Here are some pic's that illustrate the condition of my shocks:

This is one of my rear shocks one day after returning from my CO hunt. I have not washed my RZR yet. The other rear looks the same.

Here are both rears after removing them and washing with a little soap and water. Shafts are as smooth as they can be.

Here's a front that has a decent amount of oil film on it. This is how both my rear shocks looked after the first 20 miles of use. Is it only wishful thinking that this seal will not start dripping soon? For now I'm not planning to rebuild it.

 

🍿🍿🥤 I’m ready

 

It would be interesting to find out who actually makes the shocks for Bandit. If you could find this information you could probably find the parts . Some suspension tuner must know who makes them.

 

IFP depth in the reservoir is an important number to know. The deeper in the reservoir you set it the softer the ride will be. If you release the nitrogen charge and remove the cap on the reservoir you can measure the depth they’re currently at and use that number again.

If you are mechanically inclined like you say you could easily tackle this if you want. It would be interesting to see pics of the internals like the seal head and seals they use. If this is an ongoing issue then it might be worth it to purchase a nitrogen setup and learn the process so you don’t have to pay the dealer each time.

The reservoir looks like it uses a c-clip to retain the cap and the body uses a threaded seal head. Your rebuild process should be very similar to the RMATV WE rebuild videos.

 

My understanding is that Bandit manufactures these shocks themselves, in their Michigan shop. They mention that machined parts come from the same sources as Elka. However, I've never been able to get any further technical specifications from them. It would be really helpful to get some first or second hand information from someone who has serviced them, or has had them serviced by another shop other than Bandit. I'm hopeful the technician at my local Polaris dealer will have no issues and will find it to be a straight forward job, but I'm trying to be prepared if this is not the case.

 

SNWMBL, thanks for your input / advice. It is definitely helpful. Hmm, back to considering doing this job myself. My local dealership also mentioned they could do the nitrogen charge if I wanted to rebuild them myself. They seem to be very willing to work with me on this.

 

SNWMBL is correct about the IFP depth on a shock in good condition. However if that much oil has leaked out the IFP is probably bottomed out in the reservoir from the nitrogen pressure. I tried getting parts and IFP depths from Bandit once, unsuccessfully.

I'm sure there is a formula to figuring IFP depths based on volume and travel but I have always liked a spec.

 

I will be following this very closely. I too and thinking about doing service myself. I contacted a very good local shock rebuilder who does some pretty high dollar stuff. i asked him if he was familiar with Bandit shocks. His answer, unfortunately yes. They did work on some, had problems., said machining and specs were different than anybody else. He said sorry didn't want to work on my bandits. Did you get a price having nitrogen pressurized ? I hope you can persuade bandit to help out with some tech help.

 

Thanks for your input BTM. I came to the same conclusion regarding the IFP measurement. Both shocks have leaked a large amount of fluid, so their current depth won't be at the correct spec. I did not yet ask the price of just a nitrogen charge, but will find out before I decide to do the work myself. I can't imagine it would be very much. My local dealership is pretty accommodating. I have no idea why Bandit has not provided these specs. In my previous thread Sharron said she would.

 

I did not yet ask the price of just a nitrogen charge, but will find out before I decide to do the work myself. I can't imagine it would be very much.

Below is a great thread about nitrogen regulator kits.. This is the kit I bought (haven't used it yet).. Hope this helps.. Cheers 🙂

How to check, adjust and fill the nitrogen in your shocks

I got a fill kit. Schmidty Suspensions. LINKY Get it from them. Amazon has it as well but its more expensive. I got a shut off valve. Amazon LINKY Small bottle of nitrogen from the local welding shop. I get good pricing so mine was just under $100. Jack up the end of the RZR you...

www.rzrforums.net

 

I guess there to busy doing their Great Customer Service for someone else

 

I see your in nor cal.How far are you from oroville ca. Chico cyle suspension in oroville can probably do them or walk you through it.

 

A shock is just a hydraulic ram, so the seals are no big deal, buying shock seals shouldn't be a big deal if you have a hydraulic service shop or supply in your area. Take the shock apart and have them match up the seals, you'll spend less than 10 bucks a shock. If you're comfortable measuring the seals yourself, you can buy them at McMaster-Carr online.
The variables are in the seal materials, tools and knowledge of what to look for in diagnosing a failure. The hydraulic shop can help you with most of it.
The shock manufacturer should be able to tell you what weight oil to use. The biggest trick might be getting the nitrogen filled if you don't have a tank and filler.

 

Breaking news not joking I was just on their website. Snapshot picture.

 

I just received my two Bandit 18mm seal kits yesterday. I was pleased that Kelly Cates at Bandit got them shipped within a couple of hours of me placing the order on-line. Each kit consists of the following:
1 - USH -18 Piston Rod Seal, P/N U8285T
1- LBH-18 Wiper Seal, no P/N
1- white hard plastic / teflon washer that I'll have to measure for future reference.
1- O-ring that I'll have to measure for future reference.

The kit did not contain an O-ring for the piggy back reservoir cap, so hopefully what will be reusable.

Total cost for the two kits shipped to me was right at $60. So, if I end up needing to reseal my shocks every couple of riding seasons I'll definitely be finding a different source for my parts.

I plan on opening up one of my shocks to be sure there is nothing "special" that I run into. Next step will be to make a decision on purchase of a nitrogen charge kit and bottle. My total investment for the nitrogen tools will be pushing $400. Still noodling on making the investment vs having a local shop charge them up. I like having my own tools, especially if I need to service these on a regular basis. If I have my own nitrogen kit it will give me the added flexibility to check / adjust nitrogen pressure on a more regular basis.

I also have an idea on reverse engineering the IFP depth measurement (since Bandit still has not provided me any specs). The front shock piggyback reservoirs are the same size as the rears, 5". Even though the front shock travel is about 1" less than the rears, I'm figuring the IFP depth setting is close to the same. If I have a nitrogen kit I can relieve the nitrogen pressure on one of my non-leaking front shocks, remove the reservoir cap, measure the IFP depth, and then reassemble and recharge it.

 

please keep us informed on what you learn going forward. thanks

 

Fyi. My local polaris dealer charged me $15 per shock to nitrogen charge my shocks to 200 psi after I rebuilt my shocks on my 900s.

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Good

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Well, I think my adventure is coming to an abrupt stop. Right out of the chute I ran into a snag in trying to remove the seal head. I reached out on an older thread Bandit Shock Rebuild for advice, since the OP ran into the same issue I did. I never received any response on how Bandit advised him.

I ended up talking to three experienced shock technicians who all gave me advice on getting the seal head off. Only one of them had experience with Bandit shocks. The other two were somewhat guessing. The guy with experience said that I needed to use a spanner wrench to remove what I am referring to as the gland nut, to then be able to access the internal retainer for the seal head. Well, the gland nut on both of my rear shocks is torqued so tight that I am unable to remove either of them. I actually broke a pin off my spanner wrench trying. I'm guessing that if I applied some heat and purchased another higher quality spanner that I might make some head-way.

At this point I'm deciding to "punt", and not put any further money or time investment into this project. I can't find anyone local who has experience with servicing Bandit shocks, or who is willing to try. The technician who has experience is not local, and was hesitant to do any future work on Bandits based on having recurring seal issues with some of the Bandit shocks he has serviced in the past.

I think the best option for servicing these shocks is to send them back to Bandit, and I am personally not willing to give them anymore of my hard earned money. I was planning to return the unused seal kits that I just spent $60 on, but read on their website that they don't take returns on parts. Wonderful :-(

I've remounted my stock rear shocks / rear sway bar, and am still running my Bandit fronts. This should get me through the rest of the chukar hunting season here out west. In the next few months I'll be researching my best options for more reliable and serviceable aftermarket shocks for my RZR 570.

After I have my new shocks there will be a fire sale on my Bandits for anyone who wants a full set of near new Gen 3 series 46's, two of which need to be resealed.

 

Well, I think my adventure is coming to an abrupt stop. Right out of the chute I ran into a snag in trying to remove the seal head. I reached out on an older thread Bandit Shock Rebuild for advice, since the OP ran into the same issue I did. I never received any response on how Bandit advised him.

I ended up talking to three experienced shock technicians who all gave me advice on getting the seal head off. Only one of them had experience with Bandit shocks. The other two were somewhat guessing. The guy with experience said that I needed to use a spanner wrench to remove what I am referring to as the gland nut, to then be able to access the internal retainer for the seal head. Well, the gland nut on both of my rear shocks is torqued so tight that I am unable to remove either of them. I actually broke a pin off my spanner wrench trying. I'm guessing that if I applied some heat and purchased another higher quality spanner that I might make some head-way.

At this point I'm deciding to "punt", and not put any further money or time investment into this project. I can't find anyone local who has experience with servicing Bandit shocks, or who is willing to try. The technician who has experience is not local, and was hesitant to do any future work on Bandits based on having recurring seal issues with some of the Bandit shocks he has serviced in the past.

I think the best option for servicing these shocks is to send them back to Bandit, and I am personally not willing to give them anymore of my hard earned money. I was planning to return the unused seal kits that I just spent $60 on, but read on their website that they don't take returns on parts. Wonderful :-(

I've remounted my stock rear shocks / rear sway bar, and am still running my Bandit fronts. This should get me through the rest of the chukar hunting season here out west. In the next few months I'll be researching my best options for more reliable and serviceable aftermarket shocks for my RZR 570.

After I have my new shocks there will be a fire sale on my Bandits for anyone who wants a full set of near new Gen 3 series 46's, two of which need to be resealed.

Call Fox Work shop in Minnesota talk to the manager I believe they work on any brand of shocks.

Motorsports

Fox Factory Service Portal

www.ridefox.com

 

Wow, NBChance, that is truly deflating. I'm sorry you have to endure this.

Here's hoping your next shocks end up being exactly what you need!

All the best, James

 

Why not just reach out to "the best customer service in the industry"?

 

Well, Chukar season is over and I just couldn't accept defeat on this project. I finally figured out how to get my Bandit shocks disassembled, and just finished resealing both of them yesterday. I just need to take them somewhere for a nitrogen charge, then will be ready for a test run. I'll try to share what I have learned so that others in my "boat" don't have to figure this out for yourselves.

Let me preface with the fact that now that I have completed this task, it really seems pretty simple. However, if you haven't done it before, and nobody can tell you how they are designed / assembled, there are many ways you can ruin them if you go about it the wrong way. I received some ideas / pointers from a couple of experienced shock technicians, but not enough to fully understand how they are assembled. I took their input, watched a number of useful YouTube videos on shock rebuilding, coupled this with a lot of general mechanical experience that I've gained over the years, a lot of patience, and was able to get it done.

The single biggest roadblock for me was getting the dust cap off the seal head. It really is pretty simple. I was going about it "bassackward". Hopefully the following picture will illustrate. The piece that has the spanner wrench holes is actually the seal head, and the part with the hex head is the dust cap. I was trying to unscrew the inner piece with the spanner wrench as if it were a gland nut, trying to turn it the wrong way. All you need to do is hold the inner piece (seal head) with the spanner wrench, and unscrew (lefty loosie) the dust cap (hex head) from the seal head. Duh!

After removing the dust cap you will be able to see the internal C-clip that retains the seal head within the main shock body tube.

Before you can remove this clip you'll need to first release any remaining nitrogen pressure from the remote reservoir, and remove the Schrader valve core. I chose to remove the cap off the remote reservoir at this point. It too is secured by an internal C-clip. You'll need to press / tap the cap in a bit to access the C-clip, then carefully remove it without gouging the aluminum cylinder wall. You can then use air pressure from your air hose, with a rubber tipped nozzle pressed into the Schrader valve stem to pop the cap out. This was a bit tricky on one of my shocks. I used some silicon grease to lube up the top of the IFP cylinder to help the cap pop out. Don't use too much air and be sure to not let the cap get away from you.

At this point you can go back to the seal head and press it down into the main shock body, exposing the internal C-clip. Remove the C-clip, again being careful to not mar the aluminum shock body. After removing the C-clip you will be able to slowly pull the entire shock shaft assembly out of the shock body tube. Here's what the full assembly looks like when its apart.

I won't go into anymore detail at this point regarding the disassembly of the shock shaft assembly, the seal replacement within the seal head, or the process I used for adding new shock fluid, purging all air, and setting the IFP depth. If anyone wants more information please ask me, but it get's a little tough to explain. I used techniques learned from the following two videos, coupled with "adjustments" I needed to make based on uniqueness of the Bandit shocks and the tools I had available.
How To Replace The Shock Seal On A Polaris RZR XP1000
King Shock Rebuild Instructions

 

As I mentioned above, I still need to charge with nitrogen, reinstall and start riding to see if my reseal job was successful. I currently have the shocks charged with about 100lbs of air, sitting overnight, and everything is holding fine. What still bothers me is that I could not find any significant "smoking guns" that would indicate why the seals failed so quickly on a brand new set of shocks. Here is what I found or didn't find:

1. There was no dirt or foreign matter that entered the shock, getting past the wiper on the seal head. The wipers were in great condition.
2. The shock shaft / rods on both shocks are in pristine condition. There are no scratches, pits, nicks, etc., and they are polished smooth.
3. The original shock oil was still clean and did not contain any contaminates that I could see.
4. The main oil seal on both shocks definitely had scoring that could be seen with a magnifying glass. It was tough to see, but definitely sufficient to cause the leaks that I experienced.
5. I found some "gunk" in the form of small hard white particles in the area of the oil seal and o-ring in the seal head recesses. I found the same material in the form of what looked like some type of Lock-tite that had been used on the shaft head locknuts.
6. There was some level of sharpness / roughness to the neck area of the shaft where the valve shim stack sits. This could have scarred the seals during initial assembly process.
7. The original o-rings and seals did not seem to fit as tight as the replacements. This was definitely noticeable when I reinstalled the seal head on the shaft.

Overall, while I did not find anything that obviously caused the seal failure, I can certainly rule out anything that my limited amount of use might have caused. What ever caused this failure was due to either bad initial seals, internal residue left over from the machining / assembly process, or the assembly process itself. I cleaned up everything that I found and used extreme care in reassembling. Fingers crossed that my new seals will hold up.

 

Now, I feel compelled to mention again... "the best customer service in the industry" did absolutely nothing to help me solve my problems. I had reached out to Bandit, again, after they returned from their holiday break. They never responded.

Here is the text of the most recent e-mail I sent them:

"Sharron, Ted,
I purchased two of your seal kits and attempted to do the work myself. When I attempted to remove the seal head with a large crescent wrench, the seal head spins, but won’t unscrew. After talking with several stock technicians, nobody had experience with your shocks and they could only guess as to how to remove the seal head on Bandit Gen 3 Series 46 shocks.
At this point I’m guessing that the part that has the 1 ½” hex head is actually a seal head cover, and that the actual seal head is under this cover and held in place with a cir clip. Can you please confirm as to how the seal head is constructed and how to remove it? If the part with the hex head is a cover, is it just press fit into the top of the shock body and do I use a sharp wood chisel to pry it up from the shock body tube?"

If I had tried the wood chisel approach as suggested by more than one shock technician I would have ruined the dust cap and/or seal head. It wouldn't have taken much effort at all for Sharron or Ted to point me down the right path, but they chose to be silent.

Here's the text of another e-mail I sent them, twice, before the holiday break. You guessed it. Never heard anything from them:

"Sharron,
I apologize that my RZR forum thread turned into more of a “pile on Bandit” thread than a constructive “how do I get my shocks fixed with minimal expense” thread, as I had intended. What I have learned from this thread is that there are quite a few very unhappy customers out there who have experienced premature failures like I have. I’ve also learned that those who have not had premature issues are very happy with the performance of their shocks.

Rather than go purchase a new set of shocks from a different vendor, at this point I think I’ll try to fix my shocks myself, and see if I can join the group of guys who are happy with the performance of their shocks long term. I’m having trouble finding a local shop that will do the rebuild, so I’m planning to do it myself. As I have mentioned previously, I am very mechanically inclined and do my own work on most all of my equipment and vehicles. I have the following questions / requests:

1. I know you won’t send any instructions, but do you believe if I follow the same basic process as the video I posted of a Walker Evans rebuild, that it will lead me down the right path with your shocks?
2. You mentioned that you could send me all the specs / measurements needed for my rebuild. Please forward those to me.
3. Since my shocks started leaking basically around the 100 mile point, I’m guessing I am only dealing with bad seals, and don’t need a full rebuild kit. Is the kit that I need the ones listed on your parts page for 18mm shafts? Will any seal kit, say for a Fox or Walker Evans 18mm shaft work for your shocks?
4. Lastly, any chance you would just send me two seal kits free of charge? My two rears are completely shot as they have been dripping oil profusely. One of my fronts has an oil film on it, but I’m hoping (fingers crossed) that I am experiencing what another poster has where the seals simply weep a little in cold weather? Anyway, I plan on only tackling the rears at this point.

While I am hopeful that my rebuild job does the trick, and that I might get some really good performance and future reliability out of my Bandit shocks, this experience has left a really bad taste in my mouth. I have no idea why I have been treated so poorly by this "best customer service in the industry" family owned business.

 

Very well written, You have given them every chance to make it right and man up. My experience was similar to yours. Any thing that happens is someone else fault. I have a tendency to agree with contaminants in shock.

 

What the hell is a chukar? 🤔

 

Possibly the most evil and frustrating creature in the western US....

All the best, James