oil replacement in noleen shock
- Thread starter lewis1641
- Start date
I have noticed that most mtb shocks have double eyelet fitment ie eyelet at top and bottom of shock where it bolts to the frame . The Proflex is eyelet at the top and the bottom of the shock is attached to the frame with an Alan screw direct into a threaded hole from below . This I think is unique to Proflex and severely restricts alterative replacement shocks .
GT-TJR
GT Fan
Hi,
Just picked up a GT RTS with a Noleen shock. Just read this post. I think mine is knackered but I don’t know how they are supposed to be.
How was the shock before and after the service?
Alessandro
Retro Newbie
Hey hi, did you manage to rebuild the shock absorber? Do you have photos of the job? I ask because soon I will have to perform the same work on the same shock absorber and I don't know who to ask, is it better to do the work yourself?
GT-TJR
GT Fan
Hi Alessandro. I learned quite a lot about these shocks through the rebuild, although information online is patchy, still can't find a factory maintenance manual anywhere on the internet.
I sent my Noleen off to an MTB suspension guy here in the UK. He did the rebuild for me.
I personally decided not to rebuild myself due to the propriety seals required plus I have no way to recharge the shock with nitrogen (requires 200psi and special needle to inject it). The nitrogen is charged via a rubber bung in the top of the shock body. This is covered by a cross headed grub screw. The seal kits are still available from NoleenJ6 in the USA if you choose to do it yourself and they also offer a full rebuild service. But I wasn't too keen on sending mine off to the USA and paying the various additional shipping and imports duties.
You can preform a basic test on your shock to find out if it's healthy. First take it off the bike/fork and remove the spring from the body. Flip the shock so the body is on a hard surface like a table and push the rod end into the body to compress the shock. Will take a fair amount of force to do this - that's the compression damping function. Then let go and the rod end should slowly return to its original position, that's the rebound control. If yours is doing this then it should be ok.
With my shock before the repair, under compression the seal head pushed into the body with the rod. This was due to a sticky degraded rod seal which had allowed the oil to escape. On rebound the seal head instantly snapped back against the body and made a clicking sound. My shock had no rebound or compression damping and was basically operating just on spring pressure, which gives a bouncy ride and a horrendous clicking/cracking sound.
Hope this helps.
I sent my Noleen off to an MTB suspension guy here in the UK. He did the rebuild for me.
I personally decided not to rebuild myself due to the propriety seals required plus I have no way to recharge the shock with nitrogen (requires 200psi and special needle to inject it). The nitrogen is charged via a rubber bung in the top of the shock body. This is covered by a cross headed grub screw. The seal kits are still available from NoleenJ6 in the USA if you choose to do it yourself and they also offer a full rebuild service. But I wasn't too keen on sending mine off to the USA and paying the various additional shipping and imports duties.
You can preform a basic test on your shock to find out if it's healthy. First take it off the bike/fork and remove the spring from the body. Flip the shock so the body is on a hard surface like a table and push the rod end into the body to compress the shock. Will take a fair amount of force to do this - that's the compression damping function. Then let go and the rod end should slowly return to its original position, that's the rebound control. If yours is doing this then it should be ok.
With my shock before the repair, under compression the seal head pushed into the body with the rod. This was due to a sticky degraded rod seal which had allowed the oil to escape. On rebound the seal head instantly snapped back against the body and made a clicking sound. My shock had no rebound or compression damping and was basically operating just on spring pressure, which gives a bouncy ride and a horrendous clicking/cracking sound.
Hope this helps.
Alessandro
Retro Newbie
My bike has stood still for many years now I'm getting it back to work and I've noticed the drops of oil coming out of the rear shock absorber one after the other and I haven't even done a ride, I have the desire to continue walking despite the seals leak, for now it works and absorbs excellently but when I start riding a mtb I don't know how long it will last.
Today I wrote to Noolen if they have spare parts to send me to Italy since the smart shock is a basic Noolen nr2 modified with the addition of the electronic control unit. For the rest, I also found the original rebuild kits that the k2 sold but I can't currently get them because the seller doesn't ship outside the USA.
May I ask how did you come to know about the 200 psi I haven't found anyone to indicate the pressure you are the only one and thank you because I didn't know who to ask.
GT-TJR
GT Fan
You may be a bit stuck to find the seals then, if Noleen won’t ship them. Did find this for you though….
https://www.randombikeparts.com/products/k2-noleen-pro-flex-rk019-smart-shock-rebuild-kit-new
Not sure where I saw reference to the nitrogen pressure. But definitely saw 200psi quoted in a couple of places.
Alessandro
Retro Newbie
Sono proprio loro che ho contattato quelli del sito che mi hai allegato a cui ho mandato una mail sperando in una risposta non li ho ordinati perché non spediscono in Italia e il sito non contiene Italia ma solo Regno Stati. Attendo la loro risposta.
