Marzochi Z4 FLYLIGHT Help/Advice needed.......

[Jonny46]

Guys,
I really need some help here as my long awaited bike has just become unusable.
I recently stripped my Z4 forks down to use on my 96 KOA as they are nice and light and were included with the sale when i bought my Expolsif a long time ago.
I knew that they needed a service so I fitted new seals and oil and I thought that all had gone well, until I came to give the bike its maiden run on a nice easy urban trail. By the time I had ridden into the local town center I had no travel at all and they had 'sunk'.
Upon a quick inspection the air had escaped from them but when I touched the left fork leg (as you sit on the bike) it was covered in oil. It seems that his has come from the join between the leg lower and the 'M' arch which is approximately 55mm from the top of the leg where the slider enters.
Does anybody have any ideas what has caused this, whether the forks are still useable or have I just put new seals and oil into a pile of sh@t???

 

[FluffyChicken]

where is the air coming out, only real place in them is the top caps/valves. There should still be enough in one leg to make them work if the pressure has dropped in the other with oil loss.
Pump them up, lube the stanchions and go for another ride.

On some fork the M-arch is bonded and some it was removable but no idea which. I think it's a bit more complicated than the BAM brace. Not that that helps and I don't know the path the oil would need to take to get between them, though it would have to go past the oil seal and then pushed down BUT could easily be wrong. Possibly signalling the seals/metal spacer are in wrong.

Someone will know these better than me, year 2000 right ?

A better look at the arch here, but doesn't show overlap.
http://my-sport.spb.ru/manual_1/2000%20 ... mation.pdf

 

[Jonny46]

where is the air coming out, only real place in them is the top caps/valves. There should still be enough in one leg to make them work if the pressure has dropped in the other with oil loss.
Pump them up, lube the stanchions and go for another ride.

On some fork the M-arch is bonded and some it was removable but no idea which. I think it's a bit more complicated than the BAM brace. Not that that helps and I don't know the path the oil would need to take to get between them, though it would have to go past the oil seal and then pushed down BUT could easily be wrong. Possibly signalling the seals/metal spacer are in wrong.

Someone will know these better than me, year 2000 right ?

A better look at the arch here, but doesn't show overlap.
http://my-sport.spb.ru/manual_1/2000%20 ... mation.pdf

Thank you for your reply and you are 100% correct, they are 2000 forks. Unfortunately though I think it's more than just a quick pump up. The 'O' ring in the top cap could well be suspect as you pointed out. I've taken a couple of quick images of the bike and the forks so that the join can be seen which may give a better idea what i'm trying to explain. A picture paints a thousand words and all that........
I know it isn't a minter but I built it to ride it so it'll pick up marks and scratches anyway.