Thursday 18 February 2016

Service guide: TST5 cartridge (with bladder)

Service for the TST 5 cartridge with bladder

General Tools
2.5mm hex wrench
10mm spanner
O-ring for trapping oil in the bladder.
Bleeding Instructions
1/ Remove the cartridge from fork
2/ Remove the TST adjuster using a 2.5mm hex wrench
3/ Remove cir-clip
4/ **** Using a 10mm spanner remove compression valve assembly (42). Use a rotating motion so not to damage the O rings. Alternate version uses a 23mm spanner, see bellow
5/ Pour our waste oil and clean and inspect all components
6/ Re-fill the cartridge using SAE 7.5w oil - cycling the damper rod to expel the air
7/ Fill to the very top and re-install the compression valve using a rotating motion, again not to damage the o-rings.
8a/ For models with an 8mm damper shaft
Compress the damper rod so that the exposed rod measures 160mm to the red nut
8b/ For models with an 10mm damper shaft (Marathon Race)
Compress the damper rod so that the exposed rod measures 80mm to the red nut
9/ Using an O-ring roughly the size of the damper, slide down from the top of the cartridge to   halfway down the bladder so the oil is trapped in the bladder bellow the O-ring.
10/ Using a 10mm spanner remove compression valve assembly. Use a rotating motion so not to damage the O rings
11/ Extend the lower damper rod fully
12/ Top up the cartridge using SAE 7.5w oil
13/ Re-install the compression valve using a rotating motion
14/ Remove the bleeding O-ring
15/ Test - make sure there is a film of oil under the bladder to ensure lock-out


**** NOTE: There are two types of TST5 cartridge tops, please take note to which one you have.