[MTB666]

Hi all. I have an '01 Kona Stinky Five with the standard Marzocchi Z1. Recently I took it off some much bigger drops than I have since I bought the bike used last Nov. It was probably a five foot drop to near flat. Now the right side appears to be leaking badly! There is oil all over the seal where, previously, there was none. Is it possible that the increased usage and travel just forced some oil out and it will settle down now that I have grown bigger nuts and am doing bigger stuff or is the seal totally blown. OR, is it possible that perhaps the rapid movement forced too much oil past the damper, allowing it to leak? I certainly don't want to be rebuilding my fork but I am afraid to ride with the leak so huge as the diminishing oil level could cause problems, no?

Please, any help or experience you guys can offer would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance,
Chad

 

[Jayridesacove]

When's the last time you had the seals replaced?

 

[H8R]

I certainly don't want to be rebuilding my fork but I am afraid to ride with the leak so huge as the diminishing oil level could cause problems, no?

Please, any help or experience you guys can offer would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance,
Chad

If it's seen 4 years of hard riding, you need to rebuild it anyway.

 

[MTB666]

aha. ok. From the looks of it it has seen 4 years of VERY hard riding. I bought the bike used for $450 last fall and the slider on the fork is beat to piss cosmetically. The left stanchion has a nice scratch in it up high, too. I filled that with nail polish but I am pretty sure the seals need replacing. To my knowledge they are the original seals. Can you get rebuild kits or do you have to have someone do it for you?

Thanks for your reply...

 

[Changleen]

aha. ok. From the looks of it it has seen 4 years of VERY hard riding. I bought the bike used for $450 last fall and the slider on the fork is beat to piss cosmetically. The left stanchion has a nice scratch in it up high, too. I filled that with nail polish but I am pretty sure the seals need replacing. To my knowledge they are the original seals. Can you get rebuild kits or do you have to have someone do it for you?
Thanks for your reply...

You could do it yourself, it's not that hard, although really to do a good job you need a proper tool to get the old seals out and push the new ones in. Using rudimentary tools can end up with damaged seals and scraped up fork internals. It can also be pretty messy on your first go. On balance it's often easier to send them off to Marzocchi and pay $100 or so for a 'perfect' job. Up to you.

 

[Matt D]

You definitely need to replace the seals, which are supposed to be replaced something like every 80 hours of riding or something like that (once a year isn't a bad idea).

It's pretty easy to do yourself, simply take it apart, pop the old seals out with a screwdriver, check the bushings for wear while you're in there, install new seals (you can get by with a soft hammer just make sure they're aligned correctly so they don't bind), lube them up as well as the stanchions & bushings, reinstall the uppers and replace the oil. It should feel pretty nice after this. And by the way, the old oil will probably smell like dead animals and be gray/black.

 

[RhinofromWA]

That is impossible.....Marzocchi's NEVER leak.

Go and check again. It was probably the Rock Shox fork next to it that was leaking all over it.

Marzocchi's leaking...who ever heard of that sort of thing!

Just kidding. Like said above, sounds like new seal time....if you had that scratch and the seals were run by it a few times before the repair it probably didn't help their usefull life. If you aren't ready to tackle the seal replacement yourself...there is no shame from having it sent into Marz for service.

Let us know hwo it turns out.

Rhino

 

[DROP]

well he said that there was a big scratch high up on the stanchion it could have been he could have used alot of travel and het the scratch causeing the oil to come out? just a theory but its completly possible.

 

[ChrisRobin]

well he said that there was a big scratch high up on the stanchion it could have been he could have used alot of travel and het the scratch causeing the oil to come out? just a theory but its completly possible.

More likely the scratches tore up the seals before he filled them up with nail polish.

 

[KeeblerElf]

I used this, I have the same fork:
http://www.dirtjumpbiker.com/technik/z1.htm

 

[blt2ride]

Hi all. I have an '01 Kona Stinky Five with the standard Marzocchi Z1. Recently I took it off some much bigger drops than I have since I bought the bike used last Nov. It was probably a five foot drop to near flat. Now the right side appears to be leaking badly! There is oil all over the seal where, previously, there was none. Is it possible that the increased usage and travel just forced some oil out and it will settle down now that I have grown bigger nuts and am doing bigger stuff or is the seal totally blown. OR, is it possible that perhaps the rapid movement forced too much oil past the damper, allowing it to leak? I certainly don't want to be rebuilding my fork but I am afraid to ride with the leak so huge as the diminishing oil level could cause problems, no?

Please, any help or experience you guys can offer would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance,
Chad

Marzocchi is really good about upgrading customers' forks. It sounds like you may have outgrown your fork a bit. I'm sure they would be willing to cut you a smoking deal on a new fork. If you want to keep a single crown fork, go with a 66 or you can get one of the 888 models.

Other than that, you can sent in to have it rebuild...

 

[madmonkey]

What do you mean upgrading? Will they give you a deal on a trade in of an older model fork for a new one? Through Marzocchi or a local dealer?