[micstew]

I have a brand new, never been ridden 2005 Minute 2 disc only fork. From day 1 there has been oil on the bottom of the right fork leg (the SPV side) where the rebound adjuster is. I clean it all off and a few days later it looks like someone dipped the tip of the fork leg in light-weight Penzoil again. The shop that I bought it from said all the Minutes come with oil on them - which I'm fine with - but the regular return of the oil concerns me. I've got 150psi in the left leg and about 40psi in the right (the SPV) and again it's never been ridden. It's just been mounted to a frame hanging in a bike stand in my garage (between 50 and 75 degrees F) for about a month now. Anyone else seen this? Does this sound like a defective fork?

 

[Chris2fur]

I have a brand new, never been ridden 2005 Minute 2 disc only fork. From day 1 there has been oil on the bottom of the right fork leg (the SPV side) where the rebound adjuster is. I clean it all off and a few days later it looks like someone dipped the tip of the fork leg in light-weight Penzoil again. The shop that I bought it from said all the Minutes come with oil on them - which I'm fine with - but the regular return of the oil concerns me. I've got 150psi in the left leg and about 40psi in the right (the SPV) and again it's never been ridden. It's just been mounted to a frame hanging in a bike stand in my garage (between 50 and 75 degrees F) for about a month now. Anyone else seen this? Does this sound like a defective fork?

Seems to be a weak spot on all Manitous. It's either a torn O-ring on the bottom of the rebound damper, the damper is just loose (tightens CCW), or it's an internal leak from a defect in the rebound damper assembly. I don't know why they use the clear O-rings either. they seem to deform and tear very easily.

 

[frankenbike]

My Minute has never leaked oil at all. If you shop is not helpful, call up Manitou directly via their tech support phone line.

 

[yogreg]

I have a brand new, never been ridden 2005 Minute 2 disc only fork. From day 1 there has been oil on the bottom of the right fork leg (the SPV side) where the rebound adjuster is. I clean it all off and a few days later it looks like someone dipped the tip of the fork leg in light-weight Penzoil again. The shop that I bought it from said all the Minutes come with oil on them - which I'm fine with - but the regular return of the oil concerns me. I've got 150psi in the left leg and about 40psi in the right (the SPV) and again it's never been ridden. It's just been mounted to a frame hanging in a bike stand in my garage (between 50 and 75 degrees F) for about a month now. Anyone else seen this? Does this sound like a defective fork?

I had a similar problem with my Minye Three. Had the fork for a while did an oil change and break down of the fork recently and started to notice oil on the rebound dial. Upon inspection I noticed a torn O-ring. I just replaced with another and problem fixed. Three weeks and no leaks.

Had my never been ridden fork been leaking from the beginning I would be returning the fork. Forks should not be leaking oil period. Your LBS answer is very lame.

 

[micstew]

thanks for the feedback

Agree with the general consensus (oil leak = wrong), and with yogreg's comment about returning the fork. Unfortunately, my experience is that once the steertube is cut, it's yours. As such, it looks like I am stuck with either trying to fix this manufacturer defect myself or packing up and shipping the fork in for warranty work. I did call Answer and the tech guy was very helpful. If it really is just an o-ring, then great, I can replace it, but it's a disappointing hassle to say the very least. I would not expect to have to download a replair manual (how do I get to the o-ring, what do I replace the lost oil with, etc) and take a wrench to a brand new $600 fork.

 

[COMMITTED]

Agree with the general concensus (oil leak = wrong), and with yogreg's comment about returning the fork. Unfortunately, my experience is that once the steertube is cut, it's yours. As such, it looks like I am stuck with either trying to fix this manufacturer defect myself or packing up and shipping the fork in for warranty work. I did call Answer and the tech guy was very helpful. If it really is just an o-ring, then great, I can replace it, but it's a disappointing hassle to say the very least. I would not expect to have to download a replair manual (how do I get to the o-ring, what do I replace the lost oil with, etc) and take a wrench to a brand new $600 fork.

I totally understand your frustration with having to do repairs on a brand new fork. On the bright side, these forks are really simple and easy to overhaul. Taking the lower castings off and replacing the o-ring, which is probably the culprit, can all be done with an hour on your hands. A great resource for a pictorial explanation of how to work on the Manitou Minute can be found at www.enduroforkseals.com.

 

[micstew]

Update...

Well, after concluding based on oil description that my new fork was leaking semi-bath, I removed the lowers but did not find a torn or otherwise damaged o-ring in the leaky right leg. Actually I didn't find an o-ring at all - NADA, ZIP, ZILCH. Yes, I checked the drained oil, I checked inside the lowers, I checked everywhere. No o-ring in sight. I also suspect that there is a large metal washer missing and that the large black plastic washer was installed on the wrong side of the sponge bushing as it doesn't match the other side. No problem, I'll just consult the exploded view of the fork - WHAT? NO EXPLODED VIEW? Nope, can't find one anywhere. Not to beatch about this too much but now I need (for my brand new fork)
1.) an exploded view diagram
2.) possibly a metal washer
3.) definitely an o-ring
4.) 32 cc's of semi-bath fluid
5.) and a syringe to install it

Answer/Manitou tech service has been great so far, we'll see how they hold up tomorrow...

And thanks for the enduroforkseals link - they don't have the instructions for the Minute 2, but they have the Min 1, which is similar enough to get the lowers off. You're right, a great reference.

 

[micstew]

Just a quick update...

Apparently Answer's customer service is much better than their quality control (a gross generalization based on a very small sample). They are sending washers and semi-bath. Saves them the cost of doing the warranty work and now I know everything I need to know about the fork assembly to wrench through future maintenence work. Doesn't entirely make up for the hassle of dealing with a defective fork but at least they were quick to stop the bleeding and ship me what I needed to get it all working. That's better than you sometimes get these days.

 

[frankenbike]

Apparently Answer's customer service is much better than their quality control (a gross generalization based on a very small sample)...

Yeah, their phone tech/customer support is really good. They even offered to take me through an entire fork disassembly over the phone! Marzocchi has good phone support too.

 

[yogreg]

Apparently Answer's customer service is much better than their quality control (a gross generalization based on a very small sample). They are sending washers and semi-bath. Saves them the cost of doing the warranty work and now I know everything I need to know about the fork assembly to wrench through future maintenence work. Doesn't entirely make up for the hassle of dealing with a defective fork but at least they were quick to stop the bleeding and ship me what I needed to get it all working. That's better than you sometimes get these days.

Thanks for the update. Good thing Manitou was looking out for you in this case. Yes it is a pain to have to overhaul a brand new product. But as you stated, now you will have a better understanding of the inner workings of the fork.

On the bright side the Minute is a damn fine fork and very easy to tweak and work on.
Happy miles.
Greg