FOX 3.0" Bypass : QAB knobs ripped off - Chapter 2 !

Hey ladies,

So some of you guys may have followed the disastrous story behind my recently bought FOX 3.0", that got seriously damaged after only a few days of my offroad trip...All 4 compression knobs (QAB adjusters) got ripped off after only two days in the dirt, those adjusters didnt even make it to 500miles, pictures attached say it il all...

It took a long time for Fox to get me their new adjusters to replace the QAB, and what I can say is that the bill is painful as f*ck...

Fox is charging me 100$ per adjuster, so that's over 600$ for all 6 adjusters (I'm replacing rebound adjusters also, don't trust those QAB crap anymore)...Total bill (Oil/seals/heims etc...) is around 1k$ ! And that doesn't include labor of the specialized shop who did a great rebuild job...

Let's just say I was pretty disappointed to see how expensive these things are, considering how weak these parts are...And I'm not even considering the shocks bodies that look awful, after only 2500 miles in the dirt (!!)

I'm willing to contact FOX directly to ask for an appropriate goodwill gesture on all 4 compression knobs considering I spent over 7k$ in FOX shocks.

My statement is : either FOX shock's design is really inappropriate, regarding the positions of compression tubes, very exposed to rock/stone shower, or either they have to sell these shocks with some ABS shields, like the 2.5" stockers, or Icon shocks...My friend @JtoU did the exact same trip than me with his Icon shocks and they still look f*cking new !

What do you guys think ? I know I'm not the only one here having these issues, I just want @FOX to stand behind their products...

Shocks get beat. They usually look like crap. Nature of the beast. I have ICON's and they have gotten beaten too. The knobs for theirs gets dirt inside and sometimes they won't come off because the set screw is messed up or you can't adjust them due to all the grime. I have to remove the knobs and pack with grease to keep them free of crap. Knobs fall off, but at least ICON only charges about $25 per knob. I have an extra set of 6 on hand.

One of my adjuster shafts got bent, need to replace. Not sure how much that is going to cost.

I imagine that Fox probably doesn't care that much. They are selling every shock they make and can't keep up with demand.

RDFTS said:

Shocks get beat. They usually look like crap. Nature of the beast. I have ICON's and they have gotten beaten too. The knobs for theirs gets dirt inside and sometimes they won't come off because the set screw is messed up or you can't adjust them due to all the grime. I have to remove the knobs and pack with grease to keep them free of crap. Knobs fall off, but at least ICON only charges about $25 per knob. I have an extra set of 6 on hand.

One of my adjuster shafts got bent, need to replace. Not sure how much that is going to cost.

I imagine that Fox probably doesn't care that much. They are selling every shock they make and can't keep up with demand.

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Obviously the shocks are taking a serious beating, I know these issues about knobs getting blocked but this is a normal issue to me...BTW how much offroad miles do you have on yours ? What drives me crazy is how fast these things got snapped, I didn't race the Baja 1k god dammit...

Fb73 said:

Obviously the shocks are taking a serious beating, I know these issues about knobs getting blocked but this is a normal issue to me...BTW how much offroad miles do you have on yours ? What drives me crazy is how fast these things got snapped, I didn't race the Baja 1k god dammit...

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I am not debating that is sucks to be you and I wouldn't be happy about your whole situation either. You might want to make some mid-flaps to help protect the shocks. I never really added up my off-road miles but if I had to guess based on my runs, I would say around 4,000 miles or so. Going to Baja again, so that will add another 1,300 miles. Will let you know how my shocks look after that.

Hello FB73,

Please understand that everything has strengths, weaknesses, benefits and limitations. The Raptor is the root of this problem being that the rear shocks are so close to the ground. Hence why we locate the shocks up substantially higher on our RST18 Kits. Problem solved. Just a quick glance at the condition of the shocks, they are getting hammered. If you are able, drive your truck in 2 wheel drive as much as you can. This will help reduce the front tires kicking up rocks and destroying those beautiful rear shocks. If you would like, we have some standard adjusters that we have removed to upgrade to QAB's, I will be happy to give them to you at no charge... Being that you're in France, just cover shipping. Once again, I'm sorry for the QAB issue, but please understand that your shocks and any type of adjuster are going to get hammered when considering your environment.

Have you considered putting a shock guard on? Couple Zip ties and drill some holes in a piece of plastic.

Let us know, we are here to help.

Corey

Hey Corey,

Thanks for the help, shocks are already rebuilt with these new adjusters FOX just came out some months ago, see pictures attached...But I appreciate your help, whereas FOX hasnt even been responding to the french FOX importer about my issues

I definitely understand your poinf of view about the shocks hanging so low...That's why I'm moving forward to a bypass rack, that 3.0" rear setup didn't give me satisfaction at all, even more with these destroyed adjusters, it's a huge waste of time and money for me...

About my environment, we drove 98% of time in 2WD, used 4WD only few times in deep sand (dunes), and I insist the shocks were already looking terrible after less than 500 miles in the desert, and it wasn't so bad trails, @JtoU can confirm. I don't get how you guys do not destroy your shocks, terrain looks almost the same that we have here in Europe/North Africa....

Shock guard & mid flaps are obviously needed for our use, but it's already too late for my current 3.0"...I already built some mid flaps, I'm waiting for the bypass rack now, to build some shock guard for the shaft, I don't know if this has be done already @RPG ?

Also @JtoU, do you have some pics of your Icons ? So everyone can compare...

New adjusters, check the shock bodies..."Almost brand new"

Did you beat to shit your stock shocks when you went off-roading, how do those look?

RDFTS said:

Did you beat to shit your stock shocks when you went off-roading, how do those look?

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The shock shields from the 2.5" stockers were damaged like the shock bodies in upper photo, as you would expect as this is just plastic, but nothing serious...

The design of these 3.0" FOX is actually quite weird when you take to compare those with KING or Icons, the comp tubes are soooo low, it's obvious it has to be protected, I noticed that too late unfortunately, but are we supposed to do R&D job for Fox ?

Here is pic of Icon's after that trip but i don't know can we compare these since i was FLYING most of the time