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Argyle 302's feel like crap

2K views 19 replies 6 participants last post by  Johnbron65 
#1 ·
I recently traded my fox vanila for an argyle becuase I needed a fork with a longer steertube for the new frame. I have the argyles on now and they feel like ****. They are lowered to 80mm. The first about 10-20 mm blows right through just by sitting on it and then after that it is basically rigid. Is this normal and I'm just used to how great my fox forks were? Would it help if I rebuilt them with some fresh seals an oil?
Thanks alot.
 
#7 ·
I don't think the 302 has a damper does it? Maybe too much oil in the side that would normally have a damper. I just but a motion control damper in my 302. The side where the damper normally goes is just a top cap on the 302.

Pour out all the oil in the uppers leaving only a tiny bit for lubrication. cycle it that way and see if that makes a difference.
 
#9 ·
Success! I drained all the oil, there was none in the upper left side? Only grease.. When I hit the left side bottom bolt the oil actually squirted out, scared the **** outta me. So does this mean there is a bad o ring somewhere? I have basically every size o ring so I will look for the bad one.
Thanks alot guys!
allot more help then pinkbike.
 
#10 ·
Success! I drained all the oil, there was none in the upper left side? Only grease.. When I hit the left side bottom bolt the oil actually squirted out, scared the **** outta me. So does this mean there is a bad o ring somewhere? I have basically every size o ring so I will look for the bad one.
Thanks alot guys!
allot more help then pinkbike.
:thumbsup: Check the rockshox tech manuals. There's a bit in there about how to pull the damper apart. I'm guessing it'll be the o-ring which lives inside the plastic head at the bottom of the damper stanchion which seals the rod as it goes in and out of the stanchion. Probably worth pulling it apart and replacing them all though.
 
#12 ·
Ok I just put it all back together and it seems to be working, it is bottoming pretty easily so i think i may need a new spring now. I did not find any o rings anywhere except at the bottom of the lowers but it is working now so we will see how long it lasts. I am kind of thinking the previous rebuilder was just a hack or something and put too much oil in the lowers on the left side. Both top caps where also loose and somehow they got the foam rings twisted on one side? One thing I couldnt figure out was putting the oil in the left side (spring). The metal shaft is blocking the hole at the bottom and you cant press it in because the spring is on the other side pressing against it. Is the lower left side supposed to be sealed (where the oil goes) because i poured some oil in from the top and it came out the bottom.
Hopefully that makes sense, I'm pretty tired right now.
 
#13 ·
Hmm. Several things:

- The spring is grease lubricated, and there's just a little oil in the bottom of the left lower to lubricate the bushings.

- It sounds like you reassembled it with no oil in the damper, which is probably why it's bottoming so easily now.

- You need to remove the lowers, remove the snap ring in the bottom of the right lower, and remove the rebound damper. Then you need to pull the damper rod out, and replace the o-rings.

- Foam rings under the top caps doesn't sound right. Do you mean the seals? If you do, just remove the foam rings and throw them away.

- It sounds like you need to download and use the service manual from the Rock Shox website.
 
#14 ·
Follow the instructions on here (p 24 refers to the damper in your unit): http://www.sram.com/_media/pdf/rockshox/dealers/TM_MY08_E.pdf

Looks like there should be one o-ring on the pushrod, one on the inside of the stanchion

About the pushrod on the spring side, you probably will need to screw the bolt in half way, then tap it with a rubber mallet to release it from the lowers (it is a tight fit)

Edit: Bad Mechanic, why do you throw away the foam rings?
 
#15 ·
retro83 said:
Edit: Bad Mechanic, why do you throw away the foam rings?
Because in the Rock Shox system, where they sit between the wiper and oil seal, they are absolutely worthless and will do harm, if anything. All they do is trap dirt which makes it past the wiper, and then keep it pressed against the stanchion. It's no mistake new Rock Shox kits and Enduro kits don't come with them. Just generously grease the wiper and oil seal.

Conversely, the Fox seal system places the foam ring under the oil seal, where it actually does some good.
 
#17 ·
bad mechanic said:
Because in the Rock Shox system, where they sit between the wiper and oil seal, they are absolutely worthless and will do harm, if anything. All they do is trap dirt which makes it past the wiper, and then keep it pressed against the stanchion. It's no mistake new Rock Shox kits and Enduro kits don't come with them. Just generously grease the wiper and oil seal.

Conversely, the Fox seal system places the foam ring under the oil seal, where it actually does some good.
My first set of Pikes had that arrangement, my more recent ones (09 i think) just have a wiper and a larger foam ring. I understand what you're saying about trapping dust in the foams, but at least the top bushing will remain lubricated.
 
#18 ·
retro83 said:
My first set of Pikes had that arrangement, my more recent ones (09 i think) just have a wiper and a larger foam ring. I understand what you're saying about trapping dust in the foams, but at least the top bushing will remain lubricated.
If the foam ring is above the oil seal, it's not going to lubricate anything.

If your Pike has just the wiper (which some RS forks do), do yourself a favor and either install Rock Shox's two part seal (wiper and oil seal), or install Enduro seals.
 
#20 ·
retro83 said:
About the pushrod on the spring side, you probably will need to screw the bolt in half way, then tap it with a rubber mallet to release it from the lowers (it is a tight fit)
Ok that is not really possible when it is all together because the spring keeps it in place when you tap it. When I tried it without the spring in it would just slide out when i tipped it up. Is the lower part supposed to be sealed off from the spring?
 
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