RS Recon damper orientation seems wrong

[Nuffy]

I’m working on a Rock Shox Recon (120 mm RL Silver 29" non-boost). The lockout wasn’t having any effect, so I’ve opened up the damper to investigate. It looks to me like the base plate orientation is wrong, so that in the open position it is covering the fluid ports, and in the closed / locked position one of the fluid ports is partly exposed.

 

Here is the base plate with the top adjuster in the open position:

 

Here is the top adjuster in the open position (ie fully anti-clockwise) that positions the base plate as shown above:

 

Here is the base plate with the top adjuster in the closed / locked position:

 

Here is the top adjuster in the closed / locked position (ie fully clockwise) that positions the base plate as shown above:

 

If I try rotating the base plate 180° and then locating it on the adjuster shaft, it sits at a slight angle, partly raising it from the yellow plate:

 

So that won’t work, as the fluid will be able to flow freely in any position.

 

As far as I can tell, the only way to solve this and get the base plate oriented correctly relative to the top adjuster would be to rotate it where it’s fitted into the black shaft locator in the bottom assembly:

 

But I’m not sure how it’s fixed in there – is it threaded, glued, or pressed? Is there any way to safely remove or rotate it without breaking something? Or any other thoughts or suggestions?

[Nuffy]

Update, in case anyone is interested:

The silver plate is relatively easy to pull off. It has a splined shaft, so I just rotated it slightly and pressed back into place. I was scared of breaking something by forcing it, but a friend tested on an old one he had.

 

[solty]

Thanks for posting. Very clear photos, nice job.

[Nuffy]

Thanks for posting. Very clear photos, nice job.

 

Thanks solty. I searched for a while online before posting it, and couldn’t find any help. Hopefully somebody else will find this useful.

[Goosebay]

Yes thanks, always interesting to see the different variations RS uses on this damper.  Also amazed at how serviceable these dampers are.  (Blackbox versions)

[Goosebay]

So no shims on this version??