TroyLeeRacer199

Ok so im a beginner to forks i dont know much maintaining them so here it goes. I always see black stuff on the fork and it seems like its coming from the inside of the fork(like the bottom part) Is anything damaged? If not what is this and how can i stop it. It's not a liquid but more of a grime. Any help would be awsome. If it makes a diffrence they are Marzocchi EXR Comps '03 version. I tried taking pics but the flash mirrors off the fork and when i turn on the flash you cant see it. I'll get pics of the fork if you need it also.

blue_neon

Well i suspect a faulty seal. I took my rubber boots of my pretty avarage fork and relised i didn't have a proper seal. Since mine isn't ad. It cant be taken apart and a seal cant be put on. So i'm riding around with a fork that dosn't have a proper seal and black stuff does start to come out. I dont mind not having a seal, its a pretty average fork so if it mucks up 'oh well'. So my best guess is its to do with the seal.

TroyLeeRacer199

is the black stuff liquid or os it grimey stuff thats really hard to get off? And if it is the seal how do i take replace the seals?

blue_neon

Mine is grimy stuff that is hard to get off. You can only replace the seals if you have a fully adj. fork. THis can be done by visitng an LBS.

It depedns on what fork you have, but i'm guessing it might be a problem with the selas, might be wrong. Although this is also happening with my fork aswell so I would like to know what causes it...

TroyLeeRacer199

Heres one pic of my fork.

TroyLeeRacer199

Heres the top view of my fork.

J-McKech

Is that an old school marz or what?

alcahueteria

So this grime is right where the stanccions go into the lowers? I think thats just dirt sticking to the oiled stanccion and then after a fork compression all getting pushed together and sticking to the lowers. I don't think it's a big deal, I am pretty sure it's fairly normal. just try to wipe it off whenever you can.

TroyLeeRacer199

HammerThrill its an 03 Bomber Exr Comp i know i couldent find it on the internet either. The grime is on however faw the upper fork went into the lowere so lets say it went down an inch the grime would be visable about and inch. Where is the grime coming from?

Dirtbike

Dont worry about it. It doesnt have an air chamber, so seals wont make a difference. It is just dirty oil that gums up and causes sticion.

blue_neon

Took a bad guess. It happens on my fork aswell, but i just manage to wipe it off, even scrub it off now and agian.

TroyLeeRacer199

So theres nothing wrong with my fork?

blue_neon

Shouldn't be. Its just that my fork dosn't have correct seals on atm, and they cant be replaced cause tis not fully adj. So I thought it might have something to do with the seals. But the stuff is annoying, i managed to get most of it off, but it sure is hard! I agree, it is lubricant or oil thats built up.

TroyLeeRacer199

I wiped all the stuff off but it just comes back. I fear that it is losing oil or something.

blue_neon

How often does it come back? If it only starts to show every know and then, i'll agree with everybody else and say there wouldn't be anything to worry about. When its happend to me i've always thought that stuf has built up in the lower seals, either lubricant or dirt and then it gets spread over the fork when constintley compressed.

TroyLeeRacer199

Lets say i just got it off and i push down on my fork it would be there again. It comes up from the bottom of the fork. Its a never ending thing. Also, would losing all this "grime" make my fork stiff because my fork is incredibly stiff and it wasent a while back and even when i adjust it to make it softer it dosent really do anything. I dont wanna buy a new fork they cost quite a bit of moolah for a good one!!

blue_neon

I'm lost on this on. I wouldn't think it would make the fork stiff, but losing all the lubricant or oil would stop it from comressing smoothly i would think. Mabe you have an overload of oil in the fork....I have no idea. How old is da fork by the way?

Dannihilator

Time to change the seals, seals are blown, clubbed*, shot.

*Does not condone the clubbing of seals.*

Dirtbike

They cant be blown because they dont hold in air. Just take the fork apart and clean all the dirt out and lube it back up.

blue_neon

Well when he pushes it down, the grim instantly comes back. I'm guessing there is grime/dirt just below the seals, and re apply's itself everytime fork is compressed. But if it happens everytime the fork is pushed down then i'd say there is a problem with the lube/oil, and that it is somehow escaping.

TroyLeeRacer199

Ok well if i have to change the seals how do I do it? Do i have to take apart my fork to get them off? *Fears the awnser* And dirtbike im 99.9 percent sure its not anything other than air because i know what springs sound and feel like. What else would it be?

blue_neon

To replace/change seals you will need to take your fork apart. If you want to change the seals, you will probalby have to let your LBS know so they can order em in. Unless they already have them, then probalby just get them to do it. That would be the easiest opion unless you were keen to do it yourself. Maybe parktool have something about chaning seals?

Dannihilator

Actually seals on coil forks do blow. It doesn't need to hold air for something like that to happen.