Enduro Seal and Wiper kit for Marzocchi 30mm

Pros

The two part Enduro fork seal works as a seal set should. However, as I found out, a new fork seal with worn internal stanchion tube slide bushings made originally from an adhesive backed plastic material will leak prematurely. The problem is wear of the inner slide surfaces. Getting replacement 'inner slide components' for the Marzocchi fork was impossible. So one must innovate and engineer a solution.

For those wishing to hold on to their Marzocchi forks, those slide surface bushings can be replaced with adhesive backed poly-tetra-fluro-ethelene (PTFE) or an Ultra High Molecular Weight Poly-Ethelene (UHMW-PE). This material is available from McMasters-Carr. You will need to use a vernier caliper with dial read out to determine the sheet thickness required, since ultimate required material thickness is a function of slide surface wear. Various material thicknesses are available.

The top original worn adhesive backed slide material can be easily removed using a heating source such as a propane torch. I also lined the bottom slide surface with a adhesive backed PTFE sheet.

With long term use the stanchion tubes slide surfaces will wear and scour especially if one does a lot of dirt and sand trail riding. This can cause the Enduro seals to wear prematurely. So re-plating could be in order. The Marzocchi original hard anodize can be easily chemically stripped by a competent aluminum plater. I went with hard nickel refinish (chrome color) with a post plating bake for added hardness (800 Vicker hardness). To extend the stanchion tube finish life I've installed fork boots with hose clamps to seal out dirt and sand. It works perfectly.

So the fork seals are just part of the project. It's been two years and the forks are performing well and the nickel plate looks great. So the fork seals are just part of the overall solution, they can't do the job if the fork is excessively worn internally.

A fork internal rebuild is not a casual job and requires time, some trial and error, mechanical knowledge and outside services such as platers.

Bob

Cons

Sometimes the cause of a suspected seal oil leak is more complicated than a faulty seal. See pros above.