Front suspension servicing

[Piernas Flacas]

Right. So it seems to be the time to service my Rock Shock Tora, according to the owner's and service manuals. And I've been thinking on doing it myself. I have in the past serviced a Manitou Six, but that was pretty straightforward since it is of a spring/elastomer type so it is basically a matter of cleaning the dirt and re-greasing. But I'm afraid the Tora will be a more complex task because of the oil and seals that need to be replaced, etc.  Is it worth the hassle or rather leave it to the experts?

[TNT1]

OMG... seal oil again...

[dirtrider]

Depends on how mechanical you r I suppose .

[Piernas Flacas]

Depends on how mechanical you r I suppose .

 

Well I can do most of the basic service. Is just that shocks are very unfamiliar to me but I'm willing to try. Is just that the hassle for this particular one may not justify doing it myself.

[dirtrider]

When in doubt take it to the specialists

[Piernas Flacas]

When in doubt take it to the specialists

 

Can things go very wrong?

[dirtrider]

ASk BigBen what a shock looks like after I have serviced it !!!! And it was a "easy" spring shock as you like to call it .

[TNT1]

 

 

Can things go very wrong?

 

Spoken like a man who has never rendered his own seal oil from a freshly clubbed cub....

 

[Piernas Flacas]

 

Can things go very wrong?

Spoken like a man who has never rendered his own seal oil from a freshly clubbed cub....

 

Ok, I get it.

[Johan Bornman]

It is not very difficult but you must keep things organised and your head sorted. If lots of little boing bits fluster you, don't tackle it.

 

1) Get the Rock Shox manual online.

2) Take photos of each step as you disassemble it.

3) order all the parts beforehand. If you do so only after disassembling it, your brain will fail you in the interimn and you'll have bits and pieces left over afterwards.

4) You will unfortunately have to buy oil in 1 liter or similar quantities and you'll only use 50mm max. You may even have to buy two bottles if your fork takes two different weights of oil.

5) You need a big plastic tray like a geyser overflow tray to clean everying in. Better still, a parts washer.

6) Don't worry too much about the dire warnings about grease that Rock Shox make. No need to buy the fancy Judy Butter stuff.

7) Swot the manual beforehand and memorise the terminology. When you're elbow-deep in oil, it is not the time to page through a manual and look for the definition of some obscure part that blocks your next step.

8) It takes a real man to walk onto a bike shop with a plastic bag full of parts and nonchalantly ask them to assemble it for you. That's how you learn.

9) Do something scary every day.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[TNT1]

 

9) Do something scary every day.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Exactly... like club a seal, render the oil and eat the meat in a casserole...

 

[Piernas Flacas]

It is not very difficult but you must keep things organised and your head sorted. If lots of little boing bits fluster you' date=' don't tackle it.

 

1) Get the Rock Shox manual online.

2) Take photos of each step as you disassemble it.

3) order all the parts beforehand. If you do so only after disassembling it, your brain will fail you in the interimn and you'll have bits and pieces left over afterwards.

4) You will unfortunately have to buy oil in 1 liter or similar quantities and you'll only use 50mm max. You may even have to buy two bottles if your fork takes two different weights of oil.

5) You need a big plastic tray like a geyser overflow tray to clean everying in. Better still, a parts washer.

6) Don't worry too much about the dire warnings about grease that Rock Shox make. No need to buy the fancy Judy Butter stuff.

7) Swot the manual beforehand and memorise the terminology. When you're elbow-deep in oil, it is not the time to page through a manual and look for the definition of some obscure part that blocks your next step.

8) It takes a real man to walk onto a bike shop with a plastic bag full of parts and nonchalantly ask them to assemble it for you. That's how you learn.

9) Do something scary every day.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[/quote']

 

Thanks Johan. Useful advice. I'll have to drink some tequila to get some courage. Any idea how long it takes to get it over and done with?

[AndreZA]

Thanks Johan. Useful advice. I'll have to drink some tequila to get some courage. Any idea how long it takes to get it over and done with?

 

depends on how many lemons you've got.

 

 

[dirtrider]

A bottle of Tequila should not last you more than 6 hours .

[Piernas Flacas]

A bottle of Tequila should not last you more than 6 hours .

 

 ... and I may even think on servicing the rear shock (although I've got a HT)

[Johan Bornman]

 

Thanks Johan. Useful advice. I'll have to drink some tequila to get some courage. Any idea how long it takes to get it over and done with?

 

Shouldn't take you more than  1 1/2 hours. But if you get stuck, it could take you days of returning to the problem before something in your head clicks and you get going again.

 

I forgot to add that you need a lot of solvent - 1l of paraffin. Also buy yourself a 10mm dowell from the hardware shop and wrap some cloth around the tip like in a cannon barrel cleaner. You'll need this to get to all the hard to reach places in the sliders.

 

I find the best way to clean the slider is with boiling water with prepsol in it. The boiling water helps to get the old oil out and it evaporates so quickly that the water causes no damage in there.

 

And please don't put the oily water and paraffin in the drain. Dispose of it properly.