Warning !!!!!
 

I converted my AX10 to droop suspension , I took it out today and was'nt pushing it hard and my shocks fell apart :-(... The caps popped off the shock body and the springs fell out. I screwed the shocks back together again (no stripped threads present ) and it happened 2 more times , it only happened to the front ones wither it was because the steering put extra pressure on them I don't know but thought I would just warn you if you try this mod. Not saying it will happen to all AX10's. I will say though that with this mod my AX10 climbed so sweetly before the shocks parted company and I will be keeping the droop setup except this time with alloy shocks and caps. "thumbsup"

One thing check how much shock oil you are putting in the boddies. I noticed that putting to much oil will pop the tops very easily. Also the more times they pop off the easier they will pop off.

Another thing to check is the clearance from the top mounting points to the chassis, if there is binding, the shock will pop of.

If you trap to much air in the shock body it makes for a lot of pressure and it will make the top caps pop off even more. So try to get out all the air out pour your shock oil in the bodies and let it sit for a little while you will see the air bubbles come to the top "thumbsup"

Thanks for the tips guys very much appreciated, I think with too much oil plus a spring to compress and the added pressure of the steering it was all too much for the plastic. Alloy ones are ordered and will be here tommorow... now all I can do is sit and stare at it :-(

All good tips so far. The threads may look fine, but after it pops apart they are damaged at least a little bit. You can assemble them with a little bit of teflon (plumber's) sealing tape and that should help or you can assemble them and CA the cap on after assembly. Use em until they break completely and when your aluminum shocks arrive set them up and save the plastics for spares.

two things pop shock caps (1)angular pressure (2)hydraulic pressure my question is are you filling up your shocks with fluid,not running a bladder,and/or closing your shocks with the shafts fully extended?

1. The angular position has not changed from the original design.

2. Yes I am running oil 80wt which is light compared to what others are using and yes I am closing them fully extended as I have always done with all my RC cars, the only diffence between this and my others is the internal springs which of course are pushing up on the cap under load.
With the cap off I move the shocks up and down slowly to remove all air bubbles.

Others running droop are not using the axial shocks...

80wt is alot of stress, hence why most droop shocks are all aluminum bodies with aluminum caps, ot atleast more properly designed than Axial.

Don't be upset the Stock Axial shocks don't work in a manner they were not designed for...

What I'm trying to figure out iis how your spring came out when the cap came off. If you are running a droop shock then the spring should not have been able to come out because the piston head would of held it in. The way it sounds is that you put the spring on top of the piston. If so, when the shock compresses the spring is going to pop the cap off. When the shock is set up normal, the piston come all the way to the top of the shock body when compress. There would be no room for the spring.

I've been running the stock shocks up front has a droop setup for awhile with heavy weight oil and had no problems. Its not the shock, its the way they are setup. Just like eveyone having their caps popping off. the weren't setup correctly.

Ummm im not upset lol... i'm not blaming the shocks was merely warning others, I should have known better then to push stock parts beyond there potential.

What I'm trying to figure out iis how your spring came out when the cap came off. If you are running a droop shock then the spring should not have been able to come out because the piston head would of held it in. The way it sounds is that you put the spring on top of the piston. If so, when the shock compresses the spring is going to pop the cap off. When the shock is set up normal, the piston come all the way to the top of the shock body when compress. There would be no room for the spring.

Ok so maybe I have made a mistake with the way I have placed the springs ? I tried it the other way and had very little movement and was struggling to get over a small step so I tried the other way and it worked better... oppsss my 1st crawler mistake but thankyou for pointing that out to me. Everyday I learn something new "thumbsup"

What are you running for springs? I went the Ace Hardware and picked ups some springs that worked great. The brand was CSC, 5/16x1.5x.023. About $3.00 for pack of 4.

Im using the Losi Mini T standard shocks which I thought were the correct ones to use. I will have a look in my local hardware store tommorow and see what I can find :), this is all trial and error to me but i'm learning

When you rebuild them be sure the shock is compressed when you put the cap on, this way you won't get positive pressure when the shock compresses. It will help keep the caps on.

Thanks for the tip John much appreciated. There is so many differences between crawlers and cars but being here on this site has allowed me to follow others great advice.

so what weight oil shpuld be used for droop setup?

I ordered the integy droop shocks for my X-trail. Anyone know anything about them?

in my opinion they werea waste of money firm springs too firm soft springs too soft no springs they still were to slow for my liking even with 20 wt oil and 3 hole pistons but again just my opinion

just wanted to add they were tried on my x-trail