FAO People having trouble with Tora 302 SL forks

BoardinBob

For those that are experiencing limited travel with their coil sprung Tora 302 SL forks (I was getting 70mm out of a supposed 120mm), I stripped them down completely today and rebuilt them.

In doing so I discovered that the upper section of the lowers was overfilled with oil by about 50ml. I refilled it with the recommended amount (145ml) and straight away I'm getting about 90mm travel just by pushing really hard on the bars. Haven't had a chance to ride it yet but I'm confident the problems been resolved.

Worth taking the time to check it out.

nicklouse

More info on the fork. there are 3 versions of the SL but the 120mm version should be an air fork. could it just be that the air pressure is now set a bit better?

sws

Boardinbob, was it a straightforward process ? Did you follow a guide from the net ot just get stuck in ?

BoardinBob

nicklouse wrote:

More info on the fork. there are 3 versions of the SL but the 120mm version should be an air fork. could it just be that the air pressure is now set a bit better?

Coil sprung

BoardinBob

sws wrote:

Boardinbob, was it a straightforward process ? Did you follow a guide from the net ot just get stuck in ?

Dead easy.

I completely stripped it down but you could just remove the top cap from the left leg, drain the oil (just a case of tipping the fork upside down) and then refilling with the correct amount. The manuals are on the SRAm site.

supersonic

Nice one! And interesting!

timmys

Pretty sure I have the same problem with my Tora's (also on a FSR XC).

I'd like to try the same fix but am a complete newb to servicing forks. Can you please clarify a couple of things for me?

- Can I just take off the top of the left leg (that's the one with the black pre-load adjustment not the blue lock out yeah?) with the fork still on the bike, tip up the bike to drain the oil and refill? To do this do I need anything apart from hex (allen) key and a 24mm socket wrench? The oil I need is 5wt Suspension Oil?

- The SRAM manuals you mention, which one should I be looking at? When I go to the Service section and select Tora's I get the option of 2008 User manuals, which don't have servicing details, or the 2006 Service Guide. I looked at the Service Guide but not sure it's the right one as it seems to say the top volume for the non-air fork is 130ml (and it also seems to say right leg);



Sorry about all the questions as I really want this fixed but I don't want to screw this up and I've never done anything to forks before!

BoardinBob

timmys wrote:

- Can I just take off the top of the left leg (that's the one with the black pre-load adjustment not the blue lock out yeah?) with the fork still on the bike, tip up the bike to drain the oil and refill? To do this do I need anything apart from hex (allen) key and a 24mm socket wrench? The oil I need is 5wt Suspension Oil?

Best to remove the fork from the bike.

You remove the oil from the right leg.

1) Remove the circlip holding the lockout lever and them remove the lever and the o-ring underneath

2) Get a 24mm socket and remove the top cap. Once it's unscrewed gently pull up to reveal the lockout mechanism. Once you've pulled it uo you'll feel some resistance. Gently pull up and wiggle from side to side and it will come out.

3) You can then tip the fork upside down and drain the oil into a pan. Worth measuring to check how much was in there.

4) You can give the inside a clean up with some IPA if you want but I didn't bother. All i did was measure out the correct volume of oil and refill it.

5) Pop the turnkey mechanism back in and push it down gently then using the 24mm socket, tighten it up. Then refit the lockout lever with the circlip (you'll definitely need circlip pliers for this)

- The SRAM manuals you mention, which one should I be looking at? When I go to the Service section and select Tora's I get the option of 2008 User manuals, which don't have servicing details, or the 2006 Service Guide. I looked at the Service Guide but not sure it's the right one as it seems to say the top volume for the non-air fork is 130ml (and it also seems to say right leg);

Use this manual for guidance and oil types/ volumes

http://www.sram.com/_media/pdf/rockshox ... MY08_E.pdf

timmys

Thanks, that's brilliant!

timmys

Update:

After much swearing, a broken circlip and major doubts of whether I got the headset back together correctly; the bloody forks had the right amount of oil in anyway!!!

Lessons learnt: a) When someone tells you you definitely need a set of circlip pliers believe them. b) Pay better attention to the order things are taken off so you have at least a decent chance of putting it all back together correctly. :roll:

Fuzz Monkey Five

How long does it take to do this ?

timmys

Fuzz Monkey Five wrote:

How long does it take to do this ?

If you've taken forks off your bike before and dealt with headsets then probably about half an hour.

If you're a prat like me and have to nip to the shops half way through for a new circlip and circlip pliers then about 2 hrs.