I stripped down my Tracer 2 tonight to change the bearings in the upper link. While it was stripped I checked the lower bearings. Moving the rear triangle they felt a bit notchy so I stripped the bottom link.

The funny thing is that the bearings in the frame are fine. So, I cleaned everything up and put it back together but if feels notchy again. Is this notchy feeling normal? Due to over tightening? Am I making some kind of school-boy error?

Thanks

Are you missing some kind of spacers or washers? If so, you may be forcing the bearings out of alignment.

and it won’t make **** all difference to the ride!

Are you missing some kind of spacers or washers?

Nope it’s all assembled correctly, perhaps I’ve just over tightened the main pivot bolts.

and it won’t make **** all difference to the ride!

Do you mean it’s normal and nothing to worry about?

daft question, but the notch isn’t at the start of the stroke is it? (the top bushing on the shock worn?)
Have you isolated the shock from the suspension, and still seen if the fault occurs, though it may also make it easier to find the the source of the fault.

z1ppy – The shock is removed from frame and upper link is unattached. It’s definitely just the lower bearings when only the lower link is assembled.

All four bearings are smooth when the pivot bolts are removed. I’m thinking I may have just over tightened them as per coatesy comment above.

I did my tracer 2 last week and used the torque settings in this thread:

http://forums.mtbr.com/intense/intense-tracer-2-torque-table-786859.html

I did all the bearings though, the old bottom ones felt alright out of the frame but were a bit rough in the frame.

sandal100 Thanks for the torque settings. Where did you get the lower bearings from? Are they the metal seal version?

I got the 7902 enduro max bearings from mb bearings. The ones in the tracer are only sealed on the outside, no seal on the inside, presumably so you can get the grease in there. The enduro max are rubber sealed on both sides. I did consider picking it out but didn’t want to damage the inners.

For the top shoulder bolts I torqued them to the lowest what it said, worked out to 21nm I think with blue loctite. I also added a bit of blue loctite to the bolts in the expanding bung, I didn’t add any to the 8mm through bolt

I can also recommend the 6901 bearing tool from superstar for changing the top link bolts, took a few minutes to do all four.

[/quote]sandal100.. Where did you get the lower bearings from?
Are they the metal seal version

Bearings with a metal shield are not sealed they are shielded
Bearings with a rubber seal are sealed

I can also recommend the 6901 bearing tool from superstar for changing the top link bolts, took a few minutes to do all four.

Thanks for the tip, the ones in the rear triangle are easy enough to do in a vice, the that top link is a bit trickier.