[misterpepper]

Like the title says, when I compress my front shock I can hear some kind of clicking or sticking sound. Nothing metal on metal, it almost sounds like there is some sort of wire hanging low and hitting something when the shock is compressed, but it is definitely inside the shock. The bike is a 2002 and likely has never seen the shock oil changed or even looked at. I've owned it for the better part of a year. It needed fork boots so I bought those as well as the oil seals. What are the odds that replacing the seals and refilling it with good fork oil will solve my problem? I have heard a very similar clunk on my brother's 2003 so I'm guessing this is a somewhat common problem. Is there anything else I need to check/replace while I'm in there?

 

[qwerty]

Disassemble, clean, inspect, compare the parts of each fork (don't mix them up). If something is wrong, it should show up in the comparison. Reassemble, fill with oil, and ride.

 

[misterpepper]

Just thought I'd revisit this and let you all know that the "clunk" was due to the shocks being low on oil. Everything was fine with the seals and there was no sign of leaking, but I had some new boots to put on to replace the cracked ones, so I decided to go ahead and replace the shock oil. It was an easy job with the only "special" tool being a little ruler to measure the fork oil depth. One of the top cap bolts was pretty tight and the metal used for them is pretty soft and rounds easily, so be careful to get a good grip on it with the socket or wrench. I had all new seals handy, but everything looked to be in great shape so I just hung onto the seals and didn't install them yet. The moral of the story, though, is that now the clunk in my front suspension is gone and everything seems to be working great

 

[RodneyReed]

Thanks for the update misterpepper. Nice to hear it was an easy fix.

 

[lizrdbrth]

You can flush them with cheap ATF. Just pour a few ounces in and cycle them a few times without the springs or caps while you have them off, dump and repeat til the gray goop is gone. +1 on loosening the caps before loosening the pinch bolts.



Fork oil never really wears out in use in the sense that the oil in your crank case does. does. It's a "time" function. It gets contaminated with moisture and acids over time and emulsifies ( gray goop ), so try to flush and fill at least annually.

 

[chevchris]

What level to you put the oil at? You can buy a tool for it, but trying to keep cost down & have plenty of scrap metal for measurement.