Got a pair of Fox 2008 RL 140mm forks and at the weekend put a 25mm reasonably deep scratch in the damper side stantion - not started to leak a small amount of oil.
Can it be repaired or is it new stantions? If new stantions is it worth paying more and buying some RS revs dual air over the fox's?
You could try carefully sanding off any burrs then filling the scratch with nail varnish. Sometimes works
Nail varnish seems to have worked on my Pikes when they wore down (not a scratch but same principle presumably).
I'd guess even if it can't be repaired you may not NEED new stantions.
Depends how far up the Stanchion it is. If nearer the upper crown then the scratch won't be under the seal much at all during use. In which case just remove any burrs so as not to damage the seal. If nearer the seal then filling with nail varnish will work a treat.
+1 nickegg smooth down lightly with v.fine wet and dry maybe fill with nail varnish and see how it goes, that side seal will probably wear a bit quicker than the non damaged seal. Saying that slightly more regular seal replacement is a cheaper than a new CSU (RRP £153) and new bushes if necessary plus a service.
ive got a couple of scrathches on my revs stantions - been there for at least 6 months and there's been no effect whatsoever - apart from making me more careful where i lean the bike!
just ride it and see what happens
Thanks for the replys, if they need a service anyway can I send them to TF or Mojo and will they repair them or just say they need replacing?
Keep riding them. If they start leaking oil everywhere then maybe consider something. I've got scratches all over my old zocchis and they have never leaked oil despite windwave telling me they'd blow up and I needed to spend a fortune on new uppers.
I'f youre using wet and dry then you only want to use 1200 grit,and you really only want to tickle it,dont start off like youre sanding paint.gently is the key here.
Each time the scratch goes below the seal it will bring with it a tiny bit of oil,nail varnish will lessen that amount,maybe even stop it completely[dont send to TF till you've at least tried this]
If there seems to be more oil than you would have expected then its possible the rough edge of the scratch has scored the inner seal and will most likely need replaced,but only if its a lot of oil.
Fork boots people 😉
Sure bare stanchions look cool but boots or lizard skins will save a lot of money in the long run,as the above demonstrates
Plus theres always grit and grease in the air,it builds up and gets shoved into the outer wiper seal,could[probably]cause premature wear.
just leave um. They'll be fine.
In our riding group we operate an "it'll be fine" policy. It's known as bareback bike maintenance between us.
Essentially if something does'nt stop the bike rolling it'll be ok.
Rag um use them as intended, only replace csu if you really really need to.
angryratio - i like your style 😀