scratches on stanctions

[buckey]

hi

i have just scratched my stanctions and they are starting to leak a bit of oil not much but i was wondering if it is worth buying a new crown steerer and stanctions from manitou or just keep getting them servied with new seals regularly? and if anyone knows how much oil is in the left travel adjust side of the 04 sherman flick fork?

cheers buckey

[ajay]

How bad is the scratch?

if its not deep you can file it back with some fine gade sandpaper - 400-600 grade works fine.

Is the oil leaking through the seal beacuase the scratch is too deep or has the staunchin become coarse and cut away at the seal?

Basically, you'l need new seals and at least rub down your staunchin. If the scratch is to deep you could get a new staunchin - surely you can buy just a staunchin and not the whole crown/steerer assembly...?

[oz-freerider]

sherman flicks are a single crown for ajay thus meaning everything is press fitted or how every manitou do, but i odubt you'd be able to replace just one leg..

[Martin.au]

Common repair method for a stantion scratch

-Fill with nail polish
-Carefully sand back till it's flush
-Ride around lots and enjoy

[Rik]

Eh... manitou have a sealed damper, the inside of the stanchion is the critical part of that equation and that's well and truly protected. If you've scratched the outside of the leg, on the spring side as well, it's nothing to worry about. Sand back the scratch with increasingly fine paper, and let it be. You may have to use a really small file to take any burrs off if it's a deeper scratch. I've found that sanding it back with 400, then 600 like Ajay said, then hitting it with the buffing wheel of my dremel tool is the best way to clean things up.
The seals may have been damaged, but since there's only a small amount of oil in the bottom of the fork (maybe 10cc?) to act as a splash lubrication system, it's nothing to really worry about... dirt may get in the fork easier, but since it's easy enough to drop the lowers off and clean them out, you could just do that a bit more often.

Here's what I'd do if I were you:
Pull the lowers off, clean them out. Sand + buff the scratch. Install lowers with small amount of oil as specified. Ride happily and pretty much forget about the scratches from now on.
They almost definately won't pose an issue down the line, there's nothing critical to worry about.

[ajay]

sherman flicks are a single crown for ajay thus meaning everything is press fitted or how every manitou do, but i odubt you'd be able to replace just one leg..

ahh yes, flick, i didnt see that minor detail:o

[johnny_boy]

there's only a small amount of oil in the bottom of the fork (maybe 10cc?)
I've found in the past they work best with 15cc of 5wt oil as semi-bath lube. When re-assembling, slide the lowers half way on and squirt in with a syringe. Easy. Can't remember but I think the manitou specification is 20cc. Maybe, maybe not. Go with 15.

[buckey]

cheers fellas that has taken a heap of stress out!!!! i thought i would have to fork out $ 1300 for a new set if they were going to stuff up the internals.