Penske Shock Problem - Rebuild

[Marsh White]

Thank you Marsh (daddy) for this wonderful site.  PayPal sent (hint)

Pat

Thanks for the Donation (again) Father Pat!!   

Stacey (my wife) got me my Penske 8981 rear shock rebuilt from Penske!  Yay!!!

[Pat Conlon]

Stacey (my wife) got me my Penske 8981 rear shock rebuilt from Penske!  Yay!!!

Cool, she's a keeper. How many miles/years did you get out of the Penske before you had to rebuild?

You're next Xmas will be extra special, along with many other Xmas's after that....
I even now I still wake up early on Xmas mornings waiting to hear my boys scream with glee....
Alas, it's their turn now.

Huggs to mom.

[racerman_27410]

Stacey (my wife) got me my Penske 8981 rear shock rebuilt from Penske!  Yay!!!

Cool, she's a keeper. How many miles/years did you get out of the Penske before you had to rebuild?

I'm kind of curious about the penske failure too... and did you run a shock sock?


Merry KOokaloo!

Frank

[Marsh White]

Stacey (my wife) got me my Penske 8981 rear shock rebuilt from Penske!  Yay!!!

Cool, she's a keeper. How many miles/years did you get out of the Penske before you had to rebuild?

I'm kind of curious about the penske failure too... and did you run a shock sock?

Frank

The Penske 8981 rear shock was put on my FJ on 11/26/1997 when my FJ had 18,815 miles on it.  I have never serviced it since then.  It "froze up / locked up" in a compressed position right before the last WCR on 5/23/2009 when my FJ had 63,916 miles on it.  No, I never had a shock sock on it.  I think I'll put one on it before I put it back on this time.

The shock was actually just sent to Penske – I hope all it needs is a simple re-build and service – which Penske charges $125.00 for.  They should receive it in a day or two.  I'll let you guys know how it turns out.

This is the exact quote from the Penske guy: "Normal cost for a service of this kind starts at $125 and that includes a complete disassembly and cleaning of all parts, replacement of any normal wear items (orings, seals, etc) but does not cover any non-normal parts issues."

I'm a little concerned since it was "stuck" in a compressed position.  Has this ever happened to any of you guys with a shock?

[racerman_27410]

stuck even with the spring in place?  never heard of that happening.... any oil leaks visible?


Kookaloo!

Frank

[Marsh White]

Yep - I took a short local ride with Klavdy right before the rally - and noticed at the end of the ride that I was basically on a hardtail.  No visible oil leaks - I didn't even try messing around with adjusting the spring...yes it was compressed.  I'm guessing that maybe a shim broke and clogged a damping hole thus not allowing the shock to "un-compress"??  I really have no idea.  I have at least a 900lb spring on it - possibly a 1000lb spring.  Yes, it was a bit supprising to me that it was stuck compressed with that force on it...

[racerman_27410]

Yep - I took a short local ride with Klavdy right before the rally - and noticed at the end of the ride that I was basically on a hardtail.  No visible oil leaks - I didn't even try messing around with adjusting the spring...yes it was compressed.  I'm guessing that maybe a shim broke and clogged a damping hole thus not allowing the shock to "un-compress"??  I really have no idea.  I have at least a 900lb spring on it - possibly a 1000lb spring.  Yes, it was a bit supprising to me that it was stuck compressed with that force on it...

that is unusual... most time the shock blows a seal and turns into a pogo stick....i would have to lean more towards some kind of hydraulic lock....two way valve turning into a one way but dam if i know how that could happen with shim stacks controlling the oil flow.  Please keep us in the loop as to what they find.

Merry KOokaloo!


Frank

[Marsh White]

I just received a call from Penske.  They fixed my shock and and fully serviced it with new o-rings etc.  They are only charging me $100.00 plus return shipping!   

The guy said that the problem is that on ALL Penske shocks over 2 years old there is a rubber bumper in there that would slowly degrade and crumble.  They replaced that rubber part with a new type of rubber that doesn't do this anymore on all of their new shocks - and they replace it on all of the older shocks they get in for servicing.  My rubber crumbled and a small bit of it clogged an oil passage and wouldn't let the shock un-compress.

I was actually kind of shocked (get it?) that the guy was so candid with me about the problem.  He went on to say they were not sure if it was because the rubber was breaking down in the oil or if it was due to heat - but that they are confident that the new rubber won't do that.  Again - they have been using the new rubber for 2 years now.

It took over 45 thousand miles and 11 years for that to happen - so I'm not complaining by any means!  I should have had it serviced long ago anyway.  FWIW

Oh - and the guy told me that I have a 950lb spring on that shock - good to know...

[racerman_27410]

Ahhhhhhh i remember seeing that part when we re revalving my shock.....its like a travel limiter inside the shock.

IIRC mine was some type of white plastic.

good to know they took care of you on the service..... Penske ROCKS!


KOokaloo!

Frank

[pdxfj]

Good to hear on the shock.  I'm curious to see if you notice any difference when you get it back on the bike and go for a ride.

I don't think the Ohlins on my '87 has ever been serviced.  Had about 40k miles on it from the previous owner then what I've put on it.  From what I've read they say to service them about every 18 months.  Hope to have the cash to get it rebuilt this winter. 

[the fan]

Good to hear on the shock.  I'm curious to see if you notice any difference when you get it back on the bike and go for a ride.

I don't think the Ohlins on my '87 has ever been serviced.  Had about 40k miles on it from the previous owner then what I've put on it.  From what I've read they say to service them about every 18 months.  Hope to have the cash to get it rebuilt this winter. 

When you get around to rebuilding it consider Reuben at 35 motorsports. http://www.35motorsports.com/

He does great work at a reasonable price. I have known him for a few years and highly recommend his work, in fact I just sent a few shocks his way from my bike (fox) and a project Jon and I are working on (heavily modified OEM YZF600 shock).

[pdxfj]

Thanks for the information. 

There's a local Ohlins shop not too far from me but they want about $250 for a service.  The prices I saw for the folks you recommend are much more affordable. 

[the fan]

Reuben does a lot of work and is very popular in the area. (actually he is closer to Randy than to me). He is sponsoring a good friend of mine this year in WERA and I was really surprised at his pricing when I looked him up. I had always respected his advice in the past but assumed that his work would be too rich for my wallet. Oops

Normally I do all the work on shocks myself and only farm out the nitrogen charge, but Reuben is cheap enough that its more than worth it for me to have him do the work.

[rktmanfj]

Reuben does a lot of work and is very popular in the area. (actually he is closer to Randy than to me). He is sponsoring a good friend of mine this year in WERA and I was really surprised at his pricing when I looked him up. I had always respected his advice in the past but assumed that his work would be too rich for my wallet. Oops

Normally I do all the work on shocks myself and only farm out the nitrogen charge, but Reuben is cheap enough that its more than worth it for me to have him do the work.

Huh.

That's about 30 mins from here... about 5 mins from my sis.

I'll have to stop in there one day.

Randy T
Indy