Gen 1 Vs Gen 2 Shocks Facts Only

[TomDirt]

Well, this sucks. I'm upgrading my rear shocks to Gen 2 (2017) 3.0 Foxes. During the conversion from the Fox valving to regular Schrader valves, the tap cut 4 or 5 turns before the (blue) reservoir cap started to rotate. Now, I'm trying to find a local shop that's equipped to take apart the pair of reservoirs, clamp the caps in a proper round vise, complete drilling, tapping , and installing the Schraders, then reassembling and charging them.

 

[Jhollowell]

You should be able to just push the cap down, remove the circlip and pull the cap out. Then just chuck it in a vise with some soft jaws and finish tapping. maybe find a used lathe chuck to clamp it in if you need more force and don't want to put some flat spots on the cap.

 

[TomDirt]

I'm hoping I can find someone local to do it that already has the correct size clamp and a bottle of nitrogen. It sounds like it's about an hour for both of them, so that's the good news.

 

[Gumby]

I just use A vise with soft jaws. then put the shredder and tighten it till it almost spins the cap. fill with nitrogen and snug it up. and check for leaks.

 

[TomDirt]

You should be able to just push the cap down, remove the circlip and pull the cap out. Then just chuck it in a vise with some soft jaws and finish tapping. maybe find a used lathe chuck to clamp it in if you need more force and don't want to put some flat spots on the cap.

My regular shock guru, Kurt Youngs from DC Shock Services confirmed what you suggested. I was able to pull the end cap just far enough out of the reservoir can to grab it, so the tap could cut thread.
Looks like everything inside was nice and sparkly clean, (these have turned out to be very lightly used 3.0's), the clip went back in, and I got about 8 full turns on the Schrader valve. Time to do the 2bd shock and go to the local hot rod shop for nitrogen tomorrow.