Yep, it may be funny, but it is true. The factory shocks are junk no matter what you do to them.

 

i know the factory shocks are junk but i dont really feel like spending 500 or more dollars right now , i will probley do something by the end of summer just being cheap right now !! i figured i would mess around with them just for the heck of it !

 

I changed the oil in the street glide shocks I bought because some of the oil had leaked out during delivery. They were take offs and the dealer that removed them didn't re-attach the air lines or plug the holes . . . . imagine that.

To get the rest of the oil out, I made a jig, turned them upside down, and pumped them a few times till it was all out.

To refill them, I screwed a 1/8" pipe nipple in the shock, put a short piece of rubber hose on it and put a funnel on the other end of the hose. I'd put oil in the funnel and pump the shock slowly to suck the oil in. Slowly is the key word here because if you pump too fast, the air coming out of the shock will blow oil out of the funnel (don't ask me how I know this).

Knowing what I do now, if I ever do it again, I'm going to use the pipe nipple and hose again, but this time I'm going to put the shock under the bumper of my truck with both ends protected and use my floor jack to pump the oil out. Then I'll turn it over, collapse the shock completely, and suck the oil back in from the funnel.

 

I changed the oil in my rear shocks last year and was very happy with the results. HERE is a link to the thread that I posted. It includes links to some of the threads I used for reference info.