bigfoot Posted February 11, 2004 Report Share Posted February 11, 2004 While renewing my suspension bearing yesterday desided to adjust the spring a little but found a problem. I managed to back off the locking nut but when I tried to adjust the spring preload I found that instead of the nut turning on the thread the whole threaded piece also turned. I tried to hold it still with a stillson but it looked like it was going to crush the whole body so did pull too hard. Has anyone else found this happens and is there a solution other than replacing the whole unit? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brian r Posted February 11, 2004 Report Share Posted February 11, 2004 Do you need to adjust the preload or are you just playing? I decided to play with my damping a while back and it cost me $350.00 for a new shock! If you need to adjust it, I would suggest spraying the nut with a penetrating oil and letting it sit for a day or so. When you do try to turn the nut, back it off a little first so that your not fighting the resistance of the thread and of the spring. Once it's loose you may be able to adjust it. You may want to take the shock completely off and then take the spring out to inspect the threads too. Don't force anything. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brucej Posted February 11, 2004 Report Share Posted February 11, 2004 (edited) Bigfoot, did you take the spring pressure off the adjuster before you tried turning it? I have found the job goes much easier if you use a pry bar to compress the spring, then turn the adjuster nut. This works better with a extra pair of hands. I used a small block of wood on top of the swingarm to lever the pry bar against. Bruce Edited February 11, 2004 by brucej Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jtt Posted February 11, 2004 Report Share Posted February 11, 2004 Bigfoot, is the shock on the bike? Or on the bench? If it's off the bike you should be able to hold it by the clevis (where the top mount bolt goes through) and turn the adjuster ring. I commonly loosen the locking ring, then simply turn the spring itself, as the adjusting ring commonly stick to the spring anyways, and it's easy to grip the spring with your hands. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigfoot Posted February 12, 2004 Author Report Share Posted February 12, 2004 The unit is off the bike and easy to hold. It's not that it's too tight its the fact that the thread which you'd think was cut in tothe body isn't it's a threaded collar that is somehow fixed to the outer body of the shock. The whole threaded collar just spins on the shock. There is no way of holding it from spinning meaning you cannot adjust it, the whole think just spins. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jtt Posted February 12, 2004 Report Share Posted February 12, 2004 Interesting....I was not aware of that Bigfoot. I've never seen a shock done like that. What year is your bike? (for future referance) That said, perhaps the best route is a spring compressor and remove the spring completely so that you can get at this "sleeve" affair and free up the collars. If you don't have one, I'm sure you can find someone to borrow one from, if not their not a terribly expensive tool (as long as you buy a cheap one, not SnapOn or the like). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigfoot Posted February 12, 2004 Author Report Share Posted February 12, 2004 It's a 2001 TXT 280. I do have spring compressors but couldn't be bothered getting them out the other night. I'll revisit it soon and give it a go but I'm not holding out much hope. The threaded sleave is turning very easily on the body so even taking the load off may not help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toofasttim Posted February 12, 2004 Report Share Posted February 12, 2004 Ahh, at last I can be helpful!! Use a oil filter removing device. You know those things that use a strap to lock onto the oil filter so you can undo it? Stupid design though (thinks: must buy a 'Raga' with Ohlins shock...). TFT Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigfoot Posted February 12, 2004 Author Report Share Posted February 12, 2004 Tim have you had the same problem? or have you looked at your bike and can see what I mean. I'm not sure an oil filter strap will provide enough bite. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattr Posted February 12, 2004 Report Share Posted February 12, 2004 Bigfoot, I have a 2001 TXT280 and have adjusted the spring preload before. I would recommend using a spring compressor to take the load off of the spring seat collar. If you took everything apart, here's what you will find. The shock has a round retaining clip on its outer tube. The thread sleeve sits on this retaining ring. The spring seat collar and locking ring are threaded onto the sleeve. Under spring loads, there is a lot of pressure between the threaded interface of the seat collar and sleeve. Therefore, as you turn the seat collar, the entire sleeve will turn since it can spin on the retaining ring (it has the least resistance). By unloading the spring, you will be able to turn the seat collar by holding the sleeve by hand. If it still wants to stick together, then use some penetrating oil to free up the parts. Also, note that the seat collar and locking ring is made of Aluminum. You can damage the threads if trying to turn it under spring loads. This is why I recommend unloading it first. When I did my adjustments, I took the spring off entirely. Hope this helps, Matt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toofasttim Posted February 12, 2004 Report Share Posted February 12, 2004 have you had the same problem? or have you looked at your bike and can see what I mean. I'm not sure an oil filter strap will provide enough bite. Yup same problem. Do it up f%^&kin tight and whack it. Don't really know why I increased the pre-load 'cause I still ride like a tosser. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigfoot Posted February 13, 2004 Author Report Share Posted February 13, 2004 Thanks Matt/Tim This explains the problem completely. I'll take the spring load off and try again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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