[slyfink]

Hey all, trying to get my bike up and running for my ride tonight.

I started doing what @FarkinRyan suggested here.

When I let the air out, the fork compressed on its own. sucked down. I tried reattaching the foot bolt, but it can't reach what it's supposed to thread into. What are my options here? pull the lowers off an pull that rod out manually?

It's a 2016 Pike fwiw...

 

[slyfink]

Hey all, trying to get my bike up and running for my ride tonight.

I started doing what @FarkinRyan suggested here.

When I let the air out, the fork compressed on its own. sucked down. I tried reattaching the foot bolt, but it can't reach what it's supposed to thread into. What are my options here? pull the lowers off an pull that rod out manually?

It's a 2016 Pike fwiw...

Also, when I run the lowers up and down, it's swishing oil inside there.

Might also be worth mentioning that this weekend I lost rebound damping.

 

[Salami]

Pressurize the air chamber again. Once the pressure is higher in the positive chamber than the negative the shaft should start extending.

 

[HAB]

Which footnut can you not reach? Assuming you mean spring side?

 

[slyfink]

Pressurize the air chamber again. Once the pressure is higher in the positive chamber than the negative the shaft should start extending.

thanks! I would up calling Vorsprung (I have a Luftkappe) in there. This is what they told me to do. THey said I probably depressurized the positive chamber too quick, and the negative chamber didn't have time to equalize.

He also suggested my rebound damping issue has nothing to do with the air spring. I either knocked out a seal, or pierced the bladder. argh.

 

[Jm_]

He also suggested my rebound damping issue has nothing to do with the air spring. I either knocked out a seal, or pierced the bladder. argh.

I would suggest this too. Luckily, the charger damper was not hard to rebuild and install a new bladder, vs. fox stupid intricate and delicate/crazy tools.

 

[slyfink]

I would suggest this too. Luckily, the charger damper was not hard to rebuild and install a new bladder, vs. fox stupid intricate and delicate/crazy tools.

yup. when I dropped the lowers, a bunch of oil poured out. Way more than it would have been were it just the "bath oil". Now when I cycle the damper rod, its obvious there's no oil in there. I'm doing an pretty mellow ride tonight, so I'll just take it easy.

There's a local shop that seems to be setting up a separate suspension tuning business as part of the shop. I'll give them a call tomorrow to see if they can get'er done before the weekend... I can't imagine it's a busy time of year.

 

[slyfink]

I would suggest this too. Luckily, the charger damper was not hard to rebuild and install a new bladder, vs. fox stupid intricate and delicate/crazy tools.

Did you find an on-line tutorial to do this, or did you go by the instruction manual?

In calling around, none of my local shops have the part in stock.

I wonder though... I have the exact same fork in 26" on my old bike. are the dampers cartridges the same length? could I swap them out?

 

[Jm_]

Did you find an on-line tutorial to do this, or did you go by the instruction manual?

In calling around, none of my local shops have the part in stock.

I wonder though... I have the exact same fork in 26" on my old bike. are the dampers cartridges the same length? could I swap them out?

Not sure, but there's a good chance the bladder itself would be the same length. I think some of the chargers needed upgraded rebound rod seals too, I seem to recall that was a weak point? I ordered a rebuild kit that included a new bladder, I probably used both an online video and instructions. I had bought the bleed kit by that time too, it's pretty simple.

 

[6thElement]

The SRAM service manuals are pretty good, I've got several iterations for the Pike - I think they may have removed the bladder swap section from the newer version for some reason. I've done it a couple of times as preventative maintenance on the two Pike's in our household.

 

[slyfink]

I got my shop to order the Pike damper service kit. Hopefully someone in the country has it in stock. I'm going to pull out the dampers in both my forks to see if they are the same length. With a bit of luck they are, and I'll be able to ride this weekend.

 

[6thElement]

I got my shop to order the Pike damper service kit. Hopefully someone in the country has it in stock. I'm going to pull out the dampers in both my forks to see if they are the same length. With a bit of luck they are, and I'll be able to ride this weekend.

LMK if the latest iteration doesn't have the bladder swap in the SRAM manual. I won't be able to send you a copy until Saturday though.

You need the bleed kit, appropriate oil and some decent circlip pliers. Make sure you get the small circlip under the slow speed compression cap fully seated when you put it back together.

 

[Jm_]

Hell I could probably send you my bleed kit.

 

[FarkinRyan]

The bladder-swap iteration of the manual is still online; just helpfully archived by SRAM to make useful information harder to find; https://www.servicearchive.sram.com/sites/default/files/techdocs/gen_0000000004461_rev_a_2014_pike_service_manual_1.pdf

On the right-hand side of the SRAM service manual page right near the top is a red "Hide/Show Archived Documents" link. Many of the manuals you seek are hidden by that function.

Sorry that turned into a shit-show for you @slyfink but sounds like you were put right about just pumping the air spring back up and letting the air out slower in future!

 

[slyfink]

The bladder-swap iteration of the manual is still online; just helpfully archived by SRAM to make useful information harder to find; https://www.servicearchive.sram.com/sites/default/files/techdocs/gen_0000000004461_rev_a_2014_pike_service_manual_1.pdf

On the right-hand side of the SRAM service manual page right near the top is a red "Hide/Show Archived Documents" link. Many of the manuals you seek are hidden by that function.

Sorry that turned into a shit-show for you @slyfink but sounds like you were put right about just pumping the air spring back up and letting the air out slower in future!

Thanks! Yeah, I wouldn't say the shitshow was caused by anything I did on the air side. The damper side had shit the bed before I dove into the air spring. Two unrelated issues compounding themselves for someone who has no clue what they're doing!

Any chance you can comment on the compatibility of 26" Pike RCT3 damper shaft with a 27.5 Pike RCT3 of the same generation?

Also, is it worth tracking down a whole new "2.1" damper? It seems like it would cost only marginally more than a damper rebuild kit... And might also be available!

edited to add: it dawned on me that the last time I sent my fork to Vorsprung for a service, I had the same issue with loss of damping and topping out frequently. I recall Steve telling me it was the damper seal head.

 

[FarkinRyan]

If the 2.1 damper is available for cheap there is no reason not to go for it. You likely at least need a replacement seal head for a damper that age as well. If you haven't already, you should pull it out of the fork and try to work out what has caused it to dump the oil out. A burst bladder on a Charger is usually a big, noticeable hole. If there isn't one, it's likely leaked through the sealhead and that's what you need to replace.

If you take a look at this old spare parts list it has 26" and 27.5" dampers and damper shafts listed as separate part numbers so I'm going to say there's likely a reason for that and that they probably aren't just interchangeable. https://www.servicearchive.sram.com/sites/default/files/techdocs/2016_rockshox_spc_revb_0.pdf

 

[Jm_]

Yeah, I believe at some point there was an upgraded rebound seal head. I distinctly remember installing it in one of my charger dampers.

Another pro-tip I ran into was to grease the foot-nut screw when you put it back in, it keeps the shaft from just spinning and allows you to tighten it. I partially re-pressurize the fork before this step.

 

[slyfink]

If the 2.1 damper is available for cheap there is no reason not to go for it. You likely at least need a replacement seal head for a damper that age as well. If you haven't already, you should pull it out of the fork and try to work out what has caused it to dump the oil out. A burst bladder on a Charger is usually a big, noticeable hole. If there isn't one, it's likely leaked through the sealhead and that's what you need to replace.

If you take a look at this old spare parts list it has 26" and 27.5" dampers and damper shafts listed as separate part numbers so I'm going to say there's likely a reason for that and that they probably aren't just interchangeable. https://www.servicearchive.sram.com/sites/default/files/techdocs/2016_rockshox_spc_revb_0.pdf

forkin' awesome, thanks!