dnm usd180's

[Cletus]

hi guys, ive got a dnm usd180 dh fork on my bike and just recently ive noticed im bottoming it out more and more. i got the bike 2nd hand and with no owners manual regarding the forks and im having no luck on the dnm site with info. i was wondering what to do to stiffen the fork up a bit? ive got what looks like an air valve at the bottom af the right stantion but i tryed to pump it up but oil came out of it :eek: .i never put any air in it because i dont want to wreck it(if its not allready). any ideas guys?? any help will be greatly appreciated.
cheers peter

[Red Rocket]

You will need to put air into that valve. You will need a shock pump to do so. This air cartridge is meant to be kept at a minimum of 100 psi to equalise pressure and prevent oil from the rebound cartridge flowing into this compression or stable platform cartiridge, but by the sounds of things, it is too late. you can fix this by pulling apaet the forks and replacing the oil properly then pressurizing them. My DNM's used to leak a little air over a long time as it appears yours have to. I would suggest borrowing a friends shock pump, pumping them up to say 120 psi, see if they work correctly (ie consistent rebound and compression stroke feel, no top out etc, no "nice" controlled rebound then a really fast "oil less" rebound feeling near the top of the travel. Check all these things and rebuild if necessary.

[Cletus]

thank you very much Red Rocket, ive got a pump and ive put 120psi in and they seem ok on my drive way. later today i'll take them up to a little track i know to see how they feel, if no good i'll give them the strip down( i guess it could'nt hurt to give them a service anyhow) thanks heaps for telling me what pressure to run the fork as when i checked them last nite there was no pressure at all. do you have any idea what weight oil would be good? im just under 80kg's and i have no idea what weight oil is in the forks right now.
again thanks Red Rocket, your a champion.
cheers peter