jayjeff333

Hello, todayI broke 1 of the shocks on my savage xl, doing really minor things like going over small rocks etc. I found that hard to believe, but anywase, i just have 1 little question to help me figure out why it happened. I was just checking the other shocks on my car, and i saw that they're all loose at the top where they bolt on. You know that there is a screw that goes through the top and bolts both shocks together, well its not fully tightened, its just like threaded a couple of times. Should i tighten up those screws to the max to take away the left and right play in the uper shock mounts? Thanks!

wolfie1

I think that they should be nipped up tight

ChaseMe

That's one thing you'll learn quick, stuff breaks doing the most random things. I can send my savage through the air over and over without issue, then take it to a gravel parking lot and break it in 10min.

The other day I spent the whole day at the track and left with a perfectly working Savage. 1 week later in grass field 5min in I had a too hard on the breaks rollover...both rear shock caps (LST2 plastics) broke right off.

xXxCellARatOr

The answer to your question is Yes. You want the upper bolts to be tightened, not just held in by the lock nut. What you want is to tighten it till the nut contacts the plastic, then give it another 1/4 turn. Do not over tighten it either, as you will break the plastic pieces holding the shocks. Also, u might wanna check ur shock caps. You wanna make them relatively tight. Again, tighten till they feel harder to tighten, then another 1/4 turn. I have never busted any of my shocks components (except the plastic spring holders at the bottom, which is normal wear) in over 12+ gallons with over hundreds of jumps on the truck with countless back flips. Good luck.

SLAYERDUDE

Also keep an eye on the bottom caps on the shocks, I had them loosen up and a couple blow out on my XL.
Didn't damage the threads or anything I just cleaned them out and refilled with 60 WT silicone oil.

HPI_Savage_RC

You're blowing them out because you are using very viscous shock oil. 60wt will always cause problems with blown caps and bent shafts. 20 - 30wt is best for big air.

xXxCellARatOr

60WT silicone is what will cause ur shocks to blow. Why would you want to use such high weight? Ive been using 20WT since ive owned my savage, and have bought a 25WT to replace the bottle that ive been using for over 12 gallons. When i finally finished that bottle ill start adding from the new bottle. But 60 WT is too much. If u think it will help you when jumping your truck, it wont. When you jump ur truck higher than a meter in the air, the truck will bottom out and hit the chassis anyway, which is fine. Adding higher weight will only put enormous amounts of pressure on the shocks, which would only benefit on smaller jumps. If u want better stability of your truck in turns and such, then maybe the higher weight helps, but even then, i think the springs will have more of an effect on that.

xXxCellARatOr

Damn, u beat me to it [sm=thumbup.gif]

SLAYERDUDE

LOL
If you read my post...
They blew out with the stock shock oil that came in the XL new. - 30 wt not silicone???
(I now check them often to be sure the bottom and top caps are not loosening up and no longer is a problem.)

About 50% of my bashing is big air. (over 10 feet up and landing on flat hard pack)
I have not blown out a shock or bent a shaft yet since going to 60WT.



EDIT- Okay I guess I didn't specify that the shocks still had the stock oil in them in the first post...but I still have had no problems with the 60WT.

ChaseMe

I didn't say I blew the caps off, and I run 30wt for bash'ability. The caps broke where the bolt goes through them, don't know what to call it, the 'bridge' maybe...

EDIT: Ha, just noticed I clarified on something that wasn't meant for me. Ignore!