Hi,

I really need some urgent advice (trial booked tomorrow!); I'm changing the leaking fork seals, I've done the right fork (rebound) no problem but now that I've got the left fork disassembled I can't work out how the spring comes out. I need the spring out to measure the correct air gap for oil quantity. I've removed the top cap and the conical plastic spacer underneath but there's another cylindrical plastic bush on the inside of the fork tube that the spring appears to be seated under. This plastic bush does not seem to come out, can anyone help please?

Alternatively I could just leave the spring in place and just fill with a specific quantity of oil in ml if anyone knows how much it needs?

 

That’s a new one. The spring is just loose in there and should just pull right out. If you compress the leg it should poke out the top.

I had the same problem the last time I did my seals about 45 days ago. Try about 340cc and call it good till you have time to fix it. I might get around to it myself this coming weekend 

Edited April 16, 20197 yr by lineaway

Yeah it's weird, should the plastic bush just slide straight out Dan? It's stuck absolutely solid in there, I've tried pulling up under it with a hook tool but it's just stuck :-(

 

Thanks Lineaway, I'm glad it's not just me then! I'll put 340cc in. It looks very much like the bush will have to be butchered and replaced

I plan on cutting mine out. I ordered a new spring just in case. I have ridden 2 events since I discovered this problem.

To be honest I'm only concerned because I want to make sure the oil volume is correct, forcibly removing the bush could cause damage to the fork tube ? I think I'll just leave It! Thanks for the help chaps, I should be riding tomorrow ?

Yeah that’s weird. That bushing should just slide out. If it’s binding you might not be able to adjust your preload properly.

Thinking a bit further it’s not even really a bushing. It’s just a spacer so they could use a shorter spring. Just out of curiosity did you loosen the top pinch bolt on the clamp when you tried to take it out? It shouldn’t make any difference as the tube should be strong enough to not deform from the clamp but stranger things have happened so...

Edited April 16, 20197 yr by dan williams

I’ve noticed some odd tolerance type issues with the Sachs/Paioli forks so maybe they just didn’t machine the spacer right and stuffed it in figuring it would wear into size.

Edited April 16, 20197 yr by dan williams

The cylindrical plastic spacer can get stuck in the fork tube.

Leave the conical spacer out, back off the preload adjuster screw, put the top nut on a couple of threads and push down hard a few times on the fork against the spring. You should hear a clunk when the spacer moves.

Chamfer the outer leading edges of the cylindrical plastic spacer before you refit it, but it’ll no doubt need the same technique to remove it the next time you do your fork seals.

You’ll get a shock if you price new plastic spacers from Beta!

Edited April 16, 20197 yr by dabba

It's quite possible that someone had previously overtightened the top yoke clamp before I acquired it. I'm just going to go with the 340ml and pretend it never happened  Good tip though dabba if I ever really need to remove the spring

 

Had the same thing on same forks. I did what Dabba did except I had to shock the spacer out of position by holding the stanchion in my hands and hitting the bottom of the slider onto a rubber mat on the floor. The spacer had expanded, I tried turning its diameter down which was too difficult because of it being so thin walled and flexible, so made a new one from nylon but with a reduced diameter. 

Good evening, I had this problem on my old 2016 Evo. I used a blind bearing puller with a slide hammer and managed to get it out with no damage, I then rubbed it down with wet and dry until it was a much looser fit. For what its worth, Beta wouldn't give me a volume of oil, only an air gap measurement which was 130mm with spring out and 70mm on the damper side, which was 5mm more each side than the 2014 recommendation.  

I also phoned a Trials shop ( can't remember which one ) and they said that they always just put 300ml in each leg. I suppose if you start with 300ml you could easily add a bit more rather than having to try to take some out if you put too much in.

Good luck

The blind bearing puller is a good idea Peter. I put 340ml in as suggested and just put it back together, it seems absolutely fine. In fact I cleaned all 24 sections tonight to win the trial, something I've never done before so it must be ok!! :-)