Rattling rock shox Judys

[jetstream]

I've recently finished building a GT LTS 1000, to which I've fitted a pair of Rock Shox Judy Xl forks. I got them of ebay, so I stripped and re-greased them before fitting. The damper cartridge worked OK and all the other internals seemed to be there (although I'm not sure what should be inside the fork as I've previously used Marzocchis rather than Rock Shox).

When the fork is ridden it rattles a lot, which I assume is due to the springs flexing within the fork legs. My question is: is this normal for a Judy, if not is there anything that can be done to quieten them down a bit? When I re-built the fork I greased everything up with Judy Butter, but now I'm wondering if I have been a bit mean with the grease.

 

[REKIBorter]

Is there movement between the outer legs and stanchions when you rock the bike back and forth with the front brake on? Similar movement to a loose headset. If so it could be the bushings need replacing.

 

[LTS Biker]

I think it's the steelsprings rattling in the inners.
It is possible that there has to be an extra spacer or something missing, mabe tightenthe topcaps a bit, to loose the play.

 

[konacarl]

Think that there might be a plastic spacer. I'll have a look tomorrow as I'm hoping to rebuild mine if I get chance . I'll post up as soon as I've had a look.

 

[jetstream]

Thanks for the comments guys. I've checked out whether there is any excess play in the bushings, but everything seems OK.

I'll have a go at taking any play out with the top caps tomorrow. Just one thought though - won't this bugger up the pre-load on the spring? Mind you, it wasn't set to accurately to start with

I'd be interested to see any pictures of the insides of other Judy XL's, as I am fairly ignorant of what they are supposed to look like

 

[LTS Biker]

Somehwere I have a picture of a XL taken apart.
Will have a search..

 

[LTS Biker]

Judy XL:

(Not the best pictures, but it is something)

 

[jetstream]

many thanks for the picture LTS Biker. Your internals do look slightly different to the ones in my fork. I have plain springs in my forks, whereas yours seem to have a short sleeve around the outside of the spring coil. Could this be why I get a rattle, as the spring flexs and contacts the bore of the fork leg? In addition, your fork has a white (plastic?) extender piece between the spring and the pre-load adjuster. In either leg of my fork, I have a short piece of aluminium tubing capped by two of the plastic spacer discs (similar to the one that sits on top of the cartridge). I guess my spacer arrangement could cause the rattle, if the spacer length is wrong.

Anyone got any idea what the length of the spacer on top of the spring stack should be? I have previously measured my spring lengths and they conformed to the limits in the user manual.

 

[LTS Biker]

the rubber around the spring is indeed against rattling against the inners.
It's a rubber sleeve you put around it and it shrinks when heated. You can get it at hardware stores or electronic stores.
They are meant to be used to seal electronic cables, but larger ones be be used as protection against rattling

Be aware, I tried this with other springs, and after that, they didn't fit in the inners anymore.

 

[jetstream]

sounds like the heat shrink might be worth a go - I guess you can always take it off again if the spring is a bit snug