really good break on something but who knows, its probably his wholesale cost.

[Reveeen]

has anyone seen a parts warranty anywhere?

No, though I have to admit I bought a voltage regulator, and found 2 in the box!

Somehow (looking over real well), the Chinese stuff I have bought (from GIO, and elsewhere) I don't have the Chinese "pegged" as suppliers of high quality stuff, average stuff they are ok with, but I would not use them as a source of high quality.

(Of course, being an "old poop", I have never "been sold" on the idea of "gas filling" a shock anyway, seems to me it was an excuse to up the price with very little additional manufacturing cost. Too, it kinda begs the question: the advantage of "gas" is it doesn't mix with the oil as "readily" as air, shouldn't the "gas" be on the far side of the rubber diaphragm, rather than on the "fill" side?)

[suprf1y]

Originally Posted by Reveeen

(Of course, being an "old poop", I have never "been sold" on the idea of "gas filling" a shock anyway, seems to me it was an excuse to up the price with very little additional manufacturing cost. Too, it kinda begs the question: the advantage of "gas" is it doesn't mix with the oil as "readily" as air, shouldn't the "gas" be on the far side of the rubber diaphragm, rather than on the "fill" side?)

I can't believe I just read that :roll:
You clearly have no idea how, or why this works. Do a little research.

[waynec]

His email was brief...but I assumed the shipping would be extra. He called it a "fee".
What if it is a bad batch and I get another that is faulty?? Where does it end?.......

Have you put air pressure to yours yet? I may have to try somthing.

off topic......in my manual it refers to flushing the crank with kerosene when the oil is changed. When I read that I thought...un...no...but then I actually did it as I had some in my shop. I think it flushes the bottom bit of the case that does not drain well and I found that with a little shake of the bike the kerosene slopped out well after it appeared to have drained completely.

waynec