81 monoshockspring needs new oil

[mopipi20]

wen i was filling the air pressure there was coming oil out at the point were air is going in,how much oil and what type and how can i get it back in it ,to make it work properly??

[Mike Nixon]

There's a writeup on this in an ancient issue of the Xpress, that goes into how to get the seal out, change the oil, etc, including recommended fill amounts (the amount is variable). A bit of oil froth escaping is not abnormal when using the shraeder valve. As for changing oil, the only right way is to remove the seal. There is a special tool that hydrolocks the seal out, and the official manual goes into fair detail on that part of the procedure. What is left out is how to get all the old oil out, and how to get just the amount you want back in. The amount is variable because the amount results in different air spring characteristics. The shock was shipped from the factory with too little oil, about half filled, as I recall. The result is frequent bottoming due to a less progressive air pressure buildup on compression. The factory recommends ATF, and due to the low quality damper inside the shock, upgrading the type of oil really isn't going to make any difference, although theoretically a synthetic of comparable weight should last twice as long. I used to own a suspension tuning shop in L.A. and did a lot of trial and error work on this particular shock, so ask if you have more questions.

[mopipi20]

thanks for your information,i pay a visit to a suspension shop and see what they can do for me.