I like to clean or maybe change the bearings in my VPP lower link on my Santa cruz bike. Do i need to dismount the rear shock first or could it be done with the shock still on?

thanks.

I’ve done the lower link bearings on my Intense (VPP) without taking the shock off. Pretty straight forward if the bearings come out easy enough..

Depends if you just want to put fresh grease around the bearings or actually change the bearings.
The way its designed on my Nomad 2 i cant see the bearings ever going due to ingress. The grease surrounds them so as long as you change the grease, inject new grease regularly they will stay clean.

thanks for that – I got a lot of play despite injecting some fresh grease after each ride so i think i have to look deeper into it.

Lower link has grease nipples so you just use grease gun if all you want to do is regrease it.

You can do a seasonal maintenance job which just involves checking torques. There’s a guide in the tech documents here: http://www.santacruzbicycles.com/en/uk/support/tech

That’s normally all you have to do to deal with play in the links. Usually I take out the wedge bolts and wedge bushing and snug up the axle slightly. Grease and put back together. If that fails, then bearings probably need replacing.

That seasonal maintenance guide is specific for the older alloy models, but principle is the same. Don’t rely on the torque specs, look them up for the actual model and even then as I’ve found, don’t trust them (snapped one of the bolts in the upper link the other day, torqued to spec).

There are exploded diagrams in there for various frame models also.

If you want to pull the axles out and clean it up, then take the air out of the shock first if it’s an air shock. Not sure with coil, but I’d assume it needs tension taken out however you do that.

P.S. If you want bearings done, they’re lifetime warranty from Santa Cruz. Just pay the labour cost at the LBS (£35 in my case) for new set of bearings. When you consider the price of the bearings and the cost of a set of blind bearing pullers you’d need for these, plus the hassle, it’s worth it. Or if you DIY, just send the old bearings to SC and they should send back replacements for free.

I find the grease gun okay for a temp solution but it often only does ones side and one part of that side, much better to remove and regrease.

You don’t need to take the air out of the shock either, just undo the bolts and remove.

Similar to those above

You don’t need to remove anything to get the lower link out, other than the two axles which go through it.

You don’t need to take it off to add any grease to the lower link, injecting grease into the grease ports does this effectively assuming they’re not clogged up or broken.

If you’ve got play then I suggest you check how tight the axles are. Whip the metal Allen key bolts out, use an Allen key to rotate and dislodge the gold cones. You can then use a larger Allen key to adjust the black axles. They don’t need to be tight!!! As loose as they can be such that there is no play. Pop a drop of grease on the cones to stop them getting stuck and pop them back in then nip the Allen key bolts up. Nip them up or the axle will just work lose.

About once a year I take my links out and clean all the crap that’s accumulated around them out. The sealing is very good and there is never any crap inside. I do take the upper link out and pop the bearing covers off to grease the upper bearings once a year.

If tighten fails to eliminate your play then it’s new bearing time. You need the proper tools from
Santa Cruz.

Was thinking about the upper link when it comes to removing air. Yeah, not going to need to mess with the shock to remove the lower link or axles in it.

Again, similar to the above. I’ve previously just removed one of the bolts from shock when I’ve serviced my lower link (Tallboy LT), tho I’m sure I didn’t bother doing that last time.

As Deadkenny mentions, SC should warranty the bearings themselves. I think I also paid £35 in labour at my LBS for them to replace ’em.

Oh, and if you’re not already aware and you’re DIYing it, if your frame has got ’em, it’s definitely worth using plenty of anti-seize on the tapered washers and bolt heads a as they’re a right PIA if one they seize up.