Front suspension leg

[new to this]

ive just open up the front suspension leg

how do i tell if the front insert is ok ( should you be able to push the insert down )

dave

[alistair260661]

its also known as a damper - and it should do just that - so it should go up and down slowly with steady pressure / pull - the idea is to damp the bounce movement caused by the springs as you go over bumps - so it should move slowly and steadily. If it moves easily with little resistance (or there are signs of leaks) then it is US

[new to this]

alistair

thanks i thought it was going to be harder to push down

Dave

[73stagman]

you say you have it opened up and so the insert is no longer in the outer housing... If you didnt have oil in the housing then you have replacement parts. The "insert" (strut) should be as hard to pull up as it is to push down with no loose travel anywhere but you should be able to move it quite easilly
If you had oil when you took the strut out then it is an original insert and is no longer operational.... doesnt mean its scrap just that when you take it out of the housing you have removed part of the strut.... it should be movable easily... but you will exhaust fluid from the bottom (The original assemblies use the outer casing as a fluid chamber)and it will be very easy to pull back out because you are drawing air in to the bottom of the cylinder. You will need new oil and seals when you rebuild it. Theres quite a good article in one of the recent mags about it. Was on the forum too... before my time.

[new to this]

you say you have it opened up and so the insert is no longer in the outer housing... If you didnt have oil in the housing then you have replacement parts. The "insert" (strut) should be as hard to pull up as it is to push down with no loose travel anywhere but you should be able to move it quite easilly
If you had oil when you took the strut out then it is an original insert and is no longer operational.... doesnt mean its scrap just that when you take it out of the housing you have removed part of the strut.... it should be movable easily... but you will exhaust fluid from the bottom (The original assemblies use the outer casing as a fluid chamber)and it will be very easy to pull back out because you are drawing air in to the bottom of the cylinder. You will need new oil and seals when you rebuild it. Theres quite a good article in one of the recent mags about it. Was on the forum too... before my time.

the insert is still in the leg ive only removed the spring but in the past i have replaced the insert

dave

[73stagman]

If its a sealed strut then you should be able to push it down all the way... when you pull it back if its knackered it will just pull out with no resistance for a bit and then go hard again. The amount of slack is a sort of measure of how bad it is.... either way if it has slop then its done for.