front strut stiction-a permanent cure?

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tomsheppard
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front strut stiction-a permanent cure?

Post by tomsheppard »

BX owners know all about sticky seals on the front struts.
More and more motorbikes have their front suspension legs coated in Titanium nitride to prevent this. I don't know how it is applied (I think it is done by ion beam deposition) but I think that this would be the answer.
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uhn113x
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Post by uhn113x »

Hi Tom
If none of your mates have an ion beam depositor you can borrow [;)] then you can always replace the seals - should last another 10 years or so
tomsheppard
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Post by tomsheppard »

I'll knock one up in my tea break.
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uhn113x
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Post by uhn113x »

I'll bet you can do transporters and replicators as well. Tom [:D]
r_306_XSi
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Post by r_306_XSi »

Hi all,
I'm interested to know more of the "sticky seals" problem you describe above - what are the "warning" signals?
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uhn113x
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Post by uhn113x »

Hi Mr 306 wotsit
Car rises in jerks instead of smoothly, usually accompanied by creaking noises. You can usually feel this if you 'bounce' the front.
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Post by r_306_XSi »

Cheers, and are 306's prone to this do you happen to know?
My nearside front creaks a bit but seems quite smooth - went through a service without an advise, so maybe I'm being paranoid!
tomsheppard
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Post by tomsheppard »

Unlikely, This afflicts Citroens with the "odd" nsuspension system, where the car is lifted and lowered by a pump. You may like to try a suitable lubricant on the rubber bushes instead. Washing up liquid or white spirit may be worth a try.
ScottFromNZ
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Post by ScottFromNZ »

Is this new cure for sticky BX struts proving to be all it is hoped to be? Would love a progress update from those that have tried it.
alan s
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Post by alan s »

<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by ScottFromNZ</i>

Is this new cure for sticky BX struts proving to be all it is hoped to be? Would love a progress update from those that have tried it.
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">
My personal experience is that it works and works well.
I think it needs to be put in perspective though. It's my belief that rather than actually lubricate the innards of the struts that it actually washes the film off the underside of the inside area where the teflon rings usually work and in the process adds a liquid (LHM) that has slight lubricating properties. This has the effect of removing the jumpy feeling at teh top and bottom of the working area.
If the gaitor is dropped and the silver outer cylinder is then also washed using a cleanser/slight lube such as WD40 and this is then wiped off, something that can't be done when doing the internals and then this area is then lubed using silicone grease or at a pinch normal all purpose grease, then both insides and outsides have been cleaned and at least the outer area has been also lubed using a proper lubricant. The result has to be seen to be believed. The inner flushing I feel will need to be used as part of routine servicing for a few times before the inner scum on the insides of the cylinder will be properly removed and then thereafter on a basis of a set cycle of say 6 or 12 months.
By following this system I feel it's possible to keep those struts running free for a long time.
Alan S
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