All mountain sl rebuilt leaking air.

cathymark74
cathymark74 Posts: 21
edited April 2013 in MTB workshop & tech
A few months ago my 2005 Al Mountain sl lost all the positive air on a very chilly night ride (minus 5) so i serviced them and fitted a set of enduro seals, I have now done 3-4 long rides and find i am having to top up the positive air mid ride, is this normal for new seals? Are they bedding in or are enduro seals like that, should i have fitted genuine marzocchi seals?
:?

Comments

  • The Rookie
    The Rookie Posts: 27,812
    The seals you changed have nothing to do with keeping air inside the stanchion, that is either the top cap seal or the air can seal at the lower end.
    Currently riding a Whyte T130C, X0 drivetrain, Magura Trail brakes converted to mixed wheel size (homebuilt wheels) with 140mm Fox 34 Rhythm and RP23 suspension. 12.2Kg.
  • cathymark74
    cathymark74 Posts: 21
    I have stripped most of the forks i have owned, some for service but the last few for travel/tuning mods and always thought that air could always find its way to the oil seals so assumed this was the most likely place to leak, will have a partial stripdown and clean/replace a few o rings and check out the valve cores as when i replaced the oil and dust seals i replaced all the oil and striped and bled the tst cartridge, i have found the negative air valve to be a little sticky and sometimes releases all the air when removing the pump so maybe if one valve is playing up then all need some tlc.

    If the worst was found and they are scrap i have been eyeing up the latest suntour epicon x1 as they are a cracking weight but can be bought for the sort of money that is considered to be a disposable fork rather than servicing/repairs of some others. Any opinions on the 2013 models would be great.
  • supersonic
    supersonic Posts: 82,708
    Epicons are good forks, but I'd spend a little more on a Rockshox Revelation.

    But for your fork, as above: main dust seals have nothing to do with the air chamber.
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  • cathymark74
    cathymark74 Posts: 21
    Thats a relief as i should be able to fix the leak if its any of the valves or top o rings.
  • The Rookie
    The Rookie Posts: 27,812
    Yes, but if it's the air unit at the bottom of the stanchion it will be a new air unit or new fork.......
    Currently riding a Whyte T130C, X0 drivetrain, Magura Trail brakes converted to mixed wheel size (homebuilt wheels) with 140mm Fox 34 Rhythm and RP23 suspension. 12.2Kg.
  • cathymark74
    cathymark74 Posts: 21
    There is a PAR valve at the bottom of the left leg and that is holding air fine and about 70cl of oil around the bottom of that cartridge for lubrication and the other leg has the rebound knob for the sealed damping cartridge and that also sits in about 70cl of oil so im sure i would see oil leaks from those before anything else.
  • The Rookie
    The Rookie Posts: 27,812
    If the air is leaking down into the lowers, it will come out up past the dust seal, you won't see oil leaks.
    Currently riding a Whyte T130C, X0 drivetrain, Magura Trail brakes converted to mixed wheel size (homebuilt wheels) with 140mm Fox 34 Rhythm and RP23 suspension. 12.2Kg.

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