Introduction - Disassembly - Assembly - Routine Maintenance - Modifications

Assembly

Step 1. Clean the pivot shell thoroughly and inspect it to make sure it is smooth and without burrs. The bushings are pressed into the frame without greasing them or the shell. The bushings are not designed to pivot relative to the frame, but rather the pivot shaft is designed to rotate inside the bushings. Greasing the bushing/frame interface may encourage the bushing to move against the frame and cause wear on the pivot shell which is not desirable.

Step 2. Rest one bushing at the entrance to the pivot shell (Figure J).

Figure J.

Step 3. Position a wood clamp across the pivot shell taking care to push the bushing in straight and evenly and not to mar the surface of the shell (Figure K). Push the bushing in until the flange is seated against the pivot shell.

Figure K.

Step 4. The second bushing is installed in the same way. Rest it against the entrance to the pivot shell and push it in using the wood clamp, taking care to insert it straight and evenly (Figure L).

Figure L.

Step 5. Lubricate the shaft and the inside of both bushings with a thin coat of Manitou Prep M grease, and then push the shaft fully into the pivot (Figure M).

Figure M.

Step 6. Apply a thin coat of grease to the flat face of the bushing and to both the o-rings, and then place both o-rings over the outside edges of the bushings. You are now ready to slide the suspension arms back over the pivot (Figure N). Because you will be using thread locker to hold the bolts, care should be taken not to allow grease to enter the thread area inside the pivot shaft.

Figure N.

Step 7. Apply a coat of blue (medium hold) Loctite thread locker to the threads of one bolt (Figure O). Thread the bolt in one side of the shaft by hand.

Figure O.

Step 8. Insert the long end of a 6mm allen wrench in the other side taking care to engage the wrench flats inside the shaft, then hold the allen with a crescent wrench or vice grip (Figure P). Using a torque wrench with a T40 torx head, tighten the bolt the amount specified for the pivot: 17 ft•lb or 23 n•m for the main pivots, 3.3 ft•lb or 4.5 n•m for the Horst Link pivots, and 4.2 ft•lbs or 5.6 n•m for the shock mount bolts (Figure Q).

Figure P.

Figure Q.

Step 9. Put a thin coat of blue Loctite on the second bolt and thread it into the shaft. Holding the pivot steady using a T40 torx head wrench in the bolt already installed, use the torque wrench with a T40 torx head to torque the second bolt to the specifications given in step 8 above.

Step 10. The last thing to do is to fill the pivot with fresh grease. Make sure the entrance to the zerk is clean so that you do not push foreign material into the pivot with the grease. Place the grease gun’s head squarely over the zerk (Figure R) and pump grease in to the pivot ONLY UNTIL RESISTANCE IS FELT. It is not necessary to purge grease through the pivot until it emerges at the o-rings, but rather only to fill the void inside the pivot shell. Over-pressurizing the pivot with grease will only force the zerk out. If this should happen, clean the grease off the zerk’s shaft and the inside of the hole the zerk mounts in, and tap the zerk back into place. For more on greasing, see the routine maintenance page.

Figure R.

Introduction - Disassembly - Assembly - Routine Maintenance - Modifications