MAINTAINING AND REBUILDING SHOCKS

Story by: Shaun Ochsner

You pay a premium for your off-road shocks. Like everything else they are going to need some TLC. Our pre-runner series King Shocks were no exception. We brought them over to the team at LaFortune Race Cars. Owned by longtime off-road racer Jason LaFortune, his shop offers full race prep and fabrication services. Their crew pays attention to every detail when it comes to working on your off-road vehicle. Sometimes one of the most overlooked details of off-road prep, are shocks. Whether off-road racing, pre-running or general off-road usage, those shocks are going to need to be rebuilt. The seals wear out, oil begins to break down degrading your shock effectiveness. If overlooked, parts can start to fail.

So, what is involved in rebuilding wornout shocks? First, you need a seal kit from your shock manufacturer. In our case, King sells these through your local off-road shop. LaFortune Race Cars had one shipped to the shop before we arrived. Included are several replacement seal rings. You also need to purchase shock fluid. Our shocks used about a gallon of the custom mix. King also sells a higher blend synthetic oil specifically for race vehicles. That blend can withstand higher temperatures and lubricates moving parts faster.

Once the shocks were pulled off the truck, the springs needed to be compressed in order to remove the shock shaft. There are various ways to do this. Having a spring compressor in the LaFortune shop made it really easy and convenient. Also, when the shock is pulled off, don’t forget to clean the joints and mounting points. Plenty of dirt and grime gets in these parts. We then remove all of the components from the shaft. We drained the old oil out of the shock.

The oil in our shock had broken down and was of a dark color, a significant indicator that it needed to be replaced. Once you have the shock apart, replacing the seals in very simple. You want to make sure you get everything cleaned up including the piston and shim stacks. Once everything is put back together it’s time to pour new oil into the shaft. The final step is to seal the shock, tighten everything and re-install on truck.

We immediately noticed improved ride quality on our truck. Shock service is recommended every 1-2 years to get the best performance out of them.

Shock rebuild performed at: LaFortune Race Cars 626 290 2392 https://www.lafortuneracecars.com/