Keith66 Posted July 25, 2018 Report Share Posted July 25, 2018 Hi All My latest dumb thing, lol. So decided to refurb my lever arms at home. Stripped them down and flushed them out, read up abit (thanks Ed@Bullfire) and it all looked simple enough. My internals matched Ed's, so i got some O rings courtesy of Litespud (thanks again) and came to pop the new rings and new oil in and, doh, my end pluggy things don't match each other? (See pic) One has an O ring in a slot opposite end to the thread the other , nowt. So the question is 1. Why? diff lever arms from a diff year after replacement? 2. How can i tell, codes etc? 3. Most importantly, err does it matter? Hoping not and am gonna carry on. But it would be nice to know if they are diff but should be matched. Cheers Keith Quote Link to post Share on other sites
cubehopper Posted July 25, 2018 Report Share Posted July 25, 2018 Hi Keith, I`ve just done both mine and spookily they were the same as yours, one with the upper o ring and one without. Found some info somewhere that said that the valve without the o ring was a later version. After filling with oil and reinstalling both work perfectly well with the same amount of rebound on each. Dave Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Keith66 Posted July 26, 2018 Author Report Share Posted July 26, 2018 Dave Thanks for the reply. I'd kind of hoped that would be the case so i'll be plodding on. Cheers Keith Quote Link to post Share on other sites
hot-growler Posted July 28, 2018 Report Share Posted July 28, 2018 hi, i need to do mine as am getting little damping from the back end (i need to investigate further) Where can i locate Litespud to get the correct o rings and fluid from. Thanks Steve. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
RogerH Posted July 28, 2018 Report Share Posted July 28, 2018 Hi Steve, you could try looking in the members section (top address bar) Look under L and page 9. Then send a PM Roger Quote Link to post Share on other sites
hot-growler Posted July 28, 2018 Report Share Posted July 28, 2018 which oil works best for our original armstrong lever arms? and how much does each hold? going to have a look at mine today. thanks in advance, steve. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Keith66 Posted July 29, 2018 Author Report Share Posted July 29, 2018 Steve I've the same or a similar question. Also just about to refill with oil and could do with knowing the expected capacity or exactly how full they should be. I've watched and read a few things and there seem to be a number of ways of going about the refil. From the top with the cover off, from the spring and valve or topping off from the access nut on the top. So the question is should we fill, then cycle the lever the expel any air then top off to 100% full (IE no air) from that top fill nut? If so roughly how much oil will i need? I went for Penrite Shocker oil No1 as No2 was described as for "Fast Road or Track Use" and got 500ml, which hopefully will be enought, less the bit I used to help with the flushing process. Cheers Keith Quote Link to post Share on other sites
stuart Posted July 30, 2018 Report Share Posted July 30, 2018 This may help http://vitessesteve.blogspot.com/2015/09/armstrong-lever-dampers-explanation.html Stuart. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Keith66 Posted July 30, 2018 Author Report Share Posted July 30, 2018 Stuart Yep thanks, i had come across that and a couple of other vague-ish things but was looking for some kind of definitive "Armstrong" manual for capacity or topping up. But if thats the accepted norm from someone who does know his stuff thats what i'll be doing. So i'll crack on and get them back on. Cheers Keith Quote Link to post Share on other sites
hot-growler Posted August 2, 2018 Report Share Posted August 2, 2018 Interesting issue. I can't seem to get rid of all the air in the bottom shocker chamber. the more i try and purge the air out, the more bubbles i seem to be getting. I filled the lower chamber first, then the upper chamber up to the thread level on the top. I decided to open up the bottom and see if there is any air left, and to my surprise every stroke of the lever arm creates a large number of tiny bubbles. what am i doing wrong? steve. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Waldi Posted August 2, 2018 Report Share Posted August 2, 2018 Is the plug in the bottom not sealing (it has an O-ring to seal to the body). Waldi Quote Link to post Share on other sites
hot-growler Posted August 2, 2018 Report Share Posted August 2, 2018 i have removed the big threaded nut with the valve assembly on it. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ed_h Posted August 2, 2018 Report Share Posted August 2, 2018 I mounted the shock sideways in a vice with the top cap and filler plug in place. Then removed the valve assembly. Filled that cavity with oil, and exercised the lever arm. Repeat until no more bubbles. Replace valve, then with shock upright, top it off through the filler plug. Ed Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Waldi Posted August 3, 2018 Report Share Posted August 3, 2018 i have removed the big threaded nut with the valve assembly on it.I could be that you suck in air via the big plug. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Keith66 Posted August 3, 2018 Author Report Share Posted August 3, 2018 (edited) Hi All Not sure what happened there i thought i'd replied to this the other day, doh. But maybe i posted my lever arms response against another thread, that'll be comfusing. Kind of did it as per Ed's post, filling the valve cavity first then cycled it a few times, popped the valve back in, reasonably tight as it needs to be airtight as Waldi says. But then i took the top off and filled the body to within 3/8th of the top, then cycled until no fluid drop or visible bubbles. Hopefully all will be ok. Popped them back on the other day, see pick. And yes i know my trailing arm bump stop is missing, photo's and fitting it in wrong order. Cheers Keith Edited August 3, 2018 by Keith66 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Litespud Posted August 7, 2018 Report Share Posted August 7, 2018 I’m late to this thread - when I overhauled my shocks, I also found mismatched valves. I contacted Apple Hydraulics, from whom I’d brought the shock ~6 years ago, and was told that valves had undergone some evolution at one point, but that the two versions were functionally the same. The only caveat was that each valve had to remain matched with its shock, as the valve receptacle had also evolved with the valves. By the time I found this out, the stripped down shocks had been sitting on my workbench for several days, and I could no longer be sure which valve belonged with which shock. Fortunately, one valve had a flange around the hex head, and the other didn’t, so I was able to match up the flangeless one with the hex-shaped “paint shadow” resulting from the shocks having been painted after the valves had been installed Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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