Bleeding the stock Infractions shocks

[Lukas412]

I'm having trouble with this. With the stock plastic caps it seems that the bleeder screws are fake. If I remove the bladder and the bleeder screw and blow on the cap, no air escapes. I see no way to let excess air/fluid escape. If I fill it, the shock will basically not compress, if I fill it half way it feels like a big air pocket, and I still get rebound with no springs.

I also have some aluminum caps from a Kraton. I get a similar issue here. I can bleed them like I would on the Kraton, but no matter what I try I still get rebound when I screw the cap on tight.

Any tips?

 

[suchtragedy]

Before filling the shock make sure you put the rod end back on. Then after first filling the shock nearly to the top you compress the piston and stop just before it breaks the surface of the oil, then pull the piston back down (this will release the trapped air that was under the piston). The released air will drop the oil level a bit so top off again (I fill to about 1-2mm before the top) then let the shock sit upright with cap off for 15-20 mins to give the air bubbles time to bleed out.

Before putting on the cap on I compress the piston all the way and hold it there while I put on the cap. Oil will spill over as you tighten but that's normal and once tightened all the way I clean up the oil mess. To test it I compress the shock all the way without springs and if I did it right it should rebound just a little bit after full compression.

I use this method on all my shocks that have bladders and it works each time with or without bleeder caps.

 

[SrC]

I would use a pin through the bleeder hole and examine it more closely. See if it passes through into the shock cap.The hole doesn't need to be that big to let it bleed out. Refer to the size of the hole on the alloy Kraton caps. (the tiny hole on the side) It is very small.

>>Use a pin to make a fine hole into the plastic Infr. caps.

Good luck.


Edit: a properly setup Emulsion type shock should be "dead" or neutral with no rebound or any pressure. IF done correctly and new oil bled out properly.
I use a shock pump to bleed out air from the oil. The only air that should mix with the oil in an Emulsion type setup is the air that remains above the shock body and within the cap.

@suchtragedy is correct. Follow his lead on this.

Emulsion shocks can be daunting to get them equally setup from shock to shock. Do each identically if possible. Once pumped initially, the oil will aerate with the air (mix), if you need to reopen the cap all the way, you must refill the shock and let the air bleed out of the oil in the shock body again. Or you will be chasing a ghost trying to duplicate again. Basically you Start over if the first attempt didn't pan out.


EDIT:, Did you cut out the diaphrams/bladders to make a plain seal/o-ring out of it? You need an o-ring or seal for the shock cap when doing an emulsion setup. Removing the diaphram/Bladder removes the seal. The bladder is a seal. The caps will leak other wise. Maybe you know this already???

 

[jkflow]

Or you could look at the manual, has pictures that go with the words above

 

[Lukas412]

Thanks for all the help. I’ve been doing what @suchtradgedy had suggested. Was just hoping there was a trick to eliminating all of the rebound.

@SrC Thanks I have the M2C emulsion caps on my Kraton. I'm not really looking to convert these to an emulsion setup with the stock caps. Just found it curious that they opted to add non-functional screws, at least in my case. I bet You could work a pin through them though.

@jkflow the manual is not accurate. It shows the Kraton caps with the little hole in the side. The infraction caps do not have that hole.

 

[SrC]

^^^(1) Stock Lim./Infr. shock bleeder screw caps | ARRMA RC Forum (arrmaforum.com)

I examined those plastic shock caps when I rebuilt my Lim. and Infr. shocks.

The bleeder screws in them are easily stripped several came stripped out the box and HH replaced them under warranty. The screws have no o-rings to begin with. They would easily leak as a result, so I opted to keep them as a bladder setup. I would consider Emulsion on my next rebuild but with M2C shock caps only. Emulsion shocks really work much nicer IMHO. They are easier to tune once you get the hang of it. Many of my track rigs are setup this way.
But Emulsion shocks are generally more plush yet harder to match to each other when bleeding.

 

[joshjosh]

Do the M2C shock caps work with the Limitless?

 

[jkflow]

Do the M2C shock caps work with the Limitless?

Not sure but almost certain that they will but WHY?

These shock caps improve landing after crazy jumps, else they are no different. They tend to leak and break as well, not one of the items I'd choose from M2C, but that's just me.
Stock are better imho.

 

[joshjosh]

I’ve read that emulsion shocks are good for long sweeping turns, and actually aren’t that great for off-road use. They are great for landing, because they don’t have the bounce, but they do not handle the quick bumps as well. On the flip side, my on-road car doesn’t hit bumps like the off-road terrain. Instead, I’d like it to be predictable throughout the turn.

 

[turn2burn]

Before filling the shock make sure you put the rod end back on. Then after first filling the shock nearly to the top you compress the piston and stop just before it breaks the surface of the oil, then pull the piston back down (this will release the trapped air that was under the piston). The released air will drop the oil level a bit so top off again (I fill to about 1-2mm before the top) then let the shock sit upright with cap off for 15-20 mins to give the air bubbles time to bleed out.

Before putting on the cap on I compress the piston all the way and hold it there while I put on the cap. Oil will spill over as you tighten but that's normal and once tightened all the way I clean up the oil mess. To test it I compress the shock all the way without springs and if I did it right it should rebound just a little bit after full compression.

I use this method on all my shocks that have bladders and it works each time with or without bleeder caps.

A ha. The manual says to extend the shock then push it in then tighten cap. Im having the hardest time with this. But you compress the shock instead and just screw the cap on and the bladder displaces all the air? This is handy info thanks, hope it works for OP.