I'm after some help with possible fork wear.

Hi everyone,

Just went to change my fork oil and it looked like fairy dust. Lots of metallic particles, enough to warrant further inspection.

One of the bushes is definately worn and has no coating left on it, but can anyone tell me if the stanchion in the pic is good to use again? Is this just normal wear or is it something I need to get sorted before replacing bushes and seals etc?

Thanks in advance for any help.

Bump...

[mikerj]

What sort of mileage have those forks had? I rebuilt the ones on my dads curvy with 30k miles and there no sign of the chrome being worn away like that.

PM Yorkie Chris. I remember him writing about something very similar to that.

They have done 14k and a seasons racing. As far as I know this is the first time they have been fully stripped. They have had regular oil changes, but only noticed the metallic content on the most recent change.

[yorkie_chris]

So long as the bushing is healthy that shouldn't cause any problem. If the bushings have worn away below the limit then check carefully for play in the leg on reassembly. I've seen them start to wear the ally of the slider (though they had other damage, still an easy test)

Thanks for your reply YC. There does appear to be some wear in the slider. Can only really see in under a strong light. Obviously can't get my hand in there to feel it, looks to be around 30mm of wear in both legs. Bushes arent drastically worn either... So hopefully get away with just putting them back together with new bushes and seals. Thanks again for your help.

[yorkie_chris]

It's really hard to see into sliders properly, see if you can find a dentists mirror to have a good look.

Any crunchiness in the motion is probably terminal for the sliders as it could be hard debris packed into the ally. That will finish any new bushes off right sharp... but your bushes don't look to have had that sort of wear.