Farabomb
Quarry Creeper
While tearing apart the front of the Dingo to install STRC chubs and knuckles I noticed the stock shocks leaking. Not surprising but a good excuse to upgrade.
I went looking for options and came across the Gmade XO piggyback shocks. I found them on amazon for $35 a pair. I was looking for the 103mm ones but they seem scarce so I went with the 93mm ones. Slightly longer then stock but not by much.
They arrived well packaged in a resealable bag not unlike the proline tire bags. Contained were 3 parts trees and separate bags containing the o-rings and such. The shock bodies are anodized aluminium and the bottom of the reservoirs are bare aluminium.
They have a unique feature where they allow you to adjust the dampening externally with the twist of a screw without disassembling the shock. There is a o-ringed plug in the reservoir that can increase and decrease the volume of the reservoir making it softer and firmer. Also there is a bleeder screw in the cap.
Assembly: There are a lot of parts so expect assembly to take some time. Included are 3 different shock pistons with 2, 3 and 4 holes allowing you to tune the dampening even more. I went with the 4 hole ones. The shaft o-rings are clear and I will assume silicone based.
There is a cartridge at the base that screws into the body that is retained by a plastic c-clip. First you attach the piston to the shaft with 2 metal c-clips. Then you slide on the assorted o-rings and spacers. It makes it a little easier as you can slide on the o-rings with them not under pressure. I didn't have any green slime but I did have some vacuum caps left over form a computer project. I put them over the threads while installing the o-rings to lessen the possibility of tearing them. Be aware of the assembly instructions. The top of the cartridge has a spacer that has a groove in it. This is what retains the o-rings in the cartridge with the plastic c-clip. The first one I wasn't paying attention and had the spacers reversed not allowing the c-clip to seat properly.
After building the shafts and cartridges It's time to fill the bodies. The cap is a hard plastic and the quality is quite good. All the holes and threads are well made and so extra flashing to be seen. You have to thread on the adjustment collars on first, then thread the bodies into the cap as well as the o-ringed bleeder screw.
You need something to hold them upside down during filling. I used my panavise but any clamp would work. You need to fill them slowly to allow the reservoir fill as well. It says to fill them all the way to the top. Don't unless you like shock oil all over the place. Fill them until they are about 1-2 mm from the top. This will allow you to put the volume compensating plug in without getting oil all over the place.
Once you have the plug in you have to slowly press it down to the bottom of the reservoir. This will push the oil that was in there into the shock body. From there you fill the body up, not all the way as the instructions state. If you do that you will end up with a lot of oil on your workbench. Maybe 3-5mm from the top should be good. Wait for any bubbles to dissipate and then install the pistons.
Slowly let the pistons fall into the body. I sill had the vacuum caps on the threads so I didn't have to worry about the cartridges coming off the end of the shafts. Make sure both the piston and the plug in the reservoir are all the way at the top of the cap. Then use the included plastic shock wrench to tighten the cartridge into the shock body.
Now you have to assemble the bottom half of the reservoir. Here is the only place where there was a tiny issue. The metal bottom half has a screw for the adjustment. I noticed a little but of aluminium where the tap didn't go all the way through when cutting the threads. I didn't want aluminium chunks in the oil so I ran the screw through and removed any bits that were around the hole.
From there you install a spring that goes in-between the o-ringed plug in the reservoir and a plastic spacer in the bottom of the reservoir. Then the final metal cap on the bottom of the reservoir. All that's left is the rodend, spring and spring retainer.
Yeah they take a little more time to build than most shocks. Overall I'd rate it as medium. It's not hard, a few carbonated adult beverages helps but no need to break out the hard stuff.
Installation: Since they are a larger diameter than the stock shocks they aren't a bolt-in. You need a larger spacer and bolt or they will hit the frame. I did not like the included plastic balls for the top. They didn't really fit and were sloppy as hell. They went into the parts bin and I went looking.
I didn't have any metal balls of the correct size so I used fuel tubing. You will need 4x 25mmx3mm bolts, 4x 3mm washers, 4x 3mm nuts, some fuel tubing and some longer spacers I found on the Dingo's part tree. I put it together like this. Bolt, washer, a length of fuel tubing a bit longer than the shock mount width, the longer spacer and a little washer made of fuel tubing. The reason you use a bit of tubing a little longer is that when it's installed it will compress a little bit making for a tighter fit. Then you screw the bolt into the shock mount and put the nut on the back of it. This made for a mount that's solid but allows for movement. The shocks don't hit the frame and the shock is vertical.
The only addition to the mounting I may do is adding another washer in-between the tubing and the larger spacer to retain the shock better.
The new shocks are far, far smoother than the stockers. There is also no binding of the helper spring in the stock 2pc springs. The XO only has a single spring. Adjustment is very easy, the collars easily spin and will hopefully stay in place.
I was only able to run it shortly in the dark in my rocky backyard. It seemed to crawl effortlessly and performed much better at speed than the stockers. Sadly it's presently raining here so I can't take it out and run a few packs through it. When the weather gets better I will update their performance.
The only issues I can see so far is there are lot of parts involved meaning more potential leak areas. Everything is o-ringed so that should lessen the chance of that. Another issue is finding a rebuild kit. I haven't been able to locate one but I will see if I email the company what they come back with.
I believe the springs are the same diameter as the AE ones but I can't find the post. I would think a trip the the LHS with the shock will find something that will work (tmaxx springs seem to be the right diameter but are too long). The stock springs seem a little stiff for crawling. I will see what I can turn up on my next visit. The unmarked oil also seems a little heavy. As I run it I will see what works for me and update as I go.
TL;DR: Overall I'm very happy with my purchase. They are not a bolt-in but can easily be made to work with a few spare parts. They look great, are smooth as butter and have some neat adjustable features. How well they really work will come with time. Use lighter oil than supplied and maybe some lighter springs and they should be perfect.
I went looking for options and came across the Gmade XO piggyback shocks. I found them on amazon for $35 a pair. I was looking for the 103mm ones but they seem scarce so I went with the 93mm ones. Slightly longer then stock but not by much.
They arrived well packaged in a resealable bag not unlike the proline tire bags. Contained were 3 parts trees and separate bags containing the o-rings and such. The shock bodies are anodized aluminium and the bottom of the reservoirs are bare aluminium.
They have a unique feature where they allow you to adjust the dampening externally with the twist of a screw without disassembling the shock. There is a o-ringed plug in the reservoir that can increase and decrease the volume of the reservoir making it softer and firmer. Also there is a bleeder screw in the cap.
Assembly: There are a lot of parts so expect assembly to take some time. Included are 3 different shock pistons with 2, 3 and 4 holes allowing you to tune the dampening even more. I went with the 4 hole ones. The shaft o-rings are clear and I will assume silicone based.
There is a cartridge at the base that screws into the body that is retained by a plastic c-clip. First you attach the piston to the shaft with 2 metal c-clips. Then you slide on the assorted o-rings and spacers. It makes it a little easier as you can slide on the o-rings with them not under pressure. I didn't have any green slime but I did have some vacuum caps left over form a computer project. I put them over the threads while installing the o-rings to lessen the possibility of tearing them. Be aware of the assembly instructions. The top of the cartridge has a spacer that has a groove in it. This is what retains the o-rings in the cartridge with the plastic c-clip. The first one I wasn't paying attention and had the spacers reversed not allowing the c-clip to seat properly.
After building the shafts and cartridges It's time to fill the bodies. The cap is a hard plastic and the quality is quite good. All the holes and threads are well made and so extra flashing to be seen. You have to thread on the adjustment collars on first, then thread the bodies into the cap as well as the o-ringed bleeder screw.
You need something to hold them upside down during filling. I used my panavise but any clamp would work. You need to fill them slowly to allow the reservoir fill as well. It says to fill them all the way to the top. Don't unless you like shock oil all over the place. Fill them until they are about 1-2 mm from the top. This will allow you to put the volume compensating plug in without getting oil all over the place.
Once you have the plug in you have to slowly press it down to the bottom of the reservoir. This will push the oil that was in there into the shock body. From there you fill the body up, not all the way as the instructions state. If you do that you will end up with a lot of oil on your workbench. Maybe 3-5mm from the top should be good. Wait for any bubbles to dissipate and then install the pistons.
Slowly let the pistons fall into the body. I sill had the vacuum caps on the threads so I didn't have to worry about the cartridges coming off the end of the shafts. Make sure both the piston and the plug in the reservoir are all the way at the top of the cap. Then use the included plastic shock wrench to tighten the cartridge into the shock body.
Now you have to assemble the bottom half of the reservoir. Here is the only place where there was a tiny issue. The metal bottom half has a screw for the adjustment. I noticed a little but of aluminium where the tap didn't go all the way through when cutting the threads. I didn't want aluminium chunks in the oil so I ran the screw through and removed any bits that were around the hole.
From there you install a spring that goes in-between the o-ringed plug in the reservoir and a plastic spacer in the bottom of the reservoir. Then the final metal cap on the bottom of the reservoir. All that's left is the rodend, spring and spring retainer.
Yeah they take a little more time to build than most shocks. Overall I'd rate it as medium. It's not hard, a few carbonated adult beverages helps but no need to break out the hard stuff.
Installation: Since they are a larger diameter than the stock shocks they aren't a bolt-in. You need a larger spacer and bolt or they will hit the frame. I did not like the included plastic balls for the top. They didn't really fit and were sloppy as hell. They went into the parts bin and I went looking.
I didn't have any metal balls of the correct size so I used fuel tubing. You will need 4x 25mmx3mm bolts, 4x 3mm washers, 4x 3mm nuts, some fuel tubing and some longer spacers I found on the Dingo's part tree. I put it together like this. Bolt, washer, a length of fuel tubing a bit longer than the shock mount width, the longer spacer and a little washer made of fuel tubing. The reason you use a bit of tubing a little longer is that when it's installed it will compress a little bit making for a tighter fit. Then you screw the bolt into the shock mount and put the nut on the back of it. This made for a mount that's solid but allows for movement. The shocks don't hit the frame and the shock is vertical.
The only addition to the mounting I may do is adding another washer in-between the tubing and the larger spacer to retain the shock better.
The new shocks are far, far smoother than the stockers. There is also no binding of the helper spring in the stock 2pc springs. The XO only has a single spring. Adjustment is very easy, the collars easily spin and will hopefully stay in place.
I was only able to run it shortly in the dark in my rocky backyard. It seemed to crawl effortlessly and performed much better at speed than the stockers. Sadly it's presently raining here so I can't take it out and run a few packs through it. When the weather gets better I will update their performance.
The only issues I can see so far is there are lot of parts involved meaning more potential leak areas. Everything is o-ringed so that should lessen the chance of that. Another issue is finding a rebuild kit. I haven't been able to locate one but I will see if I email the company what they come back with.
I believe the springs are the same diameter as the AE ones but I can't find the post. I would think a trip the the LHS with the shock will find something that will work (tmaxx springs seem to be the right diameter but are too long). The stock springs seem a little stiff for crawling. I will see what I can turn up on my next visit. The unmarked oil also seems a little heavy. As I run it I will see what works for me and update as I go.
TL;DR: Overall I'm very happy with my purchase. They are not a bolt-in but can easily be made to work with a few spare parts. They look great, are smooth as butter and have some neat adjustable features. How well they really work will come with time. Use lighter oil than supplied and maybe some lighter springs and they should be perfect.
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