Losi crawler shocks question?

[Wild Snapper]

So I just put together a new tuber and I got a set of the Losi crawler shocks because everyone raves about them. They were easy to put together and after the annoying fitment issues they bolted up fine. My question is how do I keep these best of the best shocks from leaking. Dude 3 out of 4 leak. The caps are not too loose and I also did not overtighten them either. Kind of annoyed. We can put a man on the moon but still no one can design and develop some simple crawler shocks that don't leak. Ridiculous... The shocks are leaking out of the top cap section (when inverted) and I know I put them together correctly. Any feedback/ suggestions.-Thanks

[JeremyH]

Hummm.....I have had no problems out of mine. You might try calling Losi and asking to speak with Rich (who is on this board as well)....he might be able to give you some advice.

Where are they leaking from??

[Wild Snapper]

"The shocks are leaking out of the top cap section (when inverted) and I know I put them together correctly."
Any links / email address/ user forum name that can put me in contact with this guy. Thanks

[JeremyH]

Only when inverted? Do you have them mounted can up?

http://www.rccrawler.com/forum/members/rich-trujillo-2367.htm

Jeremy

[Rich Trujillo]

Are they leaking from around the edge where the shock cartridge screws into the shock body or from the area on the cartridge where the shock shaft is going through the orings?

If it's the edge of the shock cartridge, it sounds like you need to crank a little harder on the shock cartridge. I would suggest getting the cartridge to bottom out and give about another half turn. What are you using to tighten them.

If it's from the shock shaft, the o-rings may be torn. It's important to lube the o-rings before pushing the shock shafts grooved side first (do not push the threaded side first as this could tear the o-rings).

Let me know if you have any more issues.

Rich

[Wild Snapper]

When I say inverted, I mean the the shock body is closer to the ground and the push rods are going out the top. I'm guessing that the shock were designed this way so inverted might not be the best wording. Basically I have the bulk of the shock closest to the ground and the rods attaching to the top of the chassis (probably how everyone else has them). It might be that I have not overtightened them enough. I have not done this because I thought that overtightening shocks will make them leak. I pretty much tightened them as much as I can using my fingers. I will try using some plyers. Thanks for the feedback so far. Let me know any other info as I want these shocks to work. -Thanks

[JeremyH]

Yeah....the larger diameter part of the shock is usually referred to as the "Can" and the smaller diameter rod is called the "Piston"...at least that is what they are called on 1:1 shocks. Anyway, I have never had good luck with mounting shocks can down...like you have them setup. Here is a pic of a crawler that I am in the process of building and you can see how I have my Losi shocks mounted:


Is there a reason you have them mounted can down? Clearance issues or is it just to reduce weight?

[Wild Snapper]

So I appreciate what you are saying but I think I have some different ideas about crawling shocks. I have the cans mounted down for these reasons.
1) weight and lower the center of gravity.
2) the place where the shock could leak or in my case do leak, is at the top of the can instead of the bottom where gravity is helping more oil stay in the shock.
3) I'm pretty sure that Losi designed these shocks to be mounted can down because of where they put the cap on the shock. (Maybe not thought, But it is how I would design a crawler shock)
4) It shouldn't make any difference how the shock is mounted if they are not suppose to leak.
With the problem that I am having, mounting the shocks "can up" would just make the leaking problem worse, hurt the COG and create fitment issues for my tuber. Mounting my shocks differently will not do anything beneficial to address the leaking problem. I am going to take the advise posted earlier and tonight just try and tighten the caps down harder with some plyers because currently they are just tightened by my fingers because I didn't want to break or overtighten them. Any other feedback or suggestions/ people with the same past issues of losi shocks leaking?

[JeremyH]

Ok. Sounds good. I was just trying to help.

IIRC, there were specific instructions on how to tighten the cap. You might want to get with Rich on what those were...

[Wild Snapper]

Thanks, JeremyH I appreciate the feedback and thanks for trying to be helpful. I think I just need to tighten these babies up.

[JeremyH]

No problem. Good luck getting them fixed!

[RJMajestic]

Originally Posted by JeremyH

Yeah....the larger diameter part of the shock is usually referred to as the "Can" and the smaller diameter rod is called the "Piston"...

The "can" is actually referred to as the Body, and the "piston" is actually the Shaft, and the piston is the disk inside. I don't know, maybe it's a southern thing :-P.

I know it's annoying when people act like a "know-it-all" but I don't want people to like me anyway so it's ok.

[JeremyH]

Originally Posted by RJMajestic

I don't know, maybe it's a southern thing :-P.

Yep, you Yanks are always saying shit wrong...

[RJMajestic]

Originally Posted by JeremyH

Yep, you Yanks are always saying shit wrong...

Hey, I'm no Yank, I'm from the wild west where we have cows instead of cattle .

[JeremyH]

I was just yankin' your chain....

[RJMajestic]

Oh yeah? Well why don't you just go eat a water burger!