What should I do...

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NRath · #1 Post by **NRath** » Sat Jul 18, 2009 3:29 am

On the last trip I took to H-M, I had a little problem. When we arrived in WV, i found the rear of my quad to be a pogo stick. The rear PEP had lost it's charge somehow along the drive. Talk about a downer! I had tied down the rear end around the axle instead of loading the rear suspension to keep it down. Of course I couldn't come up with any nitrogen, so I charged it till it felt good with CO2 from my tire inflator kit. It worked pretty well and the quad was awesome the whole trip. Amazingly, it doesn't seem to have lost any pressure since then. I definitely need to dump the CO2 for some nitrogen, which I can handle. I wonder if you've got any idea about the problem and if I should have it pulled down for good measure. What happened to the charge? It definitely didn't leak around the schrader cap. All I can figure is all the working it did on the 8 hour trip allowed nitrogen to seep by the shaft. Sounds questionable, though. Any thoughts?

I just renewed my ATVA card and I'm planning in hitting a race in about 3 weeks!! So I hope to not show up at the track with a pogo stick. Also, I had it rebuilt by Baldwin about 40 hrs ago (2years probably).

Thanks for anything!

cannondale27 · #2 Post by **cannondale27** » Sat Jul 18, 2009 3:58 pm

If oil didnt leak it can only be the schrader valve or the bladder in the bottle since almost all PEP's use a bladder.I suspect oil did leak and the leaked oil volume was taken up by the gas volume causing pressure loss.Enough volume of oil was leaked to equal the volume of nitrogen so there was no pressure left.You added more air to take up the volume of oil that leaked.What will eventually happen because there is less oil is either air will be in shock(no damping)or the bladder will get sucked into the passageway and rupture or if floating piston type the piston will hit bottom when fully extended and then air will be in the shock.Shock oil will actually dry up real quick and leave a sticky residue so it can be easy to miss when it leaks.

Almost every shock I have dealt with leaks a little even just from sitting.PEP's do it worse than most because the fits of everything are a little loose to reduce friction.That helps them work as awesome as they do.Eventually enough oil is gone where there will be a issue.Send it over for a refresh.

NRath · #3 Post by **NRath** » Wed Jul 22, 2009 4:34 pm

I knew that was the safest thing to do. I'll have to get it back in the garage and pull the shock off.

PM me your address...

Thanks, 27

cannondale27 · #4 Post by **cannondale27** » Thu Jul 23, 2009 3:44 am

No problem.All shipping info is here:

http://www.cannondaleriders.com/forums/ind...showtopic=22209

NRath · #5 Post by **NRath** » Sat Jul 25, 2009 4:06 am

It's on the way.

I'd like to talk to you about what it looks like inside, so if you could, give me a shout when you get it apart. I wasn't able to print a return label- couldn't figure it out.

Thanks, again!

NRath · #6 Post by **NRath** » Wed Jul 29, 2009 4:20 pm

Should be delivered today.
If you don't mind, check the pressure in it before you drop it. Also, there are some engravings on it- a couple of them don't make any sense to me. It is anything you recognize?

cannondale27 · #7 Post by **cannondale27** » Wed Jul 29, 2009 5:53 pm

Will do.They put the specs on shock for future service.

NRath · #8 Post by **NRath** » Thu Jul 30, 2009 4:32 pm

Yeah, I that was clear for some of it, but I couldn't understand what all of it was trying to say. I think the fronts say "Cecco", "XC A", and "180psi" (or whatever the number is), and maybe something else. But I think the rear says some different stuff that didn't make sense to me. Must be some high tech "shock-lingo". Let me know if it means anything to you.