GEN 1 New OEM Fox Shocks, remove "wrap"?

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Rocsteady

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So with the price that RockAuto offered, it seemed more sensible to replace the shocks/struts than to rebuild them. First off, what a difference in ride!!! Like night and day. I guess my original ones were shot. Anyway, this seemed like a really dumb question at first, but the more I thought about it... So there seems to be a clear film on, at least, the rear Fox shocks, over the silver, metal body of the shock. Should this be removed so you can spray the body with a rust inhibitor or something? Or does it make more sense to just leave well enough alone? For the most part it's on smooth and tight but there are a couple areas where there's air trapped underneath and it's bubbled up, for lack of a better phrase, Difficult to tell if the fronts have the same thing and would be a mess to remove now that they're installed and "inside' the front springs. I'm assuming you just leave it alone but thought I'd ask. I took a picture but after running my finger over the area, I can't even really see it in the picture
 

B E N

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That seems strange, almost like they forgot to take the transfer material off. I wouldn't want a film over the top of them, its going to get chipped and hold water against the shock body.
 
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Rocsteady

Rocsteady

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That seems strange, almost like they forgot to take the transfer material off. I wouldn't want a film over the top of them, its going to get chipped and hold water against the shock body.
That's how i was looking at it. I just emailed the question to Fox and will post their answer for an FYI
 

Huck

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The stock ones also have a film / clear wrap. It just doesn’t cover the entire body


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lxh89

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So with the price that RockAuto offered, it seemed more sensible to replace the shocks/struts than to rebuild them. First off, what a difference in ride!!! Like night and day. I guess my original ones were shot.

How many miles did your original shocks have before replacement? Mines got over 71k and I'm thinking replacing them will make a big diff in ride quality.

Thanks,
Tony
 

K223

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Aren’t these shock bodies completely aluminum? If that bring the case, I wouldn’t worry about rust. Looked to me like the wrap is part of the Labeling. Didn’t think it to serve anymore purpose than that.
 
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You want to leave the clear label/wrap on. It protects the shiny aluminum finish. If you drive in salt they do corrode/oxidize anywhere the clear wrap isn’t. Also it prevents rock chipping on the aluminum shock body by taking the abuse instead of the aluminum.
 
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Rocsteady

Rocsteady

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How many miles did your original shocks have before replacement? Mines got over 71k and I'm thinking replacing them will make a big diff in ride quality.

Thanks,
Tony
I had 86,000 miles when I bought it so I didn't know how it was supposed to feel. It was like night and day! Best analogy I could make is it was as pronounced as the difference between going from a live rear axle to an independent rear suspension
 
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Rocsteady

Rocsteady

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Aren’t these shock bodies completely aluminum? If that bring the case, I wouldn’t worry about rust. Looked to me like the wrap is part of the Labeling. Didn’t think it to serve anymore purpose than that.
Here's what the old ones liked like
IMG_20200315_141227542.jpg
 
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