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How to refill Armstrong shocks?

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The local MotorCycle shop had the Shock oil and it was about nine dollars per bottle. It only took about half the bottle to fill both front shocks. These were shocks that showed signs of leakage. There had been motor oil put in them. There was a article that I read on one of the forums that said that the Fork Oil had additives in it with sealing properties. The shocks on mine now have about eight thousand road miles and still have shown no signs of leakage.
 
Just a plug for a good guy....
I've had Peter C. rebuild the shocks for my Bugeye, A35 saloon, and my wife's Traveler. NONE have leaked, some are 6yrs post rebuild. He doesn't "spray and pray" like a certain fruity alternative, he totally rebuilds them with new seals.
Count me as a happy customer.

Glen Byrns
 
Well, I did both front ends in both of my Sprites. My 'nicer' one still bounces quite a bit. The handling on the older rattier Sprite is more noticibly improved. It did suppress rebound on both cars though. They didn't take a whole lot of oil to fill all of them up. Maybe three ounces in total?

I used my Mity Vac backwards as a pump and pumped the jack oil right into them.
 
You may not have filled it. I'm slow typer, but i'd be happy to help you refill. Won't cost you a cent. Call me (800) 362-1025 Peter
 
I agree, call Peter. The best money you never spent.
 
I will definitely look into Peter's for my next shock purchase. I did get a bad one from Apple once, but they replaced it under warranty with no question. By the way, in regards to removing the valve, I have always done that when I flush them and usually find gunk in the port holes. If the valve is clogged, the shock is not going to work. I don't think there is any risk checking that, but maybe Peter can confirm. I think there is a gasket and some O-rings that you can make sure are in place also. If those are bad, you most likely should have them rebuilt. I restored a Sprite once that had adjustable valves on the rear shocks. I've only seen one set like that.
 
I got the lowdown from Peter and though my shocks are both leaking out of the pivot point, they are working for now. I got them both filled completely and took it for a drive and it handles much better now. A lot of the shudders and wobbles have been muted almost to the point of nonexistence.
 
Woo hoo... good to hear. I wonder if the leaks will slow as the seals soak up a bit of oil. You said that these sat dry for some time? Here's hoping it fixes itself! /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/smile.gif
 
What a guy he is.
I was holding off on mine, but I think I'll send 'em there.
 
Had a nice chat with Luke. I suspected from what he had written earlier that he hadn't gotten much oil into the shock.

The front shock fill plug accesses the air chamber and IT has 2 rather small holes that drain into the body of the shock. It can take a looooooooong time to drain into the shock. There shouldn't be any oil in the air chamber. If you are topping up, take your time. Luke pumped oil in and the chamber filled so he thought he was done. He wasn't. These 2 little holes allow oil into the shock but they also have to allow the air in the shock out while filling with oil. It's not like filling a differential that has a big hole. As I've cautioned before, you also don't want to overfill the shock.

I'm going to try to post a picture of Jack Laird's shock he sent in. The lid is removed revealing what may become oil in a few million years, but is dried mud now. Look at the inside of the cover and you'll see the 2 holes. I hope this works. Peter
 

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If my shocks looked like Jack's, I'd be in the market for new ones for sure /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/wink.gif Mine look new. They are painted black and the problem with them is they've just been sitting, doing nothing for the past 18 years.
 
Oh gesh, that's awful. I did replace or have Peter replace both. No leakes here.
 
ok so I want to fill my front shocks and was wondering if a "turkey baster" with say 1/4 inch tubing stuck on the end would be a good way to fill them, or is 3/16 better to get inside the filler hole. I gotta go buy hose so would like to get the right size.

Oh yeah the local stores have 10 weight fork oil, is that ok or should I just use the 20/20w motor oil per the manual?
 
the easiest solution for me is to put a pointy cap (like the ones that come on gear oil quarts) on my shock oil bottle.

Attach 2 feet of clear tubing to it so I can see what I'm doing and then use gravity to feed it in at whatever speed I desire. easy to tip down the bottle when it overflows and not make a big mess.


And by the way, both of my front shocks work great, and both of them are leaking oil like a seive /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/wink.gif
 
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