Ceriani Shock Rebuild

  • Thread starter Thread starter Grant
  • Start date Start date
G

Grant

Guest
I have refurbished a pair of Ceriani shocks and now comes the reassembly time.
The only info I have on it is a piece in German:  http://www.italoclassicbikes.de/resto/fs_resto.htm

My translation of it leaves a lot to be desired but even so I need a little more information on the procedure for refilling it with oil, and what viscosity.

From the translation it seems I fill the inner tube completely before fitting the damper rod, and then add 30ml to the outer tube, but must not overfill or underfill!

Has anyone got any more concise info?
I have done a search here and looked on Laverdamania, but didn't get what I wanted.
Ta.
 
You are right with your translation! Pull out the inner tube to the maximum, fill it completely and add 30ml to the outer tube.The guy says you have the correct oil level when you can push the rod completely in without resistance at the end (overfilled)and you don?t have any bubbling noise from the inside when you pull it out again (underfilled). Pushing and pulling should have the same resistance. But he doesn?t tell anything about the oil and viscosity to use, I would try SAE10 or SAE15 fork oil.

H.-C.
 
This is exactly the point I don't understand.
Pull the inner tube out to the maximum?
The tube is free to come completely out of the shock body, and I think there are drain holes at the bottom, so pulling it out and filling it completely would just make a big mess.

I would guess that the inner tube has to sit inside the shock body, then fill it to the top, and pour an additional 30ml into the outer shock body.
Then when I fit the damping rod I expect oil to flow up and out of the shock body all over the bench.

When I rebuilt the Marzocchi Stradas it was much simpler, well explained and foolproof.
Incline shock body at 20?, fill with oil until it comes out of the overflow hole, then fit damping rod.

I suppose I will have to experiment, and expect to make a big mess, or two before I get it right.

Thanks for your help.
 
Grant,

The inner tube has a valve at the bottom, it can be filled without having oil flow all over your bench...

I just fill both tubes almost completely and insert the piston and rod and push right down, letting the superfluous oil overflow in the basin I assemble the damper in.  You will then need to remove a little more oil to allow for the cap and seal assembly.  The more air you manage to lock out, the smoother the damper action will be, with hardly or no frothing taking place and thus reducing damping performance.

Resistance when pushing in should be a lot less than when pulling out, anything else wouldn't make sense!  It is, after all, a damper system that should allow for smooth suspension comfort.  Strong damping on compression will result in a very jarring ride.

piet

 
Piet, so you fill the inner tube on the bench, insert the damper rod assembly and then fit into the shock body. Do you then add the 30ml additional oil to the shock body?

H.C, thanks!
 
Grant,

Fill the inner tube, stick it in the shock body and push the piston down.  Oil will overflow into the shock body, but not fill it completely.  Fill up both tubes, allowing just enough room for the cap and seal assembly.  Screw in the cap.  If it does not go in all the way, there is too much oil in the shock, open it up and remove a little till the cap fits without pressure.

BTW, I use 10W or 15W oil, makes the shocks a lot more compliant than stock.

piet
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top