Locked out Rockshox Revelations in the middle of no-where...

Moose.

It seems my ride out here in Timor the other day was too much and my forks have now locked out :x They're RS Revelation Dual Air U-Turn jobbies from around 2008.

Both air chambers are holding pressure just fine, so I think it's a problem with the Motion Control/Damping side. If I remove all pressure from both cambers on the air side, I can move from max travel (130mm) to about the 100mm mark; so about 30mm of travel before the forks are totally solid and locked out.

A quick search suggests it could be a problem with oil bypassing an internal seal from the top to the bottom of the leg, causing hydrolock. I've looked at the service guide for the forks and it looks like something I might be able to do, assuming I can actually source some suitable o-rings, fork oil and tools which could be tricky with no bike shops in town.

Anyway, I figured I might as well open them up to see if it's an obvious problem however I'm stuck!

I followed the service manual and also this article here:

http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/article/w ... vice-24649

but cannot get past stage 6. I've tapped the bottom of the nut and it released ok but cannot get the lowers to separate from the uppers. Something inside is stopping them solid at the maximum travel. I've taken off both the air spring and motion control units from the top of the uppers but still the lowers won't separate! I suspect this could be the same thing causing the lack of travel.

Any ideas folks?

camerauk

Just a thought have you done both nuts on the lower legs!!!!!! one on each leg

also don't think you needed to remove the air spring and motion control units to get the lowers off

nicklouse

read the topic in the FAQs?

Moose.

After tapping the nut on the air side, I removed it and also the bolt on the damping side. Is there another nut somewhere I've missed?

I did read the FAQs and found this: http://www.bikeradar.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=12652233 which seem to describe my problem, hence my desire to open the forks up to fix them. I would love to take them to a bike shop but alas there isn't one!

Matt 24k

IIRC you don't need to remove the lowers to get at the lock out mechanism. Remove the 24mm top nut on the right side and wiggle the motion control unit out. It is fairly common for the return spring to come out of the steel rod that runs down the inside of the mo co. This stops the lockout from springing back to the open position.

camerauk

No only the two bolts on very bottom of the lower legs
did you get oil coming out of both the holes on the lower legs?

Moose.

Yeah, removed both the nut on one leg and bolt on the other leg. A little oil came out from the air spring side but nothing came out from the damping (right) leg.

I opened up the top of the right leg and removed the motion control unit. Looking into the leg I can see a reasonable amount of oil but only when the forks are extended. If I compress them all the oil disappears into the lower part. They will only compress down to around the 100mm mark though and extend just beyond the 130mm mark.I cannot separate the lowers from the uppers. Something is stopping it solid on the damping side.

camerauk

when you removed the bolts did you make sure you hit them both so that it breaks the seal of the inner rods to the lowers

put the bolt and allen bolt back in a couple of threads and check you can push them up this will tell you if you have broken the seal
I would have thought a fair amount of oil should have come out as that is what happened when I stripped mine

Moose.

Success! Many thanks camerauk

Neither the service manual or BIke Radar guide tell you to hit both leg bolts/nuts. After hitting the bolt, the damper side released and plenty of oil came out.

I can now get full travel again, so now I have to locate the source of the leak..And find some fork oil from somewhere. Closest I've found so far is some stuff for scooter forks.

camerauk

That's great
I got my oil from a motorcycle shop loads more than I need but will do for next time or mates shocks
Also if you want syringes go to a vets got mine for free

Moose.

Ok, so I've got the forks apart now and can't see any problems. There was a lot of oil in the lower part of the damper side which I assume is what has been causing the hydro-lock but I can't see how it got there!

I assume this bush and o-rings are where the oil's got past:


Rockshox Revelation damper by Indo Pilot, on Flickr

but it all looks fine. I have no spare parts here, so shall I just stick them back together, fill with suitable oil and see what happens?

Biggest problem is finding fork oil. I have found some for scooters but there's no weight specification on it. I need 5W for the damping and 15W for the rest of it. Could be tricky to find....

Just to add:When I first moved out to Indonesia, I left my bike behind in my parents garage. There it sat for about 1.5 years unloved. I went back home last month and bought it out with me. Could the oil have seeped past the seal whilst it was just sitting there I wonder? I do recall the lockout wasn't worked when I took it for a ride back in the UK last month...

supersonic

5wt will do for lube if pushed.