Pace RC37 rebuild

[TDIfurby]

Well, my "headset" play turns out to the "PACE RC-37" play

Looks like the left fork is the worst, but the right one may as well be worked on.

Would you say this is "write-off" territory for these forks in terms of cost and a replacement set of forks might cost me? I would perhaps be in the market for something a little longer in travel - 1 1/8" threadless.....

Anyone ever rebuilt a set of RC-37s?

Pic of the bike in case the forks turn out to be a different model. Nothing on them to tell me sadly.

 

[dbmtb]

A little bit of play in Pace bushings is normal, even according to the manual.

How bad is it?

 

[TDIfurby]

I would say the bike handlebars rock forward and back around 1.5cm with front brake on and wobbling it. Maybe I just need to ride the thing and see if its like it always used to be and there is no vagueness.

The play must be all round the fork as if I turn the wheel 90 degrees and rock it, its pretty much dead on the same.

 

[JeRkY]

For reference your forks are RC36's RC37's were a short lived XC triple clamp fork.

Dare I ask if youve fitted the race collar yet...or do I need to start to banging my head against the wall here?

(smart looking bike though!)

If it does turn out your forks need a service contact justbackdated (a user on here) An ex Pace man who now runs a company looking after older Pace forks.

 

[JeRkY]

Do the handle bars/stem move without the frame moving? or does the frame move with the bike when the brakes are applied and you experience this movement?

 

[TDIfurby]

Do the handle bars/stem move without the frame moving? or does the frame move with the bike when the brakes are applied and you experience this movement?

The whole thing moves. I have actually been able to put my finger on the seal area and can feel the piston moving inside the leg of the fork as I rock the bike on the front brake, but obviously it is only minimal to the touch of a finger but is more pronounced at the handlebar.

All my headset/race collar issues are fine now. No play whatsoever there.

Thanks for the fork model clarification too.

 

[justbackdated]

The forks are 1997 RC36.
It is quite common to have 'play' in the bushings. There has to be a certain amount of 'gap'[tolerance in Pacetalk ] to allow the grease in the fork to do its job. When the grease goes off they will tend to rattle a bit and play will be more obvious. All Pace forks will have a little fore/aft movement, some worse than others.
However if the play is quite bad it may be that the bearing face has peeled off/worn through or there is a chance that the carbon has relaxed a little allowing the lower bushing to expand. The upper bushing is fitted in the alloy seal housing on these forks and tolerances can be a bit 'out'.

I can replace/adjust the bearings/bushings on all Pace forks although it does mean removing the seal housings and rebonding the legs [on the original jigs that I have] so it is a tricky job.

Send them to me if you like and I can check the bushings condition and to see if they are within acceptable tolerance

 

[mikee]

"The play must be all round the fork as if I turn the wheel 90 degrees and rock it, its pretty much dead on the same."

so if you turn the bars os the wheel is 90 degrees to the frame
the and forks still clunk ,wheres the movement comming from ?
the fork crown or further down ?

 

[TDIfurby]

Coming from where the piston goes into the fork leg. Appears 100% solid around the crown area.

guess as the brakes are mounted to the fork legs, this is why the movement is so apparent?