Rear shock question

[minnesotamonster]

Ok so need a little help here. I was tweaking the rear suspension settings on my wife's 600 and completely removed the screw at the bottom of the shock.  It wasnt "clicking" as i was turning it and I backed it all the way out  I quickly realized that there is a pushrods in there that prevents me from simply screwing it back in. This must be lifted up somehow so it can be screwed back in. Question is...how the hell do I do that? I've been trying for the last two nights and am out of ideas. Do I have to remove the shock from the bike? Help me before I break something.

[battlecry]

My way may not work for you, MM, but maybe you can adapt to your circumstances.  

Secure the front of the bike with the Baxley chock.
Get 3' long 1/2" dia steel rod and two car stands.
Remove the rubber caps sealing the swingarm pivot axle.
Insert the rod through the hollow swingarm pivot axle.
Lay the two stands close to the rod.
Get a friend and the wife.  With friend, lift the rear of the bike until wife can slide the car stands under the rod.
You now have the bike secured in the front by the Baxley chock and the two stands, with the rear wheel off the ground.

Get a long socket and tape it to the extension so you wont lose it inside the axle.  
Insert the bolt/socket/extension and jiggle the swingarm and shock until they are aligned and you can screw it back.
Torque to the correct amount.
Bring the bike down and break out the beer.

When sober, go over the bike and make sure it is all put together correctly.

[minnesotamonster]

Thanks for the reply but I don't think we are thinking about the same bolt/screw. The one that I backed out is the adjustment screw with a regular screwdriver head on it. I think it adjusts the damping?

[Slide Panda]

That screw came out and nothing else like oil followed? Hmm... And it's a 600? To your knowledge has the shock ever been serviced?

[minnesotamonster]

Nope. Dry as a bone. I noticed an o ring on the bolt and was wondering why it was there. Should there have been oil in there? Shock never serviced. Bike has 21k on it.

[minnesotamonster]

Not my shock but it's the bolt on the left under the red zip tie in this pic

[Slide Panda]

It's possible that if you don't further compress the shock nothing would come out... but I strongly suspect that the shock needs service in a bad way. I don't know about that model, but most shocks are pressurized - loose a connection of fitting and you'll get a jet of oil.

[minnesotamonster]

How much oil would be in there? I have never had any sort of leak out if this bike. If its dry now, I would have noticed a leak at some point, no?  Also shock seems to perform fine, haven't noticed any issues with it riding hard, etc.

[Slide Panda]

Again, I'm not familiar with that model - so take what I say with a grain of salt.

Shocks, especially ones like that don't hold much oil. 1/4-1/2 cup probably - so no much at all.

you may or may not notice a leak. A very slow leak would probably be dried up with road dust and washed away if you ride in the rain or wash the bike. But, leaky shocks aren't super common. Happens, but not a day to day item.

But the oil and seals do age. The shocks, what, 10, 12 years old? A service, or hell, upgrade is not hard to justify.

The 600 has a a hoop type rear right? If you can track down a 2000 or older 900 shock, especailly an S one it'd be a step up. have the new (to you one serviced) and set for the wife.

As far as your current issue - you'll probably need to jack up the rear of the bike to get the weight off. When I took apart my rear I used straps through the frame and a come-along anchored to a rafter to take the weight off the rear - while the front was stabilized in a chock.

Artful build a frame out of iron pipe to allow for such things. I've heard tell of 2x4 constructs for the same purpose.

[minnesotamonster]

Yeah I was thinking of just saying make the beast with two backs it and getting a new shock. As far as getting the bolt back in, I've lifted the rear of the bike from the garage rafters to take the weight off, didn't make a difference 

[battlecry]

SP, it could be that the screw has a tapered end and actuates a rod that moves the needle providing the damping up in the shock.  So it could be dry down there and it could be fine.     If you have the bike lifted, I'd pull the shock off and see why the bolt doesn't want to go back. 

[minnesotamonster]

I'll try to get a picture tonight when I get home. The pin or actuating rod inside the shock is blocking the threaded end of the bolt. The bolt has a recess in the middle of it that the rod sits in. So I somehow have to push the rod up into the shock to allow the threaded end of the bolt to pass through and thread into the shock. Hard to explain, I'll try to get a picture.

[battlecry]

Maybe the rod needs to be rotated for something to align with the bolt? 

[Speeddog]

Depressurize the shock via the shraeder fitting, push the rod back in, refit the adjust screw, and repressurize.

Probably will need to take the shock to a moto/suspension shop for them to repressurize.

[minnesotamonster]

Thad speeddog!  Is removal of the shock required?