Been too many years and don't know if I have enough nitrogen in them... Supposed to be around 200psi. Don't have a gauge that goes that high. What to do?

 

You can't check them without a proper shock pressure gauge. There is so little volume in the shocks that checking the pressure like you would with a tire gauge will change the pressure substantially. The Fox gauge one runs about $65 and works pretty well, but you will still lose some pressure just checking them. To fill the shocks you need to have a nitrogen bottle with inert gas regulator. The link below shows your options.

http://www.kartek.com/product/Tools/Pressuregauges.html

After too many years I could almost guarantee that there is not enough nitrogen left in the shocks. After about 40-50K most of the race shocks need to be rebuilt (fresh oil, new seals, new wear bands). I do all 4 on my Bronco about every 3-4 years, probably 5K miles. I check/fill the nitrogen every year or so, they are usually 20 psi low.

Your best option may be to send the shocks back to Fox or Kartek for service, or you might have some local builders who could do them.

http://www.foxracingshox.com/service.php?m=offroad

 

What BroncoAZ said is spot on. I have some SAW 2.25s and they are always low I get them refilled every year and then do an overhaul every 25k miles or so. If you can find an off road shop with a nitro bottle and appropriate regulator (or dirtbike shop may have one) they can fill them. Best way is with the shocks off the truck but easiest way is to put the truck on the lift so wheels are off the ground so shocks are extended as far as they can go. Put an extra 5psi in them if they are on the truck and good to go for another year or so. Ask them to see how low they are if they are 20-50psi probably good to just refill but if you have one that is totally empty it needs rebuilt.

 

I appreciate all the info. I have one problem. This truck is my daily driver. How am I supposed to send the shocks to California? I'm thinking I should just buy some Bilsteins and remove these Fox's if I'm going to have this situation every few years. Anyone wanna buy 4 2.0 resevoir shocks?

 

thats why i suggested you can do it on the truck Took 20mins last time my local shop did mine..its like airing up four tires. Get it on the lift and as long as they can get to the fill caps they can get em close enough go to 205psi since shocks may not fully extended but they will be close

 

If you are capable and willing to do it yourself you can buy the gas regulator/gauge set and do them yourself in your garage. I have all the stuff to do mine at home. A complete rebuild takes about one hour per shock on my 2.5" coilovers, yours would be easier because you don't have to remove the coils. Just checking the nitrogen is about an hour for all 4 on the truck. I usually fill mine to 220 psi.

Buying a set of the Bilstein 5100's is probably the same cost as the setup to rebuild your own, but if you really like the ride of the Fox shocks it is worth the hassle.

 

Just curious but how does just checking the nitrogen take an hour?

 

It isn't as simple as checking a tire. The volume of the nitrogen in each shock is so small it is not really possible to check the pressure with the gauge I use without losing enough to make a difference. You are basically charging them to check them. If you try to put a regular tire gauge on the shock you will release most of the nitrogen before getting a reading.

In my case I have reservoir shocks. To access the schrader valves on the end of the reservoirs I need to release the reservoirs from their mounts. Once the reservoirs are free the actual process on each shock takes a few minutes to do it right. For my rear shocks I am under the truck while charging them, my front reservoirs sit on top of the front tires. The gauge assembly is first screwed on, then there is a threaded pin to depress the poppet valve pin which releases the nitrogen into the gauge assembly. Nitrogen is added to the gauge assembly via another schrader valve, then the chamber is bled down to the appropriate pressure (~200 psi). It is very easy to bleed off too much pressure, so you may charge each one more than once. The threaded pin is backed off to close the poppet valve and seal the shock, then the gauge assembly can be removed. If I did shocks for a living I'm sure it would take less time, but doing it once a year or so I take it slow and get them done right. I could do them without releasing the reservoirs, but it means working in tight locations at odd angles.

 

Sounds like fun. Guess I'm going to use the money to get myself setup to do this the right way.
Also, from going over Fox's sight, I see nothing about buying rebuild kits? Do they sell them to the public or only jobbers?

 

I don't know that Fox sells anything direct, but parts can be purchased from Kartek, Offroad Warehouse, etc. If you do a complete rebuild don't forget to order fresh shock oil. Sometimes you can find the oil locally at a motorcycle shop, but keep in mind there are different weights.

http://www.kartek.com/product/Shocks/Shocks.html

I really like the look of that new Kartek brand pressure gauge with the quick connect fitting. That one would allow you to use the regulator on the inert gas regulator to bleed off the pressure. The fox one works, but it is easy to bleed off too much pressure and looks like something build from hardware store parts.

 

Oh I know how to do it but I was curious why it took you so long. Seeing you have to drop the resi's and all I can see it taking a bit longer. My truck takes all of 10 minutes to do but all my schraders are easily accessible.

 

Is the ride improved that much by using fox vs Bilstein 5100? Suspension in sig is correct but I still get a harsh bump when going thru basic street dips and speed bumps. The Bilstein still seem to harsh and firm not allowing the full travel length of the carli springs...especially on the front and somewhat on the rear. I have extended control arms for correct axle placement on the front and carli 5 leaf pack in th rear. Overall...still looking for a better ride. Any ideas for this 2nd gen would be appreciated.