Dual Air Pike 409 help
- Thread starter badphish
- Start date
Can you still see the cartridge threads sticking through the bottom of your lowers? If so, tap those with a hammer to free them. Once those pull up inside the lowers, just give the uppers a solid pull. Some forks have a little resistance to separating the uppers and lowers. Give it a good tug with one hand on the arch and one on the crown, if you can't get it apart at that point, take it to your LBS. It's possible something is horribly bent inside or jammed badly, it's unlikely if the fork was working good before you started to rebuild it, and especially if you've been following the instructions on rebuilding it.
The cartridge threads are inside the lowers by about an inch or more. If I compress the fork a little and then pull it apart again, it gets to that point and there is a "knock". I can't pull it any farther. I even put my foot on the axle and pulled on the crown and it won't budge.
Odd. Did you ever bottom out really harsh? I guess that the stanchions could have mushroomed a bit on the bottom and may be hooking the bushings as your trying to pull it out. Sounds like it may have to go back to SRAM.
I figured out what it was. The rebound side was stuck. The manual only said to hit the air side with a hammer. Should've known, there was another step that didn't exactly match up to my fork. Kind of like they were copied and pasted from another set of instructions for a different fork. Anyways, everything went super smooth after I got the lowers off. This is the first fork I've ever taken apart and it was a lot easier than I thought it would be.
Another question: The negative air chamber's oil was kind of like a jelly instead of a liquid. Is it normal for the oil to do that? And what does it mean, should I have changed the oil a long time ago?
Another question: The negative air chamber's oil was kind of like a jelly instead of a liquid. Is it normal for the oil to do that? And what does it mean, should I have changed the oil a long time ago?
I did bottom out kind of bad last week. The next day it was kind of making a clunking noise, similar to what a loose headset sounds like. I can't remember if I checked the air pressure or added any prior to the ride. My friend said it probably needed the oil changed. I looked closely at everything while I had it apart and nothing seemed to have been stressed or warped, but like I posted above, this is the first fork I've taken apart. If it still makes the clunking noise I'll send it back to SRAM. It's still under warranty which is good, but I've already missed a week of riding because I haven't had a chance to work on it until tonight.
Yeah, the combined instructions RockShox has can be a bit misleading sometimes. That jelly-like stuff you're seeing is probably just suspension grease, not old oil. Old oil shouldn't congeal and will probably be visibly dirty. Whenever I rebuild any fork I always use Buzzy's Slick Honey on the stanchions, seals and any o-ring or other seal inside to keep everything moving smooth. If you cant get Slick Honey just look at your LBS or Moto Shop or Car Parts Store for suspension grease.
Hopefully that knocking will go away after the rebuild. It probably just came from something loosening after that bottom-out, maybe even your headset. Just snug everything good and you'll probably be fine.
Hopefully that knocking will go away after the rebuild. It probably just came from something loosening after that bottom-out, maybe even your headset. Just snug everything good and you'll probably be fine.