DHX RC4 disaster

Nautonier

Nautonier

Eats Squid
I purchased a DHX RC4 shock brand new (from the US on ebay) for my 2010 Glory 1 about 6 months ago and when I was riding at Maldon on Saturday I went over a smallish bump in the track and the entire HSC and LSC knobs and thread tore off the main body of the shock leaving the shock completely ruined (as well as spewing oil all over me and the bike and bottoming out harshly). I had it set up with 170 PSI in the boost valve with a 350lb spring and 2 turns of bottomout and feel that the shock should not have done this, especially after only 6 months of moderate use. Does anyone know how Fox operate in regard to warranty issues and has anyone experienced a similar fault with the RC4? I'm devastated as I have an overseas DH trip planned at the beginning of next month and currently have a bike that is unrideable. Also, I was so happy with the RC4 that I sold the Vivid that came off the bike for pretty much nothing as you don't expect a shock to explode on you... Any help much appreciated.
 
BUSHPIG

BUSHPIG

Likes Bikes and Dirt
Sounds like something waranty would cover to me although your only problem is that you got it of ebay... Was it off a shop, brand new un-opened or was it some second hand reject? Best to e-mail Fox shox directly and explain your situation bud ;)
 
dunndog

dunndog

Eats Squid
Yeah you may struggle seeing as it was off e bay, that is provided it was second hand.. and even then, buying from os can often create warranty issues. Saying that though i'm sure fox would help you out where they could..
By the sounds of what happened though, if everything was set up as you said and the bump was relatively small (no real big hits at maldon that I can think of) then it sounds like something faulty with the shock. Take it to Ken at Tekin and see what he reckons.. Terrible timing with the os trip planned! Guess one small lesson is when you replace a part keep the original for a while just in case there is a problem with the newie.. Fine line between this and becoming a hoarder though!
 
whitey89

whitey89

Likes Bikes and Dirt
As nick said it is a common issue, i havent heard of anyone getting warrenty on them though... might be worth going though fox direct if you got it off ebay to see what they say. Bloody awesome shock though!
 
C

Christian

Squid
I had in issue with a shock I brought in from OS, it was an RP23 that leaked oil out of the rebound knob. It was a week old and the company I got it off agreed to reimburse the cost of getting it repaired. To my surprise Sola, who is the Fox importer fixed it under warranty. This may be the exception to the rule though. Maybe I just got lucky.
 
MARKL

MARKL

Eats Squid
I bought a fork on Ebay - from the a shop in the US. After about 6 months the compresion damping imploded on itself. Grabbed the receipt and warranty paper, took it to my LBS that I have a good relationship with and the local distributor here fixed under warranty without any issues.
 
Nautonier

Nautonier

Eats Squid
BUSHPIG said:
Sounds like something waranty would cover to me although your only problem is that you got it of ebay... Was it off a shop, brand new un-opened or was it some second hand reject? Best to e-mail Fox shox directly and explain your situation bud ;)
Click to expand...
It was brand new off an ebay store. Ken from Tekin reckons he can get it replaced under warranty for the cost of a service ($189) which I'm thinking is the best (and fastest) option so far. It was a bummer to have to pull out of the race at Maldon though, even though Russ was kind enough to lend me the shock off his bike so I could at least ride on Saturday (incident happened on second run).
 
D

driftking

Wheel size expert
robhely said:
It was brand new off an ebay store. Ken from Tekin reckons he can get it replaced under warranty for the cost of a service ($189) which I'm thinking is the best (and fastest) option so far. It was a bummer to have to pull out of the race at Maldon though, even though Russ was kind enough to lend me the shock off his bike so I could at least ride on Saturday (incident happened on second run).
Click to expand...
Sounds like your best option, if you need it to be processed fast before you leave for OS.
As others haven mentioned due to the way you purchased it, warrenty might be harder to get and might take some more time.
 
condog

condog

Likes Dirt
I had the exact same thing happen to my rc4 when i was in whistler. It happens all the time to rc4's and rc2's. Unfortunately when i did mine there were no replacement parts in canada as they were all gone due to warranties. I had to fork out $500 for a new shock so i could keep riding. Stupidly enough i still have mine sitting in my room, instead of trying to get warrenty from it. But You deffinately get it fixed under warrenty.
 
dunndog

dunndog

Eats Squid
Slight thread hijack here, seems like this is a common problem.. If a frame comes with a factory custom tuned/valved rc4 would this eliminate or reduce the risk of this happening?
 
TeKin Suspension

TeKin Suspension

Squid
Hi Rotorburn forum viewers. Just to clarify a few points that have popped up in this post.

The issue of the RC4 eyelet assembly, cracking around the dual-speed compression assembly, is something that effects SOME of the 2010 Model Year (MY) shocks only. For the 2011 MY the eyelet assembly has a revised design, greater wall thickness and deeper set for the retaining ring. This is not an issue with the 2011 MY RC4 / RC2 shocks.

Is the body failure covered under the FOX warranty?

Yes. FOX supply a replacement eyelet assembly (of 2011 MY spec). There is no issue with where (in the world) the shock was purchased.

SOLA Sport are the distributor of FOX in Australia, and will handle warranty matters on FOX products. Product can be sent to SOLA Sport via your local bike shop.

Alternatively Tekin Suspension (authorised FOX service provider) can replace the eyelet assembly (2010 MY) with the revised version (2011 MY) during a standard service. Tekin Suspension has a FOX upgrade program in place to ensure that customers are least affected by this issue. In this, the eyelet assembly is issued at no charge to the customer, however the labour and associated parts (valving upgrade kit) are still invoiced at standard price. Such parts include decals, seal kit and tuning shims.

Is the eyelet assembly (2010 MY only) replaced at no charge only after the failure is apparent?

No. Tekin Suspension can offer the RC4 upgrade program prior to the issue becoming apparent.

Likewise SOLA Sport offers replacement of the eyelet assembly as part of a service.

Please note; the service intervals for FOX SHOX, 100 hours /annually, whichever comes first.

Is the body failure effected by shock tune?

The issue is in the design / manufacturing SOME of the 2010 MY eyelet assemblies, irrespective of shock tune.

For further questions:

Tekin Suspension | ken@tekinsuspension.com.au
SOLA Sport |rik@solasprt.com.au

Thanks for reading !
Tekin Suspension
www.tekinsuspension.com.au | www.facebook.com/Tekin.Suspension
 
B-Proof

B-Proof

Likes Dirt
I had the exact same failure on my RC4 last year at the Youies race, oil and internals everywhere they shouldn't be.. Tekin fixed it for free, thou mine was purchased from my lbs in Melbs.
 
dunndog

dunndog

Eats Squid
B-Proof said:
I had the exact same failure on my RC4 last year at the Youies race, oil and internals everywhere they shouldn't be.. Tekin fixed it for free, thou mine was purchased from my lbs in Melbs.
Click to expand...
That's because you weigh so much.
:)
 
Nautonier

Nautonier

Eats Squid
TeKin Suspension said:
Hi Rotorburn forum viewers. Just to clarify a few points that have popped up in this post.

The issue of the RC4 eyelet assembly, cracking around the dual-speed compression assembly, is something that effects SOME of the 2010 Model Year (MY) shocks only. For the 2011 MY the eyelet assembly has a revised design, greater wall thickness and deeper set for the retaining ring. This is not an issue with the 2011 MY RC4 / RC2 shocks.

Is the body failure covered under the FOX warranty?

Yes. FOX supply a replacement eyelet assembly (of 2011 MY spec). There is no issue with where (in the world) the shock was purchased.

SOLA Sport are the distributor of FOX in Australia, and will handle warranty matters on FOX products. Product can be sent to SOLA Sport via your local bike shop.

Alternatively Tekin Suspension (authorised FOX service provider) can replace the eyelet assembly (2010 MY) with the revised version (2011 MY) during a standard service. Tekin Suspension has a FOX upgrade program in place to ensure that customers are least affected by this issue. In this, the eyelet assembly is issued at no charge to the customer, however the labour and associated parts (valving upgrade kit) are still invoiced at standard price. Such parts include decals, seal kit and tuning shims.

Is the eyelet assembly (2010 MY only) replaced at no charge only after the failure is apparent?

No. Tekin Suspension can offer the RC4 upgrade program prior to the issue becoming apparent.

Likewise SOLA Sport offers replacement of the eyelet assembly as part of a service.

Please note; the service intervals for FOX SHOX, 100 hours /annually, whichever comes first.

Is the body failure effected by shock tune?

The issue is in the design / manufacturing SOME of the 2010 MY eyelet assemblies, irrespective of shock tune.

For further questions:

Tekin Suspension | ken@tekinsuspension.com.au
SOLA Sport |rik@solasprt.com.au

Thanks for reading !
Tekin Suspension
www.tekinsuspension.com.au | www.facebook.com/Tekin.Suspension
Click to expand...
Yep, I can vouch for this - Ken at Tekin totally sorted the problem for me and circumvented any potentially sticky warranty issues. And not only have I now got the 2011 body where the problem has been addressed (thicker sidewalls), but I also have a custom tuned shock which feels a lot better than the guesswork settings I had dialed myself. Many thanks to Ken and Tekin for getting me back on the bike in under a week.
 
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