2008 55 ATA problems and solutions

The 2008 55 ATA have a reputation for being unreliable and is often targeted as the start of the end for Marzocchi. Some forks were definitely problematic, but some were also pretty good, my personal experience was that my own fork was trouble free and 100% reliable. 

As intended the 55 ATA, was light, stiff and offered a lot of adjustment. Each cartridge was hugely technical, the micro Ti damper was closed to save weight and offered a strong lock style feature. The ATA cartridge offered not only a positive and negative spring, but adjustable ramp up (PAR) way ahead of the competition, plus 40mm external on the dial travel adjust. if all of this sounds good, here are some of the things to look out for.

Plug units undo: Add Loctite and tighten to 20Nm

ATA Internal failure: the main issue was the PAR piston that is tethered by a small cord, if this chamber isn't inflated first the cord could get twisted or caught on the piston causing air failure. The correct set up was to charge the PAR first to set the deck height of that piston, then charge the main chamber (actually this is the same as a modern Ohlins).There was also an updated O-ring kit for the cartridge to help prevent air transfer, part 8501267/C

ATA excessive noise: notable during riding you could hear a rattle coming from the top of the ATA. Solution, add thick grease to the ATA threads.

ATA wind down: Early forks could self travel adjust where the twisting motion of the work when riding would just spin the ATA travel adjust feature loosing fork travel. The fix was a redesigned top cap feature notches that would index with the top plugs cassette pattern. 

ATA ultimate fix: Was the coil conversion, detailed here.

Bushing issues: The bushing tolerance varied somewhat and was generally excessive. The fix was an update to the bushings with a knurled texture on the back, with tightened the tolerance.

Axle: The ratcheting axle would fail leaving the lever to just spin, the later axle solved the problem and was backwards compatible to this model.

Suntour sealed damper to Open Bath conversion

 The 2008 55R and DJ forks came fitted with a sealed hydraulic cartridge made by Suntour. These dampers were prone to failure due to the cartridge sucking in lower leg lubrication oil in to the damper and the damper subsequently locking out as there was no longer an air gap inside.

Here is the official cartridge fix where the sealed damper was converted to 'open bath' using the following procedure. Once completed the fork doesn't fail and will give years of solid reliable performance. 

WARNING

The cartridge has pressure inside, making a hole in it can cause a sudden release of air and oil. 

Wear safety goggles.

This procedure should only be completed by competent mechanics. 

Service: Marzocchi 888RC3 2008-2013

The 2008-2013 888RC3 is a simple fork to service as it follows the same procedure as all open bath Marzocchi's, however it just has more parts!

Parts needed 
Y8501451, 38mm seal kit
Y5249, SAE 7.5w oil

Tools Required 
YR5214/C, 38mm seal press

General Tools 
1.5, 2mm allen wrench
17, 24mm socket
Torque wrench

Service Instructions

Disassembly 
1/ Remove all adjuster knobs, be careful when removing the pre-load knob not to loose spring (95) and ball bearing (96) that index’s the adjuster.
2/ Undo both top plugs using a 24mm socket.
3/ Remove spring guide (53) and main spring (51).
4/ Pour oil out of the top of the fork. Make sure you use a suitable container and recycle responsibly.
5/ Undo both foot nuts, RH (37) using a 5mm hex key, LH (88) using a 17mm socket.
6/ Remove RC3 cartridge unit (80).
7/ Separate the stanchions (21) from the lower legs (3) by simply pulling them apart.
8/ Prise the dust seal up (12) using a flat bladed screw driver.
9 /Remove foam ring (19).
10/ Remove oil seal retaining clip (13).
11/ Remove oil seal (14) using tool Y536064GG/C and a flat bladed screw driver.
12/ Inspect and clean all parts.

Assembly 
13/ Install new oil seal (14) using press tool YR5214/C
14/ Install oil seal retaining clip (13).
15/ Install dust seal (12) on to the stanchion (21).
16/ Install foam ring (19) on to stanchion (21). For best performance pre-soak rings in SAE 7.5w fork oil.
17/ Insert stanchions (21) in to the lower legs (3), making sure you do not snag the oil seal.
18/ Using your thumbs seat the dust seals in to the lower leg.
19/ Re-fit RC3 cartridge unit (80).
20/ Re-fit both foot nuts and torque to 10NM.
21/ Re-fill with SAE 7.5w synthetic motorcycle fork oil. For oil volumes please refer to the oil volume table is these differ on model years/ Damper design.
22/ Cycle RC3 damper (80) several times to ensure the cartridge fills completely.
23/ Re-fit the main spring (51) and spring guide (53).
24/ Re-fit both top plugs and torque to 10NM.
25/ Re fit adjusters.

Workshop: Fixing 55/33 and DJ 'R' cartridge forks

The 2008/9 R system caused many problems for the 55, 33 and DJ fork, the cartridge was a bought-in sealed item that was gas charged. The problem with was that the sealing was relatively poor and the cartridge could suck in oil from the outer leg, this overfilled the damper and created hydraulic lock. The fork became very hard and suffered from a loss of travel.
The good news is that the fork can be fixed relatively inexpensively (if out of warranty). All replacement cartridges are converted to open bath, so when installed, fixes the fork 100% with vastly improved performance. The open bath cartridge differs via the flow holes at the top and bottom of the cartridge.

Part numbers:
Y703897 – fits 33 R/DJ 1/ 2 2008/9
Y703898>A – fits 2008 Z1 SPORT/55 R

Once installed put the following quantity oil (SAE 7.5W) into the leg:
DJ1 – 150 cc
DJ2 – 190 cc
55R – 160 cc

Put air on the other side so to find the best balance for the rider. Suggested range for model fork:
DJ1 – DJ2:  2÷5 BAR
55R : 2 ÷ 3.5 BAR
Push up/down the fork until when the fork works correctly.

TST Remote Control instalation

The original remote control for the TST5 cartridge could be an immense faff, especially if you followed the Marzocchi handbook and used there little tool. This guide was developed by Marzocchi's Euro tech support.
The models that used this were the 2007/8 Marathon and Corsa LT models