Headshok fork stays compressed - can it be fixed?

[I_Like_Snow]

This is a 2000 Cannondale F700. The fork is a Headshok Fatty DL with 70mm of “air-sprung/oil-damped” travel.
The owner has stored the bike hanging upside down for over a year and the bike has seen little use over the past few years. The owner has said that some sort of liquid has dripped out of the fork headset from being hung upside down. I assume that this is the oil that is mentioned in the description of the fork on the Cannondale website.
Overall the bike looks like it is in great condition. It shifts great and otherwise but the front fork has an issue. The fork can still be locked out so that there is no give whatsoever, but when the fork is not locked out it will compress completely down from my forward weight and consequently eliminate any dampening ability that it should have. This occurs despite me not leaning forward on the handlebars or otherwise – the shock just completely compresses down once I get on the bike and begin pedaling.
I like the Headshok and would like to avoid the cost of replacing it but I am not sure if this is possible. I am hoping that this is something that can be repaired.
Has anyone here experienced a similar problem? How did you fix it?
I plan on calling around to some local shops to find out what they think of the issue but I was hoping that someone here may have some helpful information as well.
Thanks to any and all related information.

Sorry for cross posting but I am not sure which forum this would be most likely to receive a response in.

 

[Ignore Me]

You didn't say whether or not you pumped up the fork with air. As you said in your post, it's an AIR SPRUNG- OIL DAMPED fork. The oil that dripped out is for damping only and the springing is all air pressure. You need to try adding air with a shock pump to see if it just went flat during storage (very likely) also if a significant amount of oil was lost it will be very bouncy. You can download Lefty owner's manuals from Cannondale's website.

I have a '03 Jekyll with a lefty and it's great. Good luck!

 

[RubberSideDown]

This is a 2000 Cannondale F700. The fork is a Headshok Fatty DL with 70mm of “air-sprung/oil-damped” travel.
The owner has stored the bike hanging upside down for over a year and the bike has seen little use over the past few years. The owner has said that some sort of liquid has dripped out of the fork headset from being hung upside down. I assume that this is the oil that is mentioned in the description of the fork on the Cannondale website.
Overall the bike looks like it is in great condition. It shifts great and otherwise but the front fork has an issue. The fork can still be locked out so that there is no give whatsoever, but when the fork is not locked out it will compress completely down from my forward weight and consequently eliminate any dampening ability that it should have. This occurs despite me not leaning forward on the handlebars or otherwise – the shock just completely compresses down once I get on the bike and begin pedaling.
I like the Headshok and would like to avoid the cost of replacing it but I am not sure if this is possible. I am hoping that this is something that can be repaired.
Has anyone here experienced a similar problem? How did you fix it?
I plan on calling around to some local shops to find out what they think of the issue but I was hoping that someone here may have some helpful information as well.
Thanks to any and all related information.

Sorry for cross posting but I am not sure which forum this would be most likely to receive a response in.

Take it to a Cannondale dealer. I had a similar problem with my Fatty Ultra and it was the air catridge inside. My Cdale dealer just service/replaced that, and it's been good ever since.