I realize it is a long shot, but while I am wondering about it I may as well ask...
Does anyone know of replacement parts available for the Supernova? Specifically, I believe the rebound damper is blown, and if I could replace this and restore a great old fork to working order I would be very happy! Additionally, does anyone know if there are any springs available that would fit it? The springs it has are a little on the soft side (I'm a bit "bigger" now... ). Anyways, long shot but if anyone has relevant info I would be glad to hear it!
Your best bet is getting on eBay and looking for a used fork to use for spare parts. I'm doubtful that Manitou will have any of those parts remaining. It's also possible that some shop might have those parts tucked away somewhere. I know one of the previous shops I worked at had some old Rockshox and Manitou stuff collecting dust in a bin.
The parts are a mix of Xvert carbon and Xvert single crown.
The Xvert single crowns shared piston size with the blacks, but the Xvert carbon didn't.
How about pulling it apart first and seeing what's wrong. Chances are it's simply a broken shim or something holding a shim open. Neither of which would require spare parts.
Dorado or Black springs will work, they may need trimmed to length.
Anything to watch out for when pulling it apart? Anything specific to look for on the rebound cartridge? I have some time off coming up and I would like to check this out! Thanks.
Oh okay, and what would be tell tale signs of damage? Or should I just look for anything that doesnt look nice and smooth and tidy? I sure hope I can get this fork running again...
Oh okay, and what would be tell tale signs of damage? Or should I just look for anything that doesnt look nice and smooth and tidy? I sure hope I can get this fork running again...
Ah right, sounds good! And I forget, it has been ages since I have seen the insides of this fork, is all the oil inside the cartridge or do I need to worry about it?
The oil should all be inside the stanchion. But on an older fork with damper problems, some could have leaked into the lowers.
So don't do it over carpet.
Oh, and one more question... to actually pull the damper out, what all do I have to undo?
I'm crossing my fingers and hoping that the problem is minor, I was told by a fairly trust shop that it was blown and the local service centre guys told the shop that it would likely need a lot of pricey custom work... and so the fork got retired, but if it is fixeable afterall... this will be awesome; and if it is broken anyways.. I shouldn't worry about too much about dissassembling the fork!
And this will either be done outside or in an unfinished garage! But thank you for the reminder, spilling fork oil all over the floor is something that I would do, especially if there was a carpet nearby...
Ok, sorry for yet another question, but... I'm a little confused about the oil, I do not understand exactly what you mean by "inside the stanchion". Thanks for all the tips so far!
I have pulled the rebound damper out and I have pictures. I will try to post them tonight. Anything I should be checking on the little rebound damper? It looks quite simple... a spring and an oil port and such... oh and any reason why the fork would seem to be pressurized inside the inner leg? Some oil practically sprayed out when I started undoing the rebound damper, and the oil was bubbly/frothy.
Okay, I think I have it sorted, so the pictures should be attached. It looks fine to me, seems like a fairly simple damper? Or is there more to it that I need to look at? Should I be unscrewing and disassembling it?
One is the shim on the underside of the piston. It's held by a lightweight spring. Check that is sealing against the piston and moves freely.
The other is the adjuster needle that'll be visible in the small bleed hole in the side. Move the adjuster knob and check that it winds in and out. It should completely block that hole when closed.
Well, I finally got around to taking another look... the shim seems to move freely, I got a nail under one edge of it and it moved fairly easily. Also, the adjuster needle is able to completely block the hole. So... what next? Oil levels being a bit low shouldn't affect the rebound damping... and while I am at it, is it worth taking the compression cartridge out of the top? Did the TPC+ cartridges ever have issues?
On the oil note, I'll look around for info, but if I don't find it do you know what the oil level should be at? One more thing, the stanchions are fairly dry and I am hoping to not have to replace these seals for a while, what should I lube them up with? Some tri-flow or something more use-specific?
So it seems that I may have been chasing after the wrong problem all along. With the fork back together I can slow the rebound down a heck of a lot, so that does not seem to be a problem anymore. However, there is a nice clunk on the compression part of the stroke. Could this somehow be from low oil level? Sticking pistons? I'll have to hunt down a larger wrench in order to unscrew the cartridge from the top of the fork.
Yes you do need the right oil level for the rebound to work.
If the oil gets low it'll work on slow movements (like moving it by hand), but on a fast compression the oil below will cavitate instead of flowing through the piston. Resulting in no rebound damping.
The TPC+ damper has a sliding piston, they use orings on the shaft as soft stops to prevent it making noise as it slides to each end of it's stroke. If these have come apart you can get a clunk.
Since you've worked out how the rebound assembly functions, you should have no problems checknig out the compression.
O-rings? Okay, I'll pay extra attention to those. For what it is worth, when I compress the fork slowly, there is no clunk at all, but when I compress it quickly, the clunk is very noticeable. The clunk also seems to be partway through the stroke, maybe halfway. I found a service manual so I am good on that front, I will probably replace the oil after I have done a preliminary assessment of the compression cartridge. Am I correct to assume that I should be able to dump all the oil by inverting the fork? Should I compress it a few times as well to cycle any remaining oil out? Thanks for all the help!
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