Changed the shock oil in my rear shocks, now they won't pump up. Oil was changed with a Mity Vac pump. Used Teflon tape on the air fittings and trimmed one line that may not have been sealing properly. Can't hear an air leak.


I'm using the HD shock pressure pump and can't get any air pressure. Anyone have any ideas?


2010 Road King Classic

 

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I just did the same thing to the rear shocks on my 09 EGUC ran into the same thing,when i 1st tried to refill them with air they didnt pump & or show they were holding any pressure at all
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After changing the oil in the rear shocks I found had to pump the HD airpump 4x longer then i would have normally had to do if they had leaked down to zero pressure prior to removing the shocks & changing the oil in them.

So try this,1st ensure you have the air lines properly/fully seated in the fittings because if 1 or both lines arent properly/fully seated no air will be allowed into the shocks.

Then after doing that try hooking up the HD shock airpump & then pump it at a pretty fast rate a lot longer then you would normally need to do in the past if shocks had leaked down to zero psi which worked for me & hopefully that will get it done for you too.

good luck.

Scott

 

havent changed my shocks but sometimes it seems like the hd pump doesn't work properly and i have to pul it apart and reseat the ram rod. i don't think its a well designed tool

 

Time for the soapy water and a bicycle tire pump.
Just don't over do it!

 

I plan on doing that today. I had to walk away and clear my head.


I don't think the plastic push fittings like to be disturbed. I'll probably pick up some new ones at the dealership today. There's not much else that can go wrong...if the pump is working.

 

Air lines need to be cut square on the ends and fully seated in the connections.

 

OK...went back and checked everything once more. The pump was working, but the airline I had cut back wasn't fully seated in the push connector. Pushed it home all the way and re-made the connection and all is working properly now.


Guess I was tired and should have been paying more attention...that's why I walked away.


Thank you all for your assistance! Just need to test ride it now.

 

I never changed the oil in the HD stock air shock. I just change out the air shocks to Progressive 944 model.

 

glad you got it figured out. its a pita when something is wrong and you can't figure it out. ride safe.

 

Can you do this oil swap on the bike or is it easier to just remove them? I was thinking you could just let the air out of the shocks then use the Mity Vac to vacuum all the oil out and put new oil back in, but I may be mistaken. Also, is there some type of check valve in the lines on the shocks that keeps them both from leaking off if you get a leak? Or if one loses air then they both lose air? I have seen where some guys are putting different valves in them to make them independent of each other.