boxxer oil circulation problem

[sasser]

g'dy all,

i had my bike in pieces a while ago and had the bike on its back, forks in the air. when i flipped it back over the forks seemed very springy and bouncy, like there was no oil in them. once i depress them a few times and bounce around a bit, the oil gets going and they act normal again, slower rebound and all of that, but with a very juicy sound.

they are 04 race's and i dunno what the problem is.

also how do i adjust the rebound, the screw in the bottom is done up all the way onto slow, but it is still too fast for me.

any sudgestions appreciated.

ps. i did a search and couldnt find anyhting with this in it allready, i thaught i saw a thread on this a while ago , but could t find it, soz.

 

[shmity]

The reason they felt bouncy after being upside down is becuase the oil is forced from the bottom of the fork upwards through the damper, after being upside down there was very little oil in the bottom, thus very little damping.

As for changing the rebound...have the forks been serviced from new? they usually come with crappy oil and not enough, get them serviced and perhaps get the shop to use some heavier wt oil, I use 2.5 and find it fine, i think thats also the stock so try 5wt.

 

[sasser]

it happens every time i jump on the bike now tho, not just after i flipped it back over.
so like, evey time i go to push on them if theyve been stagnant for about 10 seconds, its just like it was when i flipped them over for the first time.

as for if thewyve been serviced or not, i have no idea, i just baught the bike, its on my to do list.
whats involved in adjusting the rebound whe i do get them serviced?

 

[RaID]

some english skills would help

anyway, the rebound adjuster at the bottom of the forks should have about 1/3 to half a turn of adjustment. If it has anymore it maybe the case that your adjuster is stripped since the inside bit is made out of plastic, mine stripped after a quite a few uses (pretty shitty design on rockshox's part). Im pretty sure the forks came stock with 5wt oil (i know my did) and that should be more then enough to slow youre rebound down so it takes almost 2sec for the fork to extend back to full lenght after compression.

If the part is stripped, you can set the rebound roughly when rebuilding the fork by setting the valve in the righ position.

Pull apart your forks and see if the rebound valve is correctly seated (and not upside down) as this will not give you a full range of rebound adjustment.

Are they new forks or SH?

 

[sasser]

theyre second hand,

i just had a look, i can unscrew the bolt all the way out, not just 1/3 of a turn out, and the bolt does up tight, so the adjuster definatly isnt threaded. the thread on the inside of the fork appears to be made of metal, not plastic tho.
ive never stripped a fork before, got any tip's?
also what weight oil would you recoment for me(im approx 70kgs)

 

[RaID]

theyre second hand,

i just had a look, i can unscrew the bolt all the way out, not just 1/3 of a turn out, and the bolt does up tight, so the adjuster definatly isnt threaded. the thread on the inside of the fork appears to be made of metal, not plastic tho.
ive never stripped a fork before, got any tip's?
also what weight oil would you recoment for me(im approx 70kgs)

I had the 03 Races, which had a little allen key adjuster going through the bolt at the bottom of the lowers which then placed in a plastic valve. The allen key shaped hole in the valve stripped easily. By the sounds of things they changed this problem for 04

To take apart the fork, d/l the service manual and a part list which shows an exploded view of the fork from the rock shox website. If youre a little mechanically inclined you shouldnt find this too daunting (sp?)

 

[StormFire]

i just had a look, i can unscrew the bolt all the way out, not just 1/3 of a turn out, and the bolt does up tight, so the adjuster definatly isnt threaded. the thread on the inside of the fork appears to be made of metal, not plastic tho.
ive never stripped a fork before, got any tip's?
also what weight oil would you recoment for me(im approx 70kgs)

There lies your problem, sounds to me like your using the wrong allen key. The bolt that you're undoing is a 5mm (or 4 ??) allen key, and that's what holds the fork together.

The rebound adjustment is up inside of this, so you need to use a long 2.5mm allen key, if you have a look you'll notice that there's a hole in the centre of the bolt giving you access to the rebound adjustment, so insert your 2.5mm allen key in there, and then you'll find that it can only move a quarter of a turn from fast to slow, and then you can start tweeking away to your hearts content until your rebound is to your liking.

NOTE: it might even be a 2mm allen key. Cause from memory mine now use a 2.5mm allen key due to older internals, but 03 and 04 use a 2mm allen key ... i think.

 

[jda]

NOTE: it might even be a 2mm allen key. Cause from memory mine now use a 2.5mm allen key due to older internals, but 03 and 04 use a 2mm allen key ... i think.

Rebuilt my 04 teams (now mojo'd) last night, its 5mm to undo the cartridge and 2.5mm to adjust the rebound.

 

[RaID]

sounds like they didnt change the internals for the 04 model,

where this 2mm allen key go inside the fork into the plastiv valve could be stripped, is what i was trying to say above.

 

[ajay]

Rebuilt my 04 teams (now mojo'd) last night.

word up....

 

[sasser]

right, thanks for clearing that up for me, thats the rebound ptoblem solved.

but what about the oil circulation?

all i can gather is that the iol is in the wrong chamber and cant get back.
is this right?

 

[shmity]

Are you talking about the problem you have with the fork after its been upside down? This isn't a problem, its the nature of open bath forks.

 

[ajay]

Are you talking about the problem you have with the fork after its been upside down? This isn't a problem, its the nature of open bath forks.

No i think he means that the problem with having your forks upside doesnt actually remidy itself, as in once he turns the bike back the right way up, the oil doesnt seem to run back into the lowers...

 

[S.]

No i think he means that the problem with having your forks upside doesnt actually remidy itself, as in once he turns the bike back the right way up, the oil doesnt seem to run back into the lowers...

It won't do it straight away. Leave it a few minutes and it should be fine, or just bounce on it (and don't let it rebound flat out) a few times and it should be all good.

 

[gibbo4]

I leave my bike upside down every week for a few days just to keep everything nice and lubed up. Rebound is always fast when I turn them back up but after a bit of a ride its fine. JUst ride it around compressing the forks and the oil will go back to where it should be

 

[sasser]

yes....but

the bike has been the right way up for about 2 weeks now, and to no avail.

when i get on the bike the oil doesnt circulate, casing a heaps bouncy fork
(no oil, just a spring bouncing me around)
and when it does start to circulate after a few compressions it sounds very juicy. and then once i wait approx ten seconds, the fork feels jsut like it did before i compressed it. ive taken it for a few rides to try and get the oil to circulate properly, and nothing has made a difference.


HELP!

 

[gibbo4]

i think its time to take it to someone to get taken apart and checked... or u can do it yourself if you know what to look for

 

[RaID]

yes....but

the bike has been the right way up for about 2 weeks now, and to no avail.

when i get on the bike the oil doesnt circulate, casing a heaps bouncy fork
(no oil, just a spring bouncing me around)
and when it does start to circulate after a few compressions it sounds very juicy. and then once i wait approx ten seconds, the fork feels jsut like it did before i compressed it. ive taken it for a few rides to try and get the oil to circulate properly, and nothing has made a difference.

HELP!

so the rebound is very fast if you stop compression?
Sounds a little like you might not have enough oil in the rebound side.
Did you have any oil leaks at anystage?

At least try replacing the oil in the fork on both sides and put in the correct amount. See if that fixes the problem.

I think either way you should pull the forks apart and check them out to see if everything is in working order. If you dont know how to do that and are not willing to try to do it yourself just give to a LBS if replacing the oil didnt fix the problem.

 

[sasser]

u can do it yourself if you know what to look for

my problem exactly...

tips please on taking forks appart. ive never stripped them before. im pretty mechanicaly minded( apprentice mechanic) but i lack expreience, so any tip's much appreciated.

cheers

 

[Registered Nutcase]

boxxers are a pretty simple fork to take apart, grab the service manual from the sram site. there is nothing to be worried about they are alot easier than you think.

blake