Bicycle Mechanics - Old Voodoo bike with Rockshox Judy XC leaking oil, need maintainance

I have an old Voodoo from San Jose, CA. My old Voodoo has a Judy XC leaking oil but it still working so so.
Any idea on how to stop to oil leak or just buy another entry level fork? Your comment is appreciated. JT

Cheers JT, welcome to the Forums.

I'm moving this to Bicycle Mechanics (from Introductions).

--Juha, a Forum Mod

Has the fork been disassembled at any point?

The Judy range of forks hasn't been produced for several years, and getting any spares could prove very difficult. Fork have also moved on a lot since the Judy came out.

The easiest option would be to replace with a new fork, for any advice on if your fork would be repaired, you would need to know the model year of the fork, and the exact spec of it, due to so many different version of the fork being made, without knowing exactly what you have, getting / giving advice will be hard.

Depends on the Judy model and vintage.

The later HydraCoil models with fork leg gaiters and one-piece lowers is good stuff for moderate riding.

Actually, these are what I would call a best-bet.

The seals are widely available, and the fork is one of the simplest to rebuild, which is the only way to stop the leakage.

I would inspect the inner (upper) tube surfaces carefully before rebuilding the fork though, and reject any fork with surface defects like worn-off anodizing or chrome.
Any tiny pits or burrs on the inner tubes can usually be smoothed off by tapping flat with a tiny hammer and smoothing with emery cloth.

Again, the rubber-booted models usually give long service before the seals give out.

Be sure you are able to fully tighten the bolts that hold the tubes and sliders together, as sometimes the rod inside just wants to spin, preventing the necessary level of tightening.

Note that the "C" model Judy's are OEM-level grease-lubricated forks, with pretty poor performance.
Note also that the air-charged and fancier "race"-level Judy's are incrementally more complex to rebuild, and may require internal seal kits in addition to the main fork seals.

Your best option is likely to look for a new fork. The Judy XC while a great fork hasn't been produced in a long time and yours likely needs are full rebuild and rebuild kits for these are nearly imposible to find and even if you find a rebuild kit it will prove a diffiiacult task. I rebuilt one of these a couple of years back and it took a tone of time finding stuff gettin things that weren't quit right and in the end the result was worse than just buying a fork.

Your best option is likely to look for a new fork. The Judy XC while a great fork hasn't been produced in a long time and yours likely needs are full rebuild and rebuild kits for these are nearly imposible to find and even if you find a rebuild kit it will prove a diffiiacult task. I rebuilt one of these a couple of years back and it took a tone of time finding stuff gettin things that weren't quit right and in the end the result was worse than just buying a fork.

Like I said though, the popular hydracoil models need only a pair of seals and some oil to fully rebuild. The seals are about $20 on Ebay, and the rebuild process couldn't be simpler.

You must be thinking about the earlier "cartridge" models, which are junk imo.

A brand-new fork with oil damping will cost real money as compared to the rebuild, unless a shop over-charges for the minimal work involved.

Thanks for the comments! I don't see any year or number marking on it anywhere, except 2 pat # and a serial number. Along with that, I see markings like Speed Spring by MountainSpeed, Judy XC Cartridge System. It has allen bolt at the bottom and knob on of the leg for adjustment which I've never touched. I was hoping that it would not cost too much to fix it up but may be not this one.

Would you recommend a RockShox XC SID HydraAir 2001/2 in good working order for $65 on Craiglist?
Is there a fork around $100 with lockout, easy to maintain, and best bang for the buck?

Photo / searhing for a similar one to yours are the best way of ID'ing a Judy.

For a 2001/2 SID, will it be in any better condition than your current fork? any old SID will be very flexy compared to a modern fork.

You haven't said what type of riding you do, as this will make a difference to the requirements you have for a fork

If you are just looking for a basic suspension fork, what about this? http://www.jensonusa.com/Bicycle-Suspension-Forks/Rockshox-XC28-Suspension-26-Fork

Would you recommend a [COLOR=#000000][FONT=Times New Roman]RockShox XC SID HydraAir 2001/2 in good working order for $65 on Craiglist?


Absolutely not. SIDS from that time period were very troublesome when they were brand new.

If you are just looking for a basic suspension fork, what about this? http://www.jensonusa.com/Bicycle-Suspension-Forks/Rockshox-XC28-Suspension-26-Fork

That fork is a good deal for $125. It seems to be essentially today's version of the Judy Hydracoil, feature-wise, with the same 28mm stanchion tubes.

There are no rubber gaiters, but todays forks sealing is better. They don't list the weight, but I would bet that it weighs a bit more than older Judy's, but might also be somewhat stronger.

I have an old Voodoo from San Jose, CA. My old Voodoo has a Judy XC leaking oil but it still working so so.
Any idea on how to stop to oil leak or just buy another entry level fork? Your comment is appreciated. JT

Pics, pics pics, OP.

Rebuild that old fork, dude, if for nothing other than ****s and giggles. It'll only cost you a few bucks, you'll have experience and you'll know what you have.

Be careful, 100mm can be a stretch on an old frame.

I threw a Project 2 on my old beater and I
love it.

Tom

If you are just looking for a basic suspension fork, what about this? http://www.jensonusa.com/Bicycle-Suspension-Forks/Rockshox-XC28-Suspension-26-Fork

4.9 pounds of cheap suspension fork? No thanks. I've used cheap new forks and they suck. They're heavy and they feel terrible. OP would be better off with a rigid fork and fat ~2.4" tire up front.

Better yet to give it a shot rebuilding the Judy fork first. I rebuilt an old Mag21 and it came out fine, but there was nothing wrong with it to begin with other than needing air and an oil change. Google your fork, you may get lucky and find the original rebuild manuals.

I'm 99% sure all the old manuals are available on retrobike.

Knock 'em dead, Jtran. Old Voodoos are some of the best looking bikes out there.

Tom

4.9 pounds of cheap suspension fork? No thanks. I've used cheap new forks and they suck. They're heavy and they feel terrible. OP would be better off with a rigid fork and fat ~2.4" tire up front.

Better yet to give it a shot rebuilding the Judy fork first. I rebuilt an old Mag21 and it came out fine, but there was nothing wrong with it to begin with other than needing air and an oil change. Google your fork, you may get lucky and find the original rebuild manuals.

The OP asked for suggestion for an entry level fork, and the RS is just that, and compared to a leaking fork would be far better. the RS suggested also has both v and disc brake mounts, something that he OP hasn't said what they use, so the option was there.

For your suggestion of rebuilding, have you tried to get spares for old Rock Shox recently? 10 years ago getting spares for Mag 21's apart from aftermarket seals was next to impossible, and today they just don't exist, they same is true for Judys, anything more than a set of seals will be virtually impossible to find.

Not true.

Old shocks can be built.

You don't know what you're talking about.

Not true.

Old shocks can be built.

You don't know what you're talking about.

What are you talking about, this makes no sense

I've looked around and the Judy XC was introduced in 1995 and probably discontinued in 2002. Attached pic is my Voodoo with the Judy XC, on rim brake. I've put on slicky for daily commute. I saw some manual but not sure which year any or dont' know where to look. I've tried looking at SRAM.com for email support but don't see the email address anywhere.

I saw a pic matching my Judy XC but no year mention here, http://www.google.com/imgres?num=10&hl=en&biw=1366&bih=705&tbm=isch&tbnid=uMQgXBPvLDSmQM:&imgrefurl=http://www.retrobike.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php%3Ft%3D48086&docid=09wRhWdbY37HfM&imgurl=http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll9/gcwebbyuk/IMG_0419.jpg&w=600&h=800&ei=Qu9WUKTJA4reigLXqoCQDg&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=1131&vpy=126&dur=3260&hovh=259&hovw=194&tx=137&ty=177&sig=110819471842376920295&sqi=2&page=1&tbnh=153&tbnw=112&start=0&ndsp=18&ved=1t:429,r:5,s:0,i:88
273288273289273290273291

Your attachments don't work.

The photo on retrobike looks like a 97 model.

1997 Judy XC (http://www.mombat.org/97RockShox5.jpg)

http://mombat.org/Rock_Shox.htm

http://www.retrobike.co.uk/forum/v/Manufacturer+Archive/Rock+Shox+Archive/Catalogues/

http://www.retrobike.co.uk/forum/v/Manufacturer+Archive/Rock+Shox+Archive/Service/

Pics of Voodoo with Judy XC, http://s1114.photobucket.com/albums/k529/jtran69/Voodoo/ ... sorry I can't figure out how to attach yet.
With the service manual in hand, I'm tempted to open it but not able to find these vintage parts easily gives me a second thought.
Who usually would stock these old parts? I'm trying to exhaust the effort before settling for the entry 5.5lbs today XC fork. I live in the Bay area so any nearby shop would be helpful as a secondary choice if it doesn't cause too much to service. Ths, JT

Looks like the following 28mm seals are whats needed but you should ask to make sure they'll fit.

http://enduroforkseals.com/id29.html

Don't buy the following 28mm seals I don't think that they'll won't work from what I read somewhere.

http://enduroforkseals.com/id46.html