ARGGG bad news with Front for rebuild

[Lucifer2466]

08 te450 I pulled apart my forks today, And found out that the the forks are so worn that the anodizing has worn out on the outer fork tubes. no wonder my oil was coming out so black/silver. The fork tubes are 500 plus each, or I could get them re-coated at 175 for the set, Not a shiny anodized finish, but it is a military spec black.. Just seeing what you guys can come up with as far as options. I'm not really sure if this will fix my forks. I guess I bought a bike that has been really worn out, I shouldn't have been riding it this much before tearing the bike down.

 

[ghte]

Heck that is a costly exercise. Being naturally frugal and assuming the anodizing works, I would go that route. Before that I would determine if there was any thing technically wrong with the forks that caused what I would surmise to be premature wear.
Good luck.

 

[Lucifer2466]

not really premature, The bike was ridden hard a put up wet.. "like a good husky should be I guess" but "Time for some love I guess

 

[Colo moto]

I"m not sure if you are saying that there was a problem with your forks performance wise, and that's what led you to tear them down then discover the anodizing had been worn through? Or if you tore them down, then discovered the anodizing was worn through and are thinking that will affect the performance.

It sounds like you are mainly concerned with how to re anodize the fork legs. You can take them to a good anodizing shop and have them strip the black anodize and then re anodize the legs. After they strip the legs they can be re anodized any color, as long as they have that color in the shop. After stripping, the aluminum looks very ugly, so If you choose to go with a color vs black you should polish the outside of the legs first. An angle grinder with a polishing wheel works great. Colors are known as type II anodizing. Type II is a little softer than type III, but it holds colors better. If you want an anodize that is a little harder and more durable, then a type III is what you should do. Usually type III is done in military black like you mentioned because it doesn't hold color well. You can also do a clear type III, which comes out a grey color. Hope this helps a little.

 

[Lucifer2466]

thx , it helps alot , yea the guy at the plate shop said it is military spec , But also why it is so cheap, I guess... It wont be shiny anymore but atleast it'll keep them from eating the metal..

I tore them down because the fork seals were leaking

 

[HuskyMax]

08 te450 I pulled apart my forks today, And found out that the the forks are so worn that the anodizing has worn out on the outer fork tubes. no wonder my oil was coming out so black/silver. The fork tubes are 500 plus each, or I could get them re-coated at 175 for the set, Not a shiny anodized finish, but it is a military spec black.. Just seeing what you guys can come up with as far as options. I'm not really sure if this will fix my forks. I guess I bought a bike that has been really worn out, I shouldn't have been riding it this much before tearing the bike down.

I"m not sure if you are saying that there was a problem with your forks performance wise, and that's what led you to tear them down then discover the anodizing had been worn through? Or if you tore them down, then discovered the anodizing was worn through and are thinking that will affect the performance.

It sounds like you are mainly concerned with how to re anodize the fork legs. You can take them to a good anodizing shop and have them strip the black anodize and then re anodize the legs. After they strip the legs they can be re anodized any color, as long as they have that color in the shop. After stripping, the aluminum looks very ugly, so If you choose to go with a color vs black you should polish the outside of the legs first. An angle grinder with a polishing wheel works great. Colors are known as type II anodizing. Type II is a little softer than type III, but it holds colors better. If you want an anodize that is a little harder and more durable, then a type III is what you should do. Usually type III is done in military black like you mentioned because it doesn't hold color well. You can also do a clear type III, which comes out a grey color. Hope this helps a little.

Are you asking about the inside of the forks or the outside. I think I read that what usually causes the anodize to wear off, was tightening the triple clamp to much. The dirty fork oil could be the teflon wore off the bushing.

Its early maybe I'm confused?

 

[Slowpoke]

08 te450 I pulled apart my forks today, And found out that the the forks are so worn that the anodizing has worn out on the outer fork tubes. no wonder my oil was coming out so black/silver. The fork tubes are 500 plus each, or I could get them re-coated at 175 for the set, Not a shiny anodized finish, but it is a military spec black.. Just seeing what you guys can come up with as far as options. I'm not really sure if this will fix my forks. I guess I bought a bike that has been really worn out, I shouldn't have been riding it this much before tearing the bike down.

1st, how many hours/miles on the bike?
Anodizing that is worn off on the outer fork tube will have nothing to do with the condition of the working parts and oil inside the fork.......
Are you concerned about how the forks look cosmetically?
Granted, if the seals are leaking, the forks probably need a good servicing anyways........

 

[Lucifer2466]

1700 miles 1600 of it hard core enduro pownage, Inner fork tube anodizing wore off.
Id have the whole bike Olive drab if I didn't think it will take away from the husqvarna heritage

 

[JasonfromMN]

So the inside of the outer fork tubes are appearing silver vs black? I just changed the oil on my 08 TE450 and the oil came out with some black stuff in it. Must be the anodizing also- not worn through though.

So does this anodizing prevent the internal parts(spring) from wearing through the tubes? Or just makes them slide inside the tube easy instead of chafing the tube?

Are silver forks anodized on the inside? if not it doesn't seem like a huge deal then?

Just thinking out loud.

 

[Lucifer2466]

correct, Keeps from tearing up the actual metal, and i was referring to the black part of the zokes forks inner tubes. And i found out the source of the problem.. Over torqued triple clamps!! guess they were over the suggested 14 ft lbs, I have a tendency lately of over securing things

 

[HuskyMax]

I have never checked the interference between the bushings and the inner fork tube, but I think hard anodizing the inside may be to thick and the surface would probably be to rough. The rough surface would create stiction and wear the teflon off the bushings faster.

 

[tempus fugit]

correct, Keeps from tearing up the actual metal, and i was referring to the black part of the zokes forks inner tubes. And i found out the source of the problem.. Over torqued triple clamps!! guess they were over the suggested 14 ft lbs, I have a tendency lately of over securing things

Forgive me but I haven't seen the insides of these forks yet cuz I send them out. Inner forks have a black annodized section? But the wear surfaces of the inner fork are chrome plated aren't they? Could it be the annodizing is coming off section that is not a wear surface? If so, I wouldn't worry about it.

 

[Lucifer2466]

Black anodized inner, and it wore off where the triple clamps mount on, hmmm found the problem, Over torqued Triple clamps

 

[JasonfromMN]

So the anodizing wore off only in the area that the triple clamps secure to the tubes? WOW, crazy. Any idea what torq was used? I have a tendency to get my Husky parts very secure too....

(I re- torqued my clamps after reading this thread)

 

[bower100]

Here's the thing..... you see the anodizied coating on the inside of the outer aluminum tube .... worn completely off.... in the area the lower triple clamp grips the tube. ( Guessing wear doesn't extend all the way up to where the upper triple clamps.... unless they were bottoming out a lot).

Anyway, you need to find out the correct internal diameter ... an area not worn, 'cause obviously you don't want the re-coat to cause binding. (You'll be getting the four new teflon coated bronze split bushings I assume.)

Could be tricky but you can use a telescoping guage to get an ID measurement down where the most wear is. Also want to measure 90* out ... checking for out of roundness.... permanant squash from over-clamping.

If it's only a matter of a few thousandths, personally I'd renew the bushings and refresh the fluids and ride it. After 4-5 events, recheck the worn spots for additional wear.

I doubt the fork seals are leaking because of the tube wear. The bushing just below the seal, being worn out, is a possibility. A new bushing there and good chrome on the inner tube will fix that.
Dave

 

[Lucifer2466]

(-; I pulled the forks off, due to the fork leaks, and to put 10W oil in, and to raise the lvl some to help prevent bottoming. Upon removal, I discovered the silver showing on the inside of the black zokes fork tube. I then came to the conclusion that the spot where the anodizing had worn off was the same area that the triple clamp mounted to. Ive actually handed them off now to a buddy at MCP in bastrop Texas, To check the specs, To make sure that they are not completely beaten to death inside. What I think might happen after the plating is warn off, is that the inner part " of the black fork tubes, has nothing left to ware down but pure metal. I'm almost sure though that, merely getting the torque correct on the tripple clamps could keep away any future occurrences. But just to make sure, I am still going to get them plated with a stage lll Military spec, black anodizing, the stuff they put on some tank parts. It will be put on to spec " I hope " Either way , Bling Bling Fellow Husky peeps

 

[Drew Smith]

Husky Max is correct the likely cauce of the oreiginal coating failure it over tightening the pinch bilts, it never would fail in 1600 miles if torqued properly new coating will not replace any metal that is worn off.

 

[HuskyMax]

Drew how much clearance is there between the bushing and the I.D. of the stanchion? The type III anodize will add about .003 to .005 to the I.D. Is there enough clearance?

 

[Drew Smith]

We lightly hone the damaged area, have them recoated and use a seprate Teflon coating, very succesfull not much else can be done.