Right Hand fork cartridge damper

[john_needs_a_bike]

I have a question about the right hand fork cartridge damper rod , I took the damper out of the spring and when I plunge it in ,hydraulic oil passes back up through the little rubber seal ,is this normal ,also what is the method for replacing the oil, is the whole cartridge meant to be be back in the fork ,because the damper bolt the one with the copper washer obviously needs to be in ,but this means inserting the cartridge so the
damper bolt can be tightened up

 

[John OoSTerhuis]

Do you have a service manual, John?

The replacement suspension fluid goes in after the damper rod is reinstalled, spring out, tube compressed, fork vertical, to the level spec'd in the manual. Pump the rod up and down while pouring to fill all cavities.

John

 

[john_needs_a_bike]

Do you have a service manual, John?

The replacement suspension fluid goes in after the damper rod is reinstalled, spring out, tube compressed, fork vertical, to the level spec'd in the manual. Pump the rod up and down while pouring to fill all cavities.

John

Thanks john, not sure if the damper is toast though, I actually had the spring off and the damper rod back in, but the manual does'nt show this, it shows a fork leg being filled with nothing in it,
as for the damper itself, when I pushed the damper rod into it's cylinder, hydraulic oil was coming back through the seal, i'm not sure if this is correct, the manual doesn't mention anything about this seal, it only states the rod must move up and down smoothly which it does
regarding the oil level, it states 190mm, is this the amount of oil, or the air gap measur ment from the top of the the fork

 

[John OoSTerhuis]

Can’t see the damper rod when pouring oil in as it’s below the top of the fork tube. You need to make a special tool to grab the top of the rod to pull it up for pumping and reinstalling the spring. The top of the rod is 10mm/1.0 pitch.
Your damper is working correctly.
The spec is for air gap from the top of the fork tube (compressed) to the top surface of the suspension fluid. 190mm is for a standard/non-ABS fork.

John

 

[John OoSTerhuis]

Damper rod holders:

 

[john_needs_a_bike]

wonder if there's anyone in the uk that could loan me one

 

[John OoSTerhuis]

Certainly you can source a wire coat hanger, a bolt and couple of nuts over there in Blighty…(?)

 

[dwalby]

just get a helper, no special tool is needed. One person holds the threads of the damping rod, the other pushes the spring down and holds it in place. The person holding the threaded rod inserts the clip with their other hand, job completed.

 

[John OoSTerhuis]

Still have to fish the rod up out of the oil and then up through the full length of the spring before the helper can grab it, Doug. So I guess a coat hanger minimum, or even a length of cord/string.

 

[john_needs_a_bike]

Still have fish the rod up out of the oil and then up through the full length of the spring before the helper can grab it, Doug. So I guess a coat hanger minimum, or even a length of cord/string.

A long rod with a nut welded on the end would it, ain't got a welder though

 

[dwalby]

I use a magnetic pickup tool for that, but a fairly strong one. Its been a while since I did it last but I don't recall the top of the rod going below the oil surface, I thought it was still in the air, but my memory could be wrong. I'm also a fill by volume guy, not fill by height, so I may have even put the remaining oil in after pulling the rod vertically and holding it with the magnet.

At the rate I'm riding these days I don't need to change the fork oil often, so my memory is weak.

I also remember many years ago using a funnel with a very small tip and poured the oil in after extending the rod and placing the clip in place. But, that method worked pretty slowly so I didn't use it much.

 

[Roger]

A length of string with a loop at the end will capture the damper rod.....

 

[TerryS]

I use a 70mm 10mm bolt and screw this into the lock nut on the damper shaft; the pitch is different but you get a nice secure join and makes fishing the damper rod out of the oil easier; I aslo use a magnetic pickup to grab it.

 

[SMSW]

A long rod with a nut welded on the end would it, ain't got a welder though

You must have a friendly garage mechanic that will weld a 10mm nut to the end of a steel rod*. Take the guy out to a pub for a pint or two - here we would give him a 6 pack of beer.

*This should take all of 30 seconds - a tack on two sides of the nut to the rod.

 

[john_needs_a_bike]

You must have a friendly garage mechanic that will weld a 10mm nut to the end of a steel rod*. Take the guy out to a pub for a pint or two - here we would give him a 6 pack of beer.

*This should take all of 30 seconds - a tack on two sides of the nut to the rod.

got it done with a bootlace