play in suspension bushes

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mr Mag00

rising member
Location
Deepest Dorset
i have started to notice a small knocking when i lift and move on my bike. i now feel a slight movement in the rear sus bushes.

does this mean that the bushes(correct word?) need changing and can i do this myself?
 

bonj2

Guest
I've had this problem in my old FS MTB frame, which is a 4-bar linkage.
The ones that have got play are the ones in the swing arm where it bolts onto the seat tube.
You can feel it if you stand the bike on hard ground and put a hand under the back of the saddle and very gently lift, if you lift not quite enough to lift the back wheel off the ground you can feel the slight knocking.
If they're anything like mine they are similar to the middle one in this picture
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as to whether you can do it yourself, I would personally say no, largely because i would foresee that putting it back in would be hard without a special hydraulic bearing press. However I would have thought you might as well have a go, since you can make sure you don't damage it (damaging it would be achieved by say indenting the rubber internal section) and if you can't get it in you can just admit defeat and take it to a shop that can do it.
You will almost certainly have to take the swing arm off.
Make sure it actually is the one i'm talking about before taking it off - you can determine this by holding parts of the bike still and trying to feel the play by moving other parts.
 
Bunnies! (play in the bushes:biggrin:).

Have you checked yer bolts? You may just have a bit of undoneness. It's usually a straightforward job to replace the bushes. Often its not the heavily loaded bushes which wear fastest but the ones with the most movement such as those driving the shock, check these first.
 
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