Fox Problem Or Shock Surplus Problem??

[DivrGuy]

I ordered a set of Fox 2.0 IFP shocks for my Gladi from Shock Surplus. They do a lot of informative videos (which I appreciate) and had pretty good prices. I received them in a few days. But when I was unboxing I noticed an issue. The shocks all have different labels. On the front shocks, one has "Performance Series" at the top of the label near the end of the shock, one has it at the bottom of the label and upside down compared to the other. On the rear shocks, both have "Performance Series" at the top of the label near the end of the shock with matching orientation, but on one, "Fox" reads top-to-bottom and the other, "Fox" reads bottom-to-top. Four shocks, four different labels. The part numbers stamped on the shock seals match for the fronts and for the rears. Their website states that they sell new never-installed shocks, but I know they also do a lot of rebuilds. It makes me wonder if they are selling rebuilds or maybe some type of factory seconds as new in some cases. Or is this something normal for Fox to mark a difference between driver side and passenger side and I'm just an idiot. I have emailed customer service and am waiting for their response. I will post here what they say. But I wanted to see if anyone here has seen similar situations.

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[CrazyCooter]

I'm sure its just one of the labels was installed upside down........

Quality just isn't what it used to be in the workforce and QC standards had to be lowered in order to stay in business?

 

[GeneralMaximus]

I was curious so went out and checked the fox shocks on my Mojave.

Front Right: F is on top
Front Left: X is on top
Rear Right: X is on top
Rear Left: F is on top

 

[DivrGuy]

I did a closer inspection. Each shock has a wraparound label. On one side the Fox part reads top-to-bottom, flip it over and the Fox reads bottom to top. I assume that's so you can orient them either way.

GeneralMaximus, you could probably align yours by flipping two of them around. On mine, I can get three of them to match up, but one has the label installed upside down, just like CrazyCooter said.

I also noticed that one of the boxes has the ends re-taped with dark brown tape with the Fox logo and the inventory sticker on the tape, where the others have the inventory sticker directly on the box end. I don't know if the odd shock was originally in that re-taped box or not.

 

[HorsesRear]

All four of mine have the X on top and I got them from the same place.

 

[DivrGuy]

Here is the reply from Shock Surplus:

" Sorry to see you got mismatched shocks. Fox had a redesign on their shock labels happen recently and since the part numbers stayed the same, our warehouse wasn't able to differentiate the differences. If you have not already installed the shocks, we can set you up with an exchange, or if you would rather install them now, we can send out the updated shock stickers to you. "

I explained to him that my first impression was incorrect....the stickers are not different, one of them is just applied upside-down. It still worries me that the odd one might be a rebuild. It's hard to believe a company like Fox, charging premium prices for their product, would let one go out with the label upside down. I know stuff happens, but that's a pretty big label to not notice one is upside down. But they are willing to do an exchange, so that's good.

 

[Wolf Island Diver]

I’ve been dealing with Fox Racing Shocks since the late 90s in the mountain bike world. Once, I called a talked to those assholes as a mechanic because every single one of the rear float air shocks that I had seen were different and I was trying to repair one so I need a good reference. Every shock’s little blue lock out knob worked differently on each of the, probably 10, examples we had in our store. Some had clear indexing and would click. Some would just spin loose internally. Some would turn 180°, some 270°, some all the way around and around. Mind you this was the same model shock spec’d for the same model mountain bike.

Fox’s response was basically something along the lines of “Fuck you grease monkey! We’re artists. We hand make these snowflakes. Don’t expect consistency from hand made products.” Of course nothing they make is hand made. These are machined products. Fox has poor quality control. They always have. It’s that simple. It’s reflected in their inconsistent performance.

 

[DivrGuy]

I’ve been dealing with Fox Racing Shocks since the late 90s in the mountain bike world. Once, I called a talked to those assholes as a mechanic because every single one of the rear float air shocks that I had seen were different and I was trying to repair one so I need a good reference. Every shock’s little blue lock out knob worked differently on each of the, probably 10, examples we had in our store. Some had clear indexing marks. Some would just spin loose internally. Some would turn 180°, some 270°, some all the way around and around. Mind you this was the same model shock spec’d for the same model mountain bikes.

Fox’s response was basically something along the lines of “Fuck you grease monkey! We’re artists. We hand make these snowflakes. Don’t expect consistency from hand made products.” Of course nothing they make is hand made. These are machined products. Fox has poor quality control. They always have. It’s that simple. It’s reflected in their inconsistent performance.

Wow....that's disappointing to say the least.

 

[Wolf Island Diver]

Wow....that's disappointing to say the least.

I’ve had really good performance from their Talas air fork. Others hated that product. My rear fox shocks have been mostly crap. Like BMW they tend to change parts, models, skews, continuously throughout the season. Most companies started migrating back to RockShox. The Fox Shocks on the JTRD were recalled. I don’t know if that was a Fox problem or a Jeep engineering specifying the wrong tuning for the diesel. I can say that the stock suspension on my JTRD was the worst performing suspension I’ve ever seen on a Jeep, and really past the borderline of unsafe.

 

[stingrey]

@DivrGuy
I can't help you with your shock question.
I just wanted so say hi, from one diver to another who both also, apparently, appreciate the Gladiator.

Cheers!

 

[DivrGuy]

@DivrGuy
I can't help you with your shock question.
I just wanted so say hi, from one diver to another who both also, apparently, appreciate the Gladiator.

Cheers!

LOL!! Well if you are a Canada diver, you have a thicker skin than me. I'll stick to the warm clear waters of the Caribbean. But keep blowing bubbles my friend!!

 

[Sikjeep2]

Who cares, it is just a sticker under the truck. Put the things on and move on. LMAO

 

[DivrGuy]

Who cares, it is just a sticker under the truck. Put the things on and move on. LMAO

It's not so much the labels not matching, it mainly made me worry that I was getting a rebuild.

OTOH, I do have just a touch of OCD, so.....

 

[CrazyCooter]

It's not so much the labels not matching, it mainly made me worry that I was getting a rebuild.

OTOH, I do have just a touch of OCD, so.....

So many people do these days and it's making it impossible to deal with them....... I suffer a bit myself though.

 

[DivrGuy]

So many people do these days and it's making it impossible to deal with them....... I suffer a bit myself though.

Once I get my lift installed and can actually see the shocks, I'm going to have to resist the temptation to crawl under there with a bottle of quick detailer and some wax at wash time.

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