XRAY - Model racing cars

I have a problem with a new set of Xray Aluminium shocks.

The problem is that when I am trying to set the rebound they wont bleed out of the top cap when I push up the shock rod.

The shocks are fully assembled [properly] and when they are filled with oil and the cap tightened they rebound very nicely all the way 100%. I loosen the cap off 2-3 turns and slowly push the shock rod up. Oil is meant to bleed out of the shock cap, but it doesn't. It did when I assembled it the first time but because the rebound was less than the other shocks I needed to repeat the process and now when the shock is full of oil and I push the shock rod up it leaks no oil at all out of the cap. I have tried and tried and tried to set the rebound but nothing I do is working. Im totally frustrated now and need help.

try using TRF bladders , i do and have hd no problems with rebound since

or the new Xray bladders but i think they are the same

Why would I need to buy new bladders, these aluminium shocks are brand new I haven't even finished building them!

I just did what you said and tried the low profile 2011 bladders in the aluminium shocks and it has worked like it should. The shocks bled through the cap and I have the amount of rebound that I was after. So I thankyou for the advice.

The question is why did it work when I first assembled the shocks with the higher profile bladders and not after when I had to recorrect the rebound? The original bladders aren't damaged and after numerous attempts to get them to bleed through the cap they simply wouldnt! Such frustration makes me really mad when you buy a new product and it doesn't work like it is meant to work!

JPS,

XRAY have listened to the feedback given by their customers and released the 2011 low profile bladder to make the shocks easier to build and to allow us to tune the rebound more effectively.

The old style bladder is very deep which makes it quite difficult to bleed oil out once its sat down fully. The reason it was easier the first time you built them is that because they expand after some use (just like silicone O-ring's do). If you have to run the old bladder again, here is the technique I always used:-

[*]Fill the shock body, move the piston up and down a few times and wait for the air bubbles to rise out. Leave it so the shaft is fully extended.

[*] Place the bladder on top of the oil and using an allen driver, push the side of the bladder in while you slowly lower it down. This allows the excess oil to escape effectively. (This should give 100% rebound, with no excess pressure in the shock)

[*] Now to get less rebound, lift the side of the bladder slightly so theres a little gap for the oil to escape from. Now push the shock shaft in slowly, which should let some more oil out. When you have stopped pushing the shaft in, slowly squeeze the bladder back down as the oil stops coming out. Usually if you push the shock shaft all the way in, this should get you pretty close to zero rebound. You should get used to using this tecnique pretty quickly and it becomes easy to set the rebound accurately.

If you would like some input on building the shocks with the new low profile bladder, feel free to ask.


All the best,

Phil Chambers.

Yup we have all been there

My technique is insert bladder and foam into top cap making sure the bladder really is seated ALL the way into the cap and it is level from all views. Then I push the piston in (from fully extended) about 50%. Then I screw on the cap and after 2 turns I release the piston. That gives 100% rebound with no problem in pushing the piston in 100% 999 times out of a 1000.

I aim for 100% rebound but in terms of adjustability what I will say is that when I have wanted to loose a bit more oil, opening the cap 1 turn and pushing in the piston has released oil through the hole as required.

I have no idea what is going there and why it should work, as against not pushing the piston in before applying the cap and bladder but it works for me.

No doubt I will move over to the low profile bladders once I have used up my stock of "original" bladders

Ok Ive tried both these teqniques and cant get the rebound im after. Im looking to get as little rebound as I can get. No more than 25% and for the life of me Im so frustrated because it seems impossible to get less than 50% rebound.

What I dont get is why is the oil meant to bleed out from under the bladder [when the bladder is out of the cap and inserted on top of the cylinder & oil] when you push the shock rod up. After the rod is pushed up once, I cant get any more oil to bleed out to get less rebound. Wish Id bought the stock plastic shocks that bleed out the bottom!! frustrating shit!