fork sliders scored on I.D. bad news??

finally able to get the forks disassembled and after a good cleaning noticed scratching on the inside of the fork sliders (bottoms)

I'm installing new tubes and wonder if this scoring will cause premature wear as a result. the scratches are felt but nothing with any raised, sharp, edges to snag a shop rag for ex.

I'm hoping the film of fork oil when assembled will 'cushion' the new tubes and it won't be an issue. the old tubes had some good hard nicks and judging by the past clown that did prior servicing I wouldn't be suprised if some alum flakes dropped down and contaminated the oil and got caught up in the oil causing the scoring.

any thoughts appreciated.

If I was going through the trouble and expense of installing new tubes I wouldn't take a chance on having them damaged by scored outer tubes if I could find replacements. Have you looked around for new outer tubes to see if they're available? Ed

See PM

Since it appears the outer tube body acts as a bearing surface just below the seal then no, I wouldn't take the chance either if it is scored in that location.

Just curious, what did the ID of the old inner tubes look like down where it travels on the damper rod assembly? Scored there too?

thanks fellas, I appreciate your thoughts. the I.D. on the fork tube in the piston area was free of any obvious scoring or scratching, just normal burnishing/polishing you would expect of closely lubricated parts.

You had another thread discussing disassembly of the front forks and I posted on that thread. You didn't (I believe) ever mention what the inner fork looked like on that thread....rephrased, what did you find? The reason I bring that up is that I have seen a fair amount of mix-and-matching on old KZ front ends and this may account for the extra wear that you mentioned...you may not have the original inner fork...

Mike, I agree. it's obvious that the fork has been worked on before by a hack by the looks of it. alot of damage to the top seal area no doubt produced alum flakes, ect, and I think it dropped down inside and just worked it's way around causing the scoring I'm seeing. I'm gonna source new sliders as I'm currently having the new tubes DLC coated and I don't want to mess those up. btw I enjoy reading your posts, you obviously know your stuff. Matt