play in front forks

[jimmyhackers]

i have some cheapy rst double triple clamp forks on my bike. they were 2nd hand to begin with.

there is been play thats slowly gotten worse over time.

the play is in the telescoping tubes on each side. resulting in a bit of forwards and backwards flex/bend.
it appears to be coming from the dust wiper seals.

will replacing the wiper seals fix this or will i need other parts?

 

[scianiac]

There are bushings on the inside of the fork lower that the stanchions slide on, the dust seal is just a seal to keep dust out and oil in. If the play is where I think your describing those bushings are quite worn, possibly from lack of oil in the lowers. Technically the bushings can be replaced but I've heard it's not an easy process and many just buy new lowers instead. I don't know exactly how the RSTs are made so don't know what those bushings are made from, how tall they are or how hard they are to replace.

Edit: I just saw a comment somewhere that RST Killahs use grease lubrication instead of oil like most other forks. I can see how that works fine at first but if it's not replaced regularly it gets wiped off the bushings and since it's grease it's never going to get splashed or sloshed back onto them like oil so they run dry which probably wears them quite fast. For a cheap fork that you can expect nobody to ever service that's kind of a stupid decision on their part.

 

[E-HP]

i have some cheapy rst double triple clamp forks on my bike. they were 2nd hand to begin with.

there is been play thats slowly gotten worse over time.

the play is in the telescoping tubes on each side. resulting in a bit of forwards and backwards flex/bend.
it appears to be coming from the dust wiper seals.

will replacing the wiper seals fix this or will i need other parts?

Could need the bushings replaced, so unless it's a real problem, might just want to live with it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eX1VQ5mCkHI

 

[jimmyhackers]

im thinking my forks internals are more like these than fox shocks.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BIJPeh-D8D4.

i cant see anything else in that vid thats a bushing except the dust seals.

 

[E-HP]

im thinking my forks internals are more like these than fox shocks.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BIJPeh-D8D4.

i cant see anything else in that vid thats a bushing except the dust seals.

I'm wondering what he means by plastic sleeves:
https://youtu.be/BIJPeh-D8D4?t=551

 

[LewTwo]

I'm wondering what he means by plastic sleeves:

Strips cut from recycled soda bottles ???

 

[2old]

Considering the ramifications of forks breaking precipitously, you might proceed with caution. If it were me, they would be replaced.

 

[Overclocker]

im thinking my forks internals are more like these than fox shocks.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BIJPeh-D8D4.

i cant see anything else in that vid thats a bushing except the dust seals.

I'm wondering what he means by plastic sleeves:
https://youtu.be/BIJPeh-D8D4?t=551

good forks use bushings made from teflon-coated copper alloys that are splash-lubricated (or open bath) so there's an oil seal as well as dust wiper. some even have foam rings

cheap forks like in the youtube vid have bushings made of plastic and are grease lubricated. upper and lower bushings are a one-piece unit

as for the OP's issue. i used to have an RST R-one which was the predecessor to the killah. yes it was grease-lubricated but i think it had metal bushings. i've done every single maintenance procedure on bicycles except for changing the bushings. my marzocchi manual describes the procedure and it's not a trivial task. and that's if you could even find bushings for your killah

 

[99t4]

good forks use bushings made from teflon-coated copper alloys that are splash-lubricated (or open bath) so there's an oil seal as well as dust wiper. some even have foam rings

That's why I heard it's a good idea to occasionally set the bike upside-down for a couple of hours, to let the oil resaturate the foam rings.

 

[jimmyhackers]

i can get replacment parts for about 30 quid.... sleeves and the dust wipers.

but after ive seen sam pilgrim on these https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8W7fkkaMIm0

i kinda fancy a pair myself. even if they are "junk" they would be a definitive upgrade from what i have now.