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Hello all,
I am a little confused about shock O rings. I have found the red AE ones to be mediocre, and someone at the track suggested Kyosho shock seals. I heard x ring seals, such as the ones in newer Traxxas shocks, were good. Kyosho makes some, but Kyosho has some different colors that I think are different materials. And then there's P3 o rings, I can't figure out if that's the correct size. Also, I saw that Low Class c.c. has AE-looking red rings at a good price. Are these better than the AE ones?
Okay, so maybe I'm very confused. I'm just trying to find shock o rings that are inexpensive, seal well, and fit bottom-loaders.
Thanks!

McMaster-Carr part number 9396K11, the 006 size, a packet of 25 is $3.38. These will be fine. I would recommend you spend the extra money you save on new hard coated or unobtanium AE shafts. If you are running with old, worn 1985 shafts, no O rings in the world will hold up.

http://www.mcmaster.com/#catalog/118/3482/=jepnux

Bonus obsessive tip - I like to spend extra time, adding nuts/washers/nylon spacers either at the a-arm screw or up at the shock tower connection to get the shock aligned nice and parallel to the compression direction as the you move the arm. Depending on your rear arm toe-in degree and mount location, the shock connected (with the white barrel shaped bushings) like the manual reads, will actually bind slightly, sending the shaft sideways as opposed to straight up the shock body. Even though there is a ball end at the bottom of the shock shafts, it's much easier on a bottom loader if the shaft is shoved as straight as possible up into the body upon compression, imo.

Thanks for the tip.
So x rings are not worth the extra money?
I thought there was some way to polish shock shafts. Is it really better to just replace them?

As a guy who runs a B4.1 and old school stuff, new shafts are awesome. No leaks, and I've run the same o-rings all summer. They aren't too expensive either. I just broke a shock shaft (someone hit me on the straightaway), and about $6 to replace.

you can polish the shafts to take come nicks & scratches out, BUT...you are making the shaft smaller and therefore inviting more leaking.

I've heard the unobtanium shafts are fragile. Are those the ones that broke?
Will x ring seals help with smoothness and leakage?

85Edinger wrote:I've heard the unobtanium shafts are fragile. Are those the ones that broke?
Will x ring seals help with smoothness and leakage?

Yeah they evidently are somewhat brittle according to the message boards , although I've never had a problem. The reality is the others bend and don't break, but they are still just as useless, just less noticable. You take a full speed straightaway hit and something is gonna give. If you are driving and old car with difficult to replace parts, I think you'd rather have the weaker points be the stuff behind the counter at the lhs imo.

I got the Buna N o rings.
When I took the shocks apart, I noticed a slightly bent rear shaft.
Any chance the binding did that?
Getting some 1.32 unobtaniums.

I think the stock o-rings are silicone. Like 9396K11 from McMaster Carr. Or more generically a 006 o-ring.

Viton is good stuff (also available from McMaster), but the hardness is a little higher.

Some on this board have had success with the Traxxas quad rings. I bought one of the rebuild kits for the C-clips for my gold shocks. Have not yet tired the blue quad rings that came with the rebuild kit.

I think your bent shaft was the cause of the binding; not the reverse

I saw the Vitons and silicon o rings. I chose Buna N because it doesn't swell, doesn't tear, and is softer than Viton.
It feels harder then silicone, but more durable.
The Traxxas x rings in my Rustler are 1.5 years old and as good as new, but I wanted something a little cheaper for the AE bottom-loaders.

85Edinger wrote: When I took the shocks apart, I noticed a slightly bent rear shaft.
Any chance the binding did that?

nope. a hard hit did

Kyosho x-rings are super sweet but not worth the extra $ unless you're chasing that elusive couple of tenths.

Low-class CC rings are perfect replacement for stock o-rings

silicon rings swell in silicon oil... replace them regularly otherwise there is too much friction!

Paul

I put washers between the shock end and arm untill the shock was straight up and down. It needed 6, and I'm a little worried about the force being that far from the arm. Should I be worried about stress on the screw hole? Can I remove the 4-40 nut on the top mount to bring the shock closer to the tower and use fewer washers? Thanks.
Edit: I figured it out.