I thought I would show some of the internals on a ifp icon coil over. Here is how we received them from another shop.

 

Then we removed the spring seat with a spring compressor.

 

After releasing the nitrogen charge we started the dissasembly

 

then removed the shock stem and piston assembly while being careful not to get old shock oil everywhere.

 

loosen the nut at the end of the shaft and carefully take the piston and valves off keeping them in order as to not change the shock valving.

 

here is the shock components all tore apart.

 

some new fk bearings com10t to be specific

 

Here is the important part

 

The rebuild kits Icon sells cover most of the shocks they put out by using just one kit. So you will have one seal you do not use. In this case you can see the old seals to the left. A black dust seal and then the disogrin oil seal. In the package you can see the yellow seal that does not get used with this shock. So in this case it is ok to have parts left over.

 

Reassemble with new oil and a 250 psi nitrogen charge and ship back to the consumer. If you have any questions post them up.

 

what is the most common failure you see on these units? how many miles do you expect the rebuild to last.

 

The spherical bearings are always the first problem but depending on how often you clean your shock a scored shaft will take out the seals quickly. I would expect these to be good for another 30,000 miles of abuse. Most of my customers from that area get about three years of trouble free use.

 

This thread is a little old, but I have a couple of questions. Must the charge port be replaced with each rebuild? ICON's rebuild kit comes with a new charge port, but I have found other kits with the seals only. And is there any substitute for ICON's oil? It is pricey, and there is no where local to me that carries it.

 

No the charge ports can be reused. Icon will always suggest their fluid however you could use any 5 wt suspension oil. JM92 would be a close match.

 

Thanks for the info. I'll look into the JM92. I have a line on some used Icons, but they are going to require a rebuild. It doesn't look like I would be getting in over my head based on your pictures. Thanks a bunch.

 

Well I didn't think I was getting in over my head, but I can't get the lower spherical bearings out. They are in bad shape and don't seem to want to move. Any tips on applying some force without breaking anything?

 

Did you remove the retaining clips? Otherwise we use a press to get them out. If need be you can add some heat to expand the aluminum.

 

Clips removed. I used a vice with a wood block on one side and a socket on the other. No go. I thought that should have been sufficient, but I guess not. Was crushing the wood but not moving the bearing. Have used a little heat as well. I was hesitant to use a press for fear of mangling the aluminum rod end. How do you avoid this?

 

You can use a socket or bearing race. You can always wrap the socket with tape to keep from scratching the rod end.

 

Yes. I was more concerned with leaving impressions in the aluminum rod end. I can't believe that it hasn't come out yet, so I am anticipating some damage using steel on aluminum if I use a press. Sounds like it is unavoidable though.