[natejmorse]

I decided I would do an oil change on my 2006 lefty max, I had put 5 wt oil in previously and the rebound was too fast, so I selected 7.5 wt this time. After finishing the oil change however, my fork is completely locked out, there is no travel to be had.

What could have gone wrong? I took all the oil out and repeated again thinking I had done something wrong but the same happened every time. I'm quite baffled and any help is appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Boozzz]

Sounds like hydraulic lock to me. You got one of those Lefties with a foam element around the damper shaft? The foam's there to soak up extra oil. If it's saturated with oil already, and you refill the Lefty with new oil, then what happens is when you compress the oil has nowhere to go, so it basically locks itself out. So, take out the damper again, squeeze the oil from the foam, reinsert, top up with oil, and it should work.

 

[natejmorse]

Yeah, we tried squeezing it out before while it was still wrapped around the damper, and putting it back in, but that didn't really solve the problem. I will try removing it from the damper unit and squeezing it out and see if that works. Thanks for the advice.

 

[07 Prophet]

If the foam is saturated it needs to be replaced. You can get a new one from your LBS.

 

[ziscwg]

Since you got it apart, put in the TPC upgrade instead of that FFD. I was so nice for me

 

[MendonCycleSmith]

Cannondale no longer stocks the foam, go figure. I found a local source for a simlar product, and have been using it for a few months now, seems fine. If you strike out locally, let me know, we'll get you hooked up.

 

[CharacterZero]

God, are you listening? You should chime in here. Why do bad things happen to good forks?

 

[ziscwg]

God, are you listening? You should chime in here. Why do bad things happen to good forks?

This is how they become a "classic" and worth more. If all goes well, you could sell your lefty max used for what a carbon PBR would cost you. :thumbsup:

Well, maybe I'm dreaming a little. It happens in cars, that way sometimes.