FCM Elite - Disassembly of small body Bilstein / H&R shock (using 36mm COB piston)

For those who may be curious how you take a Bilstein apart, here's the process in all its glorious (gory?!) detail! We're using a customized Accu-Force shock fill machine with custom 36mm accessories / adapters. I show how to access the upper and low snap-rings, considerations for fluid overflow and maintaining as low stress as possible on the rod guide and seals when disassembling the damper. Oh, and you'll want to drain / wipe the inside of the damper body of excess oil once you're done 'cause there will almost certainly oil in there!

This procedure is useful if you want to set up the proper tooling to refill the damper without adding an external Schrader valve, which we don't do any longer. The OE-type nitrogen fill / shock assembly process gives better durability and more worry-free operation than you get with an external valve.

Keep in mind when you are servicing a Bilstein-based damper that you need to grind down any part of the nut / swaged end of the shaft otherwise you will ruin the threads. For newer builds, the nut is usually secured via a threadlocker so grinding isn't necessary.

If you'd rather have us take care of this for you, or want to begin an Elite Project, you can send us an inquiry here:

http://www.fatcatmotorsports.com/contact_elite.htm