Manitou Fork Help

pikeg123
pikeg123 Posts: 46
edited December 2011 in MTB workshop & tech
Hey guys, just a question about me new forks...

I bought a pair Manitou Nixons (pic below) from ebay.. I picked them up and they look fine. The guy I bought them off assured me no oil leaks etc so I took them..

Anyway, last week I fitted them to the bike and took it for a test run only to find the top seals bringing oil up.. So today I had my new seals and oil delivered..

Ok today I downloaded the service guide and proceeded on stripping them.. Now, according to the book when the bolts on the underside are un-done there should be fluid trickling out, however mine were almost dry.. Just a few lil drips of oil.. So I proceeded to change the seals.. ok so far..

Only thing that concerns me is... According to book I am to put in only 16ml of oil in each lower, which I've done.. bolted back up and looking fine.. However it doesn't really mention the uppers..
Now am I crossing my wires, as i remember in my old bombers when opening the bolts on the crown, when you look inside there was an open oil bath but with these Nixons the uppers didn't seem to have any oil at all? When I poured some oil in to test it just gargled and the oil ended up in the lowers??

So my question is, to I just leave it with the 16ml as the book states or fill them up to the seal level like the old bombers were? I'm not 100% sure.. it feels ok at the moment (with 16ml in each leg)

Oh and btw the right leg had the preload/rebound adjuster so no spring.. The left leg had the spring..

DSC00877.jpg

Comments

  • supersonic
    supersonic Posts: 82,708
    They probasbly have a damper sealed in a cartridge. The oil in the lower legs is for lube. Most basic services don't touch the damper.

    Does the rebound and compression adjusters work?
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  • pikeg123
    pikeg123 Posts: 46
    Yes the adjusters work fine.. So I'm assuming the 16ml in each leg must be correct then :) I was a lil worried as these seem a bit different to the old bombers..

    Hopefully the new seals will do their purpose.. So far no leaks :)
  • nicklouse
    nicklouse Posts: 50,675
    pikeg123 wrote:
    Yes the adjusters work fine.. So I'm assuming the 16ml in each leg must be correct then :) I was a lil worried as these seem a bit different to the old bombers..

    Hopefully the new seals will do their purpose.. So far no leaks :)

    Totally different to how Marzocchi forks work.
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  • bjj.andy.w
    bjj.andy.w Posts: 111
    I would imagine the old bombers were an open bath design which had oil sloshing around them. It was one of the reasons that they were so reliable and didn't need servicing as often.
    When you go to the ground you are in my world. My world is the ocean. I am the shark and most people don't know how to swim
  • paramart
    paramart Posts: 69
    16ml in each leg is for lubing the stanchions and bushes, the damper/lockout is a sealed cartridge, which has to be filled to a measurement, by undoing the top nut on the fork, the l/h leg if its rttw is just a spring which is greased,

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