Let's offroad / mountain bike / mtb / ride dirt

Do any of your mates have a shock with the same eye to eye length that you could use to rule out or confirm that it’s the shock?

The Arma on my bike has had the check valve removed by mojo.
The shock sags a tiny fraction under the weight of the bike it’s self.
It has about 2/3mm of what feels like very soft dead travel at the beginning of the stroke. I think it’s supposed to part of the slight negative travel it has.
If I rock the bike the way you are in the video, it makes a slight sound as it cycles back and forth through that very soft 2/3mm.
But it certainly doesn’t feel like a knock or as loud as how yours sounds.
The have another arma on my dh bike that behaves in the exact same way.

One thing I can say is that in my experience, ext shocks need quite frequent servicing…
The one on my dh bike has been the most reliable being serviced at the hundred hour mark with no issues in between. It’s the least used bike though.
But the one on the nomad has leaked twice way before the hundred hour mark.
Both times it leaked after probably only 30-40 hours use. It’s most widely used bike tho and I suppose I’m a fairly heavy chap.
I don’t know if my experience indicates a recurring theme with ext shocks but it’s made me wonder. Mojo are the only folk who have worked on them.

Also, fwiw, I was told that removing the check valve had no impact on performance.
What are the supposed impacts removing it can have?