johanpre44 Posted April 27, 2015 Posted April 27, 2015 I recently bought a second hand Suntour Epicon for my 26er and decided that at the cheap price I got it that I will give the DIY fork service a go. The forks seems to be about 4 years old and probably never saw a service in its lifetime. The condition (before I opened it up) also seemed reasonable. So far I have pulled everything apart (and made notes of what goes where). The internals of the secondhand fork tells another story... I have noticed that the right-hand stanchion has a bit of damage right where it engages the lower bushing. I was thinking of trying to polish it out with Braso or something (it seems like some sort of residue, but it actually caused some minor scratches on the stanchion). As far as I'm aware the stanchions should slide very easily in the lowers when all the internals are removed (which is obviously not the case). Any suggestions of how to make the stanchions slide very nicely in the lowers? Picks of the stanchions at the bottom. What should I use to Lube the stanchions? Suntour apparently supplies some special grease, but I have seen some posts on the internet where the owners replaced it with oil (like its done with Fox or Rock shocks). The damper seems to be working, but not as well as I would expect. When locked out there is about 20-30mm of movement, which I suspect should only be about 5mm. Hope I can add a bit of life to this fork.
MaxTBehrens Posted April 27, 2015 Posted April 27, 2015 I did a very similar fork a while ago. Not too sure about the polishing of the damaged bits, but also I'm not sure what harm it could do. I greased the air side with white lighting grease I got of CWCycles. The foam seals I soaked in 15wt oil, and added the right amount (cannot remember specific amount) of 5wt oil in the side with the damper. Also adding 15wt oil between the lower legs and the stanchions, about 5ml. With a previous fork I did, I ran out of oil, but it was urgent... so I soaked the seals in 15w40 motor oil, and used 5w40 oil in the damper stanchion. And it worked marvelously. So the soaked foam ring seals lubricate the stanchions. And try putting the one stanchion in slightly, before the other one. Refitting the lower legs can be a tricky business.
droo Posted April 28, 2015 Posted April 28, 2015 Those stanchions will never run smooth again - they've corroded at the lower bushing. They'll run a bit better if you clean the oxidisation off and give the fork a service, but they'll continue to wear at that point because the anodising has failed and the aluminium underneath is very soft.
johanpre44 Posted April 28, 2015 Author Posted April 28, 2015 Looks like I've bought a dud... eina... Swapping the stanchions will be a good way towards a more permanent fix, but where can someone find them?
droo Posted April 28, 2015 Posted April 28, 2015 Dragons stock them as far as i know, but you'll need to have the bushings changed as well, which requires special tools. It'll probably work out cheaper to start looking for another one.
Odinson Posted April 28, 2015 Posted April 28, 2015 I think you should cut your losses and get a new fork. Maybe a new Epicon or a RS XC32?
RatherBeMTB Posted April 28, 2015 Posted April 28, 2015 Why not try to reduce the travel, thus bypasing the damaged bit? Just a thought.. No idea if it wil work..
Steven Knoetze (sk27) Posted April 28, 2015 Posted April 28, 2015 What about reanodising the stanchions?
johanpre44 Posted April 28, 2015 Author Posted April 28, 2015 At least its not a total loss, I learned a couple of things (like how to properly check a 2nd-hand fork, and how to open it up). As a little project I will try and revive this fork, if it doesn't work I will not cry... Travel can be reduced (was set at 100mm, so 80mm may just do the trick). Think it may actually work very nicely on my son's bike if I can get it to work without sticking to bad on 80mm.
johanpre44 Posted May 16, 2015 Author Posted May 16, 2015 So I set the travel to 80mm so that the damaged part of the stantion is below the lower bush. Everything cleaned out and lubed nicely (used 10ml of 15wt oil in each of the lower legs and some on the very old and thin foam rings). Put it on my son's bike today and he seems impressed with it (he can now see it work compared to the Suntour M5025 which was like a very heavy rigid steel for).
Iwan Kemp Posted February 10, 2017 Posted February 10, 2017 Hi guys, i'm trying to service my Epixon at home. But in my hometown ... Can't help you; just wanted to say howzit and welcome to Bike Hub!
Mojoman Posted February 11, 2017 Posted February 11, 2017 Get some motorbike fork oil, that will do it. I use Castrol SAE5w. .been using it for around 4 years on the fork and there is no trouble.
Mojoman Posted February 11, 2017 Posted February 11, 2017 But i thought there's many kind of motor bike fork oil ? The one the use for the damper is different from the one for splash lubrication. And motor bike fork is not even air fork ?!?!There are all different types but its what I use on my Epicon with no issues. If you want you can buy a couple of types of oils but that depends on how much money you have to throw about and availability of the different types. You only need a little bit to service the fork and its not difficult to strip it down, clean it, service it, reassemble and off you go. Periodically pull off the lowers, clean out the foam ring, soak it in some oil, add a little bit in for the lowers and reassemble. (I use about 25ml per leg)
Mojoman Posted February 11, 2017 Posted February 11, 2017 So you use Castrol 5W-40 oil to both soak the foam ring and splash lubrication between the lowers and the stanchions, am i right ? What about the oil in the Damper it self ? Do you know what oil to use ?Its just 5w, not 5W-40 oil (well, thats what is on the bottle anyway). I also have some Belray 10w oil that I used on my Fox shock and fork on another bike but now I just use whats leftover on the Epicon.
Kalahari Vegmot Posted February 11, 2017 Posted February 11, 2017 Its just 5w, not 5W-40 oil (well, thats what is on the bottle anyway). I also have some Belray 10w oil that I used on my Fox shock and fork on another bike but now I just use whats leftover on the Epicon. I think he's talking about auto oil, like what the Cruiser uses-15w40.Fork oil (like from a motorcycle shop) will just have 15w on it
Kalahari Vegmot Posted February 11, 2017 Posted February 11, 2017 Best to get fork specific oil (apparently)I have serviced a RS fork with 15w40 diesel oil before. Works okay mind you
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