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6/19/2024
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Djee, NL
Does anyone know if the air cartridge of an 2023 sxf will drop into my 2018 model? I read they made a few updates to improve the stiction and overall balance of the air chamber. There's someone parting it out for cheap so would be nice to update if possible. Thanks all
Pretty sure it will not fit. Axle lugs on the bottom of the fork were changed internally in 2021 where the bottom of the cartridge engages.
Thanks, I suppose you're right because I see now the 6500 drop in kits also go up to 2020 before the part number changes. There is also an 2020 air cartridge for just 40 bucks, but I don't know if they improved anything in those 2 years?
Yes the air side will drop right in to the 2018 fork. It’s the damping side that’s the problem. I installed the 6500 kit in my ‘23 and installed my stock air cartridge in my friend’s 2018.
Thanks that's good news. Was he happy with that setup?
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Yes but said it wasn’t a huge difference.
It will drop right in, but the fork lengths will be different.
The XACT cartridge and AER-48 cartridge have a different overall length.
Mismatching them will move the XACT air piston higher in the stroke and I don't think the bypass will work as well as it is intended.
I've had a few cartridges sitting here with some lugs on the bench for a few months waiting for me to have some time to measure out this swap... What I do know is that the hex adapter will sit higher in the lug when you install it in the AER-48 lug.
The cartridges appear to be the same, but the length of the hex nut / adapter at the bottom of the rod is about 9mm difference in length with the older part being shorter.
My suspicion is that you can simply hold the 12mm diameter cartridge rod with a soft jaw and swap the shorter blue hex nut onto your late model XACT air spring assembly. The damping cartridge may or may not be so simple due to some differences in length of the rebound push-rod and the rebound adjuster assembly that are visible when you have them side by side on the bench.
Pic below below of a 2016.5 450SX-F Factory Edition and a 2023 MC350F cartridge...
Photos of the lugs were meant to show differences in how my KYB kits work, but you can see the difference in the height of the hex vs the axle bore.
Hope that helps.
Thank you, that's very important and I could've easily missed that small difference. Hopefully it swaps out indeed as there doesn't appear to be enough material to mill down and have enough threads left. I wonder if there is a way to confirm it indeed settles in the intended spot. Maybe measuring the length that sticks out of the top when mounting in the fork or something
Swap the blue hex adapter on your air spring cartridge, install it in your fork leg and measure from the top edge of the upper tube to the axle center. That should work out to 950mm.
Alternatively, you can subtract the 577mm of the upper fork tube with that fork assembly.
From the bottom edge of the upper fork tube to the axle center, you should have 373mm at final assembly.
Thanks a lot that's helpful, how do you make sure you can fully extend the rod when measuring? I remember air gets trapped in the balance chamber and you cannot fully extend it.
Yes, I forgot to mention it but when I did the swap we used the hex nut and adapter off the 2018 air cartridge.
When they get stuck down, it will be more than the length of the bypass, so it will be obviously short by more than one inch (25mm).
You should be able to pull the fork leg out to full length by hand before disassembly. Double check that it is 950mm long.
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