The dealer is telling me that the rear shocks need to be rebuilt every 300-400miles. They also said it was about $75 per shock. This is on a 2002 ZR600EFI CC Edition. So if this is true, I would spend about $500 a year just in having my shocks rebuilt.
Thanks

Originally posted by BR_ZR@Jan 16 2003, 11:14 AM
The dealer is telling me that the rear shocks need to be rebuilt every 300-400miles. They also said it was about $75 per shock. This is on a 2002 ZR600EFI CC Edition. So if this is true, I would spend about $500 a year just in having my shocks rebuilt.
Thanks
Tell your dealer to stop trying to make his entire profit off shock rebuilding.

An agressive trail rider should have his/her shocks serviced every 1000 miles or every season, whichever comes FIRST! This would be to maintain TOP ride quality.

Many do it at 3000 miles or every other season and say that they don't typically notice a night and day difference after they are serviced even waiting this long. While they say that they do notice a difference in ride quality after service, most say it is minor and only shows that the shocks did indeed need servicing at that point, not back at 1000 miles.

It entirely depends on how you ride. If you beat the sled to death, service them more frequently.

75$ a shock is a rip off. Your supposed to rebuild them after the first few hundred miles on them, after that you should be able to go every 1000-1500 miles before you rebuild them. I try to do mine every season. If I were you I would get to know your fellow snowmobilers, and local snowmobile repair shops (not dealers). I have a few friends that can rebuild shocks and soon I will be able too, after I get the equiptment. I can usually get all my shocks done for under 80$. Thats basically the cost of materials. A few times I only had to pay $40. It all depends on what they need. Sometimes new oil and a recharge is all it takes. Don't go to the dealer. Your wasting your time...and money. Ask around when at the bars or on the trails. You'll be surprised the deals you can get. Also If you know anyone that races near you, most of the time they have the ability to do the work and at a reasonable price. It's worth looking into.

They suggest after the first 500 miles and then every 2000 after that. All I do is once a season, usually I have any where from 2000-3000 miles on them, they are pretty dirty after that many miles. I rebuild them myself and when I put them back in I can tell the differance from the old ones. Some of my buddies had theirs done by a dealer and they were shot after a few miles, I took them out and rebuilt the shocks and found out that particular dealer just recharge them not rebuilt them, this dealer is not in business any more. Buddies were just being riped off !( they ride Polaris, they don't know any better)hope this helps a little.


Happy sledding

I rebuild my shocks every 1500-2000 miles. Ihave a friend who is a dealer and he told me that most dealers are trying to get as much money as possible because of the lack of snow. he told me that he can rebuild them and cat says too for only $35.00 each shock. If they charge you more then they are ripping you off!!! :cussing:

I'm not so sure that there is any mileage that applies to the current ACT shocks as they pretty much fail when ever they feel like it.
With the Fox shocks they used to use my rule of thumb was to have them done after the first season before storage and each spring after that. Worked well for several years. I know of several folks that do theirs after the first season and every second one after that with similar results.

Rick.

i do my fox shocks every season, my buddies 2001 zrt 600 with the new act shocks seem to need rebuild alot sooner then the fox??,and he says he can tell when they are ready too, they start to fade away and get all squishy.........i get mine done at A-Z TECH IN CLINTON ME. 25$ a piece, or if i can work them off ....hehe

If he is replacing all the seals $75 sounds about right for a dealer. A shop specializing in rebuilding shocks can do it for about half.

It sounds like the dealer may be confused on the interval. Sounds like they need an initial rebuild after the first 300 miles. However after that you should be able to get at least a complete season out of them.

I ordered the DIY kit from http://www.deycore.com and rebuilt my shocks ('98 ZR500) along with my friend for his Polaris. If you do it right it does take a fair amount of time. Completely disassembling, cleaning, installing new seals, bleeding the air out etc. At least an hour per shock for the average DIYer.

I had a bad thing happen to me. My rear, rear shock lost it's charge. And what happened was, It pushed the pivot point, on the bottom backwards. I didn't suspect anything by looking at it, but when I road it I felt a vibration. By the time I figured out what was going on, the track was junk :devil: . I also ordered from deycore. My rod was pitted. I ended up getting a new rod, all the o rings and seals for all my shocks, and a filling needle, for fairly cheap. And when I say cheap, I talked to the polaris dealer in town (small town, only dealer close), they said they would charge my shocks for $75 each. For what I paid, was a little over one shock getting pumped up with nitrogen at there place. What a deal huh? ;) I would say, if you get a new/used sled, get them checked after a few hundred miles, but once you know where your sitting every other year would be ok.

Yeah forgot to mention if you go the DIY route you'll need a tank of nitrogen. Go to a welding supply shop and just buy (not rent) the smallest tank they have. I paid around $150 for the tank, and around another $100 for the regulator (in Canada). If you ever run out of gas, they should just allow you to swap the tank for a full one, with only a small charge for the gas (like $10 or less). But the shocks take very little to charge so the tank should last a long time. We did 8 shocks last year and barely used any nitrogen.

Heck if your dealer is saying to rebuild after every 300 to 400 miles, I would need to bring in every week!!! alot of times on a good 3-4 day trip I put on well over 300 miles!!! If the Act shocks do not last as long as fox or ryde fx i would upgrade and save money and get better performance IMO