Fork nuts and bolts

larkim

Last time I disassembled the cheap Suntour fork on son's MTB I had no issues until I came to putting the final screw in place.

At the foot of the forks instead of a bolt with an allen key head, these forks have a nut which attaches to a threaded pole at the foot of the damper / stanchion. Left went on fine, but I really struggled getting the right one on as I think there was a touch of cross threading / mangled thread in the section of this threaded pole which extends slightly out from the bolt.

The forks are getting stiff again (diagnosis - dirt getting past the seals, and no permanent lubrication feed inside the forks) so I am minded to take apart, clean and re-grease again. Not a big deal particularly, but I don't want a repeat of the nut issues.

How would you approach this? I presume a tap and die of the right pitch / thread would be the right answer, but that's not likely to be something I can come across. Would just running the nut on and off lots of times whilst the fork is disassembled resolve the issue?

nicklouse

clean the threads.

or change the forks.

larkim

nicklouse wrote:

clean the threads.

or change the forks.

£100+ option is not an option.

How does one clean threads? When I last reassembled, they were "clean". But they were equally a bugger to get sorted - I had to gently (but sufficiently) clamp the rod in place, taking great care not to clamp too hard or else I would have squashed the very thread that was already giving me problems. And there was only a very narrow gap in which to insert something which gave any clamping force at all.

Dirtydog11

£100.00?


http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Rock-Shox-Dar ... 4addce663f


Not the best but adjustable rebound, fully rebuildable and the seals don't leak water like the Titanic.

Had a pair on my commuter/run around for the last 5 years and have done nothing other than carry out a damper service (replaced o rings).

larkim

Fair point, but I don't have any appetite for replacing worn and battered with second hand, particularly down at that end of the price spectrum. For a non-expert like me, too many unknowns!

supersonic

Clean the threads as in chase them with a tap and die set. Or take a look at these:

http://www.bike-discount.de/en/buy/rock ... tAod3DAAWg

larkim

Thanks. That's a tempting price for the XC28 I must admit - I know it's not a great fork, but £40 vs my dodgy repair skill sounds tempting. Though of course there is always more to it that I could easily get wrong - crown race, cutting the tube, SFN installation etc etc.

supersonic

it's worth it for a vastly better fork ;-). Adjustable rebound, full hydraulic circuit. Tough too (well it is heavy!). But for that cash, I'd go for it.