Hi All, any suspension techs around these parts?
I was washing my bike this past weekend and noticed this scratching on my shock shaft. Unfortunately I feel I was being a little carless with the sponge and am worried I might have accidentally done this while trying to get the inside of the spring if the sponge had some sand/grit on it from elsewhere on the bike. The thought crossed my mind right after the fact and thats when I saw the scratch. I usually dont wipe the spring down but it was looking a little extra cruddy and I was trying to do a deeper than usual clean.
Would it be possible to scratch the hard chrome this way or am I worrying for no reason? The scratch is almostttttt a perfectly straight line which makes me think maybe something briefly got stuck on the seal or inside of the spring and went for a ride but I still cant help but think maybe I did this. Especially since the scratch is exactly where I had the sponge but I'm hoping its just a bad coincidence. Scratch located inside the circled black reflection. The reflection isnt the scratch itself.
Experienced feedback appreciated and thank you in advance to all who read.
That hardened steel shaft is pretty tough. Looks normal to me. You'd have to really try to damage it with a dirty sponge, especially with the spring still on and everything assembled on the bike.
Yeah I kinda like cupped the sponge in between the shaft and spring in that spot to get the gook off the inside of the spring. I'll try not to sweat it. I'd imagine the plushness of the sponge would make it hard for any grit to really gouge in without trying to do so.
Time to service, sealhead bushing is going out
The scratch is within the dark rectangular streak. That streaking is just a reflection. Otherwise I would agree - streaking like that would totally be a bushing thing. Shock has just under 26hrs on it.
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Theres no possible way your sponge did that. If the shock hasnt been rebuilt in 30 hours or more i would have it done
You think even if there was a sharp piece of grit on it?
How often are you guys having your suspension rebuilt? My manual says to do it at 45hrs
What level rider? 15-25hrs
Some grit got into the seal, also when you see a shaft start to wear down, sometimes the lower shock bearing is toast and doesn't allow the shock to freely float.
At least it seems whatever got in is no longer there. Also another theory is that something got stuck between the red end cap and the shaft. Could definitely see that happening as theres a small gap all the way around.
I believe on these bikes the spherical bearing is at the top.
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