Bomber all mountain 4 - horrible stiction

[mk1Matt]

I got a pair of Bomber All Mountain 4 forks used a while ago as part of an incomplete bike I bought, and just got around to putting them on my son's bike. They're circa 2006 I think and are open bath springs with air pre-load.

They're horrible! Massive amounts of stiction, almost like they're indexed. I've had them apart, well partially anyway, and cleaned as much as I can. The oil didn't look too bad so I re-used it. Perhaps mistake #1.

I've no idea how to get the damper out. It appears to be an OEM fork and there are no manuals online.

Anyone got any ideas? I'm keen to have a go myself, since a pro rebuild is going to cost far more than replacing. I can rebuild my Rockshox Lyriks in my sleep, but haven't got a clue on these.

 

[mk1Matt]

Sorry, wrong section. Can someone please move?

 

[Sketchyxup]

My mate had something similar when someone had previously serviced them with the wrong type of oil which caused the seals to swell, the only fix was to replace the seals and change the oil to the correct type.

 

[mk1Matt]

Cheers. Starting to come to the same conclusion myself. Seal kits are looking rare and expensive (plus oil too) so perhaps it's time to write them off and replace.