On the carbon upper link of my Blur there is a pivot bolt (the bigger of the two). If I put my little finger in the non drive side pivot bolt and pull up on my frame I can feel movement or a bit of play. I don’t think its the DU Bushing as its the actual bolt in the link which attaches to the rear triangle which moves. Can I adjust this myself or should I seek some expert advice?

http://www.pinkbike.com/news/Tech-Tuesday-Adjust-the-Pivot-Bearings-on-Any-Santa-Cruz-VPP-Sus.html

Sounds like something has worn – maybe bearings/bushings/pivots, not sure could be all 3 or none of the above. Ive had something similar before & had to replace. I dont think tightening anything will help.

I’s get it back to a dealer, the bearings are pre-loaded but for the sake of a short trip to a shop (and the bearings have a lifetime warranty) its not worth it.

I have found that they can, albeit rarely, work loose and it is possible to re-torque from the other side to correct this. However I once left mine for over 2 years without checking, they were working OK with no play, only to find when one of the lower bearings did finally go, part of it was welded to the frame axle and required a lot of blood sweat and tears to extricate and replace.

I now replace all 4 bearings as a matter of course every year and if any are actually shot I send them back to Jungle who have replaced them under the warranty. I did invest in the correct SC tools as well. Another tip if you don’t want to pay the LBS for labour or buy the tools is to buy the carbon link complete with bearings fitted – no extractor required and very easy to fit.

Sure it isn’t the DU on the shock that has the play?

If you lift/shake the back of the bike by the seat is there a rattling – that would suggest the Shock bushing as jonk says?

DU bushing is ok, I can feel the bolt move slightly and knock as I lift the bike by the seat. The carbon link moves too.

The axles in Blur LT2s (and all newer generation SC bikes) work in a similar way to headsets. You can nip the axle up to remove any play then you lock it off using the tapered collet washer and the the small bolt in the end of the axle.

Remove the small bolt (likely to be a 5mm allen head) then remove the tapered washer. They can be a little stubborn but prying them with an allen key or screwdriver works. Once these are out you can use an 8mm allen key to just nip the axle up removing the play. The clean, grease and refit the tapered washer and torque the small bolt up. This should remove the bearing play. If it doesn’t then it would suggest that your bearings are knackered and you’ll need replacements.

Thanks everyone, just followed your instructions and adjusted the axles myself, easy job and now working perfect again with no play in the bearings. To get the tapered washer out I simply used an allen key and it comes straight out. Thanks again!

Excellent. Good work.