The Dude's DIY Corner

[el_d00der1n0]

The topic of this installment is fork rebuilding and wiper seal replacement. I'm not a pro, but I want to encourage others to take the step like me and give the DIY a shot. You'll be much better prepared to deal with problems on the trail if you do...

So I posted a problem with my Tora leaking:
IMG00172.jpg

I went for a night ride last Tuesday and it got so bad it was squeaky. So, I decided to give the rebuild a shot. I've built wheels before, and so far, that was the most frightening and complicated thing I had done, so I figured this couldn't be too bad.

So I went online, and SRAM publishes the Tora service guide. I'm sure all major brands do. It''s not too much trouble, but the Tora is just barely worth the effort IMO. By that I mean if you're thinking about rebuilding a Dart or RST or something, I wouldn't bother.

The instructions are fairly straight forward. It's a good idea to read through them a couple of times first. I ordered the stuff I needed (fork oil, new seals) a couple of days ago from North of the Border Bikes, and Michael was very helpful. After picking up some tools at Ace (rubber mallot, 24mm socket, dowel), I was ready to go.

Here's the workstation:
IMG00173.jpg

I would recommend a bike stand. I had a couple of moments when something to hold the upper part of the fork would have been nice.

My oil pan.
IMG00174.jpg

Lowers are off.
IMG00175.jpg
They come off pretty easily if you give the bolts on the bottom a good whack. I tried a couple of times before I figured that out. You don't want to go whacking on the lowers directly though.

U-Turn coil spring.
IMG00176.jpg

Lowers with the old seals.
IMG00178.jpg

Ok, so this was the most challenging spot. I tried pulling the seals out with plyers and they just got all chewed up.
IMG00179.jpg

And more chewed up.
IMG00180.jpg

I found a tutorial online and found a pic of someone prying them out with a screwdriver. You need to be very careful where the screwdriver makes contact with the sides or you will chip the paint like I did.

And here's the finished product. New gray seals in place and fork back on.
IMG00181.jpg

I haven't ridden it yet, but it feels a bit stiff. I looked at the manual to see if I missed something or used the wrong amount of oil for the bath in the lowers. There's a chart at the bottom of the service guide that says I did use the wrong amount, and the wrong viscosity. I did get the right amount in the dampener though, so it should be pretty easy to replace the bath in the lowers.

Anyway, there it is. Hope you enjoyed it.

[Seat Sniffer]

nice job man. did the gnome help you?

[el_d00der1n0]

Originally Posted by Seat Sniffer

nice job man. did the gnome help you?

totally, but he's broken too. my daughter slammed him down on the patio. tune in to next time for gnome repair.

[ghixon]

Cool rebuild. When I rebuilt my first Fox I was scared sh!tless that I was going to goof it up and destroy a $500 fork.

I did get an oil seal pick from Sears and it makes it a breeze to pull seals out now.

Thanks for the step-by-step!

Greg

[ubermensch]

Originally Posted by el_d00der1n0

I haven't ridden it yet, but it feels a bit stiff. I looked at the manual to see if I missed something or used the wrong amount of oil for the bath in the lowers. There's a chart at the bottom of the service guide that says I did use the wrong amount, and the wrong viscosity. I did get the right amount in the dampener though, so it should be pretty easy to replace the bath in the lowers.

Part of the stiffness might also be stiction from the new seals. For me, it only feels weird when the forks are off of the bike--I just forget about it when it goes back on.

I dig the tutorial with pics.

[JOx2]

So d00derific!! i wish i can bleed brakes.

[lukewiens]

ghixon you bought one of these??



as ghixon said, i need to do this same process with my pricey fox fork as well....and as well, i am scared sh!tless.

on a scale of 1 to 10, how difficult would you say this process is. i guess you can only screw things up so bad during the process.

any suggestions on using the seal pick?

thanks.

[Bryguy17]

nice job...Its fun taking apart forks, even without any reason. I modified a crummy marzocchi once to have 20mm more travel and be slightly plusher. it was great

Also, with the seal pulling, I believe fox recommends using an adjustable wrench to pry the seal out, but I don't know if this would work for all forks

[Pato]

Originally Posted by lukewiens

any suggestions on using the seal pick?

Use an open ended box wrench. Much easier and safer.

[el_d00der1n0]

I don't think you'd have much success with the dental picks on those seals. Mine were cemented in there and very hard to get off. The box wrench might work, but you need to make sure you soften the blow or else you'll be chipping paint like I did.

I did my other Tora today. I didn't need to replace anything, so it went a lot faster. I think I could do one in 30 min to an hour now. It's pretty simple really.

[Justin]

right on, good work dude.

[BRpunkRock]

Originally Posted by lukewiens

ghixon you bought one of these??



as ghixon said, i need to do this same process with my pricey fox fork as well....and as well, i am scared sh!tless.

on a scale of 1 to 10, how difficult would you say this process is. i guess you can only screw things up so bad during the process.

any suggestions on using the seal pick?

thanks.

Always use brass picks when dealing with a sealing surface.

[92se-r]

NO way in hell those picks will work on fork seals. I always have to crank hard on a screwdriver to get those seals out.

[OldDogDan]

Originally Posted by BRpunkRock

Always use brass picks when dealing with a sealing surface.

Yeah, that's right. If you do use steel, be very careful to just snag the o-ring with it, don't poke thru it. I use a piece of plastic rod cut at an angle to push out o-rings. A small wooden dowel could work too.

And Dood, your workshop looks a lot like mine -- on the patio, ice chest and lawn chair nearby. Steel-toed shoes & safety glasses? Naww...flip-flops and a beer! (although the results tend to be better if I hold off on the beer until I'm nearly done).

edit: talking about o-rings here, not pressed-in fork seals...I usually use an old dull screwdriver reserved for that.

[el_d00der1n0]

Originally Posted by 92se-r

NO way in hell those picks will work on fork seals. I always have to crank hard on a screwdriver to get those seals out.

Yep. It's hard work. I had to realy crank down. I chipped the paint. The picks would work for o-rings though.

[Bryguy17]

Originally Posted by OldDogDan

And Dood, your workshop looks a lot like mine -- on the patio, ice chest and lawn chair nearby. Steel-toed shoes & safety glasses? Naww...flip-flops and a beer! (although the results tend to be better if I hold off on the beer until I'm nearly done).

mine's a garage that looks similar. I take root beers for while I'm actually doing the touchy maintenance

BTW, i found the fox service thing i had seen (credit fox service site):

To remove the seals and dust wipers:

1. Using an 18 mm open-end wrench, pry up the dust wipers. Be careful not to scratch the ID of the lower legs.
   
   
2. After the dust wipers are removed, the foam rings will be visible. Lift them out of the lower legs. If they cannot be located, check under the dust wipers; they might be stuck underneath them.
   
   You can get a general sense of the condition of the fork by examining the foam rings. Dry foam rings indicate a lack of fluids or, possibly, a leak. Dirty foam rings may indicate a faulty dust wiper. In either condition, the anodizing on the upper tubes should be examined. If the anodizing has worn off due to insufficient lubrication, replacement of the crown/steerer/upper tube assembly might be necessary.

[el_d00der1n0]

Originally Posted by OldDogDan

And Dood, your workshop looks a lot like mine -- on the patio, ice chest and lawn chair nearby. Steel-toed shoes & safety glasses? Naww...flip-flops and a beer! (although the results tend to be better if I hold off on the beer until I'm nearly done).

How did you know there's beer involved? It's not in any of the pics...

It was Old Guardian I think...

Note to self: trim toenails before posting pic of feet in flip-flops.

[ghixon]

Originally Posted by lukewiens