Right so I pulled my Rockshox Recons apart last night after they stopped compressing after about an inch. Gave them a standard service with new lower leg seals and foams, new oil etc. After putting the damper side back together including oil, after about 5 minutes i noticed a small amount of oil on the slider after sliding it up and down. Im guessing this is the cause of the problem i was having but im not sure which seals to replace which are/could be causing the leak? Or is there no problem and there should be oil on the slider?
Any help appreciated!
Two different problems usually.
The lack of travel is often a failed seal in the bottom of the damper, causing oil to transfer to the lowers-retricting/stopping the fork from compressing.
Replacing the dust seals & foam won't solve this-it'll need a damper (moco?) seal kit
The oil around the stanchion could be either nothing to worry about & a bit of lube weeping out after service, or the dust seal was damaged somehow & needs replacing
Yeah thats what i think the problem is (damaged seal in damper). Um my recons dont have motion control, just a turnkey system, do you have any idea of what seals/kit i would need?
Not a clue to be completely honest!
They seem to vary so much from model to model & year to year ( I'm not convinced there are that many differences, but loads are listed)
Best bet is to take them to your LBS/Loco/J Tech etc. & get expert advice on which kit(s) you need.
Okay cheers mate, I'm gonna run them tomorrow down in the Purbecks and see how they fare but il probably have them apart again by the weekend to sort the seal!
Another daunting issue, after putting everything back together I found an oil ring about 15mm dia. <1mm thick which I hadn't put back in and have no idea where it goes! Possibly on lowers? Any ideas?
damper shaft perhaps? Have a look at the service manual on the SRAM website. Also there are cheap seal kits on ebay (£8 IIRC), some 5W fork oil and small amount of engine oil for the lowers.