You get it to stay in place by having said forks serviced once in a while.
Pure_Activity_8197 on
It’s a seal and it’s toast. I’d recommend either bringing it to a shop for a service or buy a service kit amd do it yourself. I’m both situations the seal will be replaced and those stanchions get some desperately needed tlc.
Adorable_Kangaroo849 on
I don’t think “wiper seal” showed up anywhere in this thread. That’s what it is… It’s a wiper seal. All it does is keep dirt out of the lower legs. Your suntour fork doesn’t have any oil in it- the lowers are grease lubricated like a lot of the old 90’s suspension forks. The seal is installed by pounding it in place while the fork is disassembled- taking apart that fork is very easy. Standard for most forks, there’s probably two bolts on the bottom of the thing- one for each leg. Loosen the bolts or nuts a little, tap them lightly with a hammer or something so that they push up and down by hand. That will break the uppers and lowers free, then you remove the bolts or nuts entirely and the fork should slide apart. Clean where the seal goes, pound it back in with something seal shaped, put some light grease (axle grease or marine grease is too heavy but better than nothing) in the lowers and reassemble. If the wiper pops out again, maybe you need a new wiper, but I’d just ride it like that. Dirt getting in there will wear out the fork faster for sure, but you can get away with a lot of riding… Probably for the life of that bike… Before that happens.
3 Comments
That is the main seal for your suspension forks.
You get it to stay in place by having said forks serviced once in a while.
It’s a seal and it’s toast. I’d recommend either bringing it to a shop for a service or buy a service kit amd do it yourself. I’m both situations the seal will be replaced and those stanchions get some desperately needed tlc.
I don’t think “wiper seal” showed up anywhere in this thread. That’s what it is… It’s a wiper seal. All it does is keep dirt out of the lower legs. Your suntour fork doesn’t have any oil in it- the lowers are grease lubricated like a lot of the old 90’s suspension forks. The seal is installed by pounding it in place while the fork is disassembled- taking apart that fork is very easy. Standard for most forks, there’s probably two bolts on the bottom of the thing- one for each leg. Loosen the bolts or nuts a little, tap them lightly with a hammer or something so that they push up and down by hand. That will break the uppers and lowers free, then you remove the bolts or nuts entirely and the fork should slide apart. Clean where the seal goes, pound it back in with something seal shaped, put some light grease (axle grease or marine grease is too heavy but better than nothing) in the lowers and reassemble. If the wiper pops out again, maybe you need a new wiper, but I’d just ride it like that. Dirt getting in there will wear out the fork faster for sure, but you can get away with a lot of riding… Probably for the life of that bike… Before that happens.