[rwr]

Hi everyone,

I've been working on my grandpa's old rocky mountain from 1997, its just a spice but works fine for the riding I do.

I decided to rebuild the fork (a Judy XC long travel i.e. 80mm) since it probably hasn't been done in 10 years, and found the usual crumbled mess inside. I was going to order some springs but decided to take the lowers off first and found the non cartridge leg had started to corrode. The damper side is fine.

I'm attaching pictures of the worst of the corrosion after sanding it down a little. I don't think it's at risk of touching the sealing surface, it's all low down on the fork. I'm concerned about safety. I'm less than 150 lbs and would only use it for gentle trails without big drops.

Is it safe as is? Should I JB weld the worst of it (for the strength ) and or paint over it and call it done? Should I give up on these and keep an eye out for another pair of stanchions/judy's at the local co-op?

 

[Jayem]

Wow, that's impressive.

That's probably not safe, because it has to slide on the bushings. How do the bushings in the leg look? As I recall, those forks used metal bushings?

 

[rwr]

Wow, that's impressive.

That's probably not safe, because it has to slide on the bushings. How do the bushings in the leg look? As I recall, those forks used metal bushings?

The bad side is full of so many crumbled bits that I can't see much of the bushing. I can post a picture when I get it cleaned although I'd be surprised if it's any better than the stanchion.

 

[Jayem]

The bad side is full of so many crumbled bits that I can't see much of the bushing. I can post a picture when I get it cleaned although I'd be surprised if it's any better than the stanchion.

The fork isn't worth saving then.

 

[rwr]

The fork isn't worth saving then.

Too bad but not unexpected, thank you for the help. I picked up a bomber z5 air fork cheap so hopefully it'll be an improvement on this dead one. I'm guessing its 63mm will be more than the judy was left with.