Got a replacement new RockShox Monarch Plus RC3 DebonAir from Ebay. In fitting it to the bike I let out the air and compressed and tried to let out more air. It was still very hard to compress which I need to do to fit it, so I tried setting the setting rebound to fastest to see if that made any difference. The knob was quite hard to turn so I used an adjustable wrench, I did not need much force with the wrench providing grip. after a few turns I lost some fluid from the shock and lost quite a bit more when I compressed the shock. At least now the shock did not return when compressed. I fitted the shock and pumped it up and it seems ok, but I did not ride it yet or check the rebound to see how fast it is.
My guess is instead of using the wrench, I should have used an allen key on the opposite side of the shock to the rebound knob to loosen the knob.
Any predictions on how the shock will now behave, and what to do about it? I have done the basic service before but not done anything with inner rebound stuff.
will I die
Yes
I reckon you'll outlive the shock, if that's any consolation
Where did the lost fluid come from?
Hard to tell where it came from, but guessing near the rebound knob, could be wrong but as that is what I was adjusting at the time, thats why I am assuming there.
Assembly fluid.
Blown seal that had possibly jammed the dial. I've had this on a brand new shock mid ride once.
If it's coming from the rebound dial, chances are that it isn't aerosolized lube oil from the air can.
