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Fox 34 Lower Leg Service


olddbrider
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Hi.  I'm Eric and I have never had my fork serviced.

Whew.  Feels good to get that out in the open...

Anyway, I'm thinking about doing this on my own but in doing some research I've got a question.

According to Fox, I need to use 2 different types of oil.  20w for the Air-side Bath and 5w Teflon-infused for the damper bath.  My confusion stems from the fact that Jenson sells a kit from Push industries that has all the seals and gaskets, but comes with 10w oil.  Since they specifically market this for Fox 34 forks, I'm not sure why it comes with a different oil than what Fox recommends.

Clearly, substituting 10w oil for one or both of the oils recommended by Fox is going to change the behavior of my fork.  But in what ways?  Could I just use the 10w oil in both sides?  My guess is no, but I thought I'd solicit some advice from those who might have some firsthand experience with this.

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What's the four-letter code on your fork? I am just about to do my 2016 34mm fork and I didn't think I need anything other than 20wt oil. Fox changes their stuff from year to year, but I would not expect any fork to require two different kinds of bath oil.

 

Pretty sure that 5w Teflon-infused oil is for inside the damper, not the bath oil for the lowers. Both sides of the lowers need bath oil splashing around in them, but the damper action is a totally different domain. If you plan to rebuild the damper, that's quite an undertaking compared to pulling the lowers and replacing bath oil and foam rings.

Edited by mack_turtle
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1 hour ago, mack_turtle said:

What's the four-letter code on your fork? I am just about to do my 2016 34mm fork and I didn't think I need anything other than 20wt oil. Fox changes their stuff from year to year, but I would not expect any fork to require two different kinds of bath oil.

 

Pretty sure that 5w Teflon-infused oil is for inside the damper, not the bath oil for the lowers. Both sides of the lowers need bath oil splashing around in them, but the damper action is a totally different domain. If you plan to rebuild the damper, that's quite an undertaking compared to pulling the lowers and replacing bath oil and foam rings.

C3T9

When I enter my code and click on the Bath Oil Volume Chart link, here's what I get:

image.thumb.png.2c7adb3f48e6c46b280207de7e402d5d.png

Looks like this type of oil is only used for forks with the GRIP damper...

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I was just talking to Jude the other day about Magura suspension and he told me that they regularly changed their recommendations on lower lubes and then applied those recommendations retroactively. I believe Fox has done this a few times as well, but have no proof of this. Fox is almost as bad as Magura at disseminating information.

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Not quite the same, but I just did full rebuild on my Pike. The lower leg service is pretty much that: JUST the lower legs. Damper is separate (for the PIKE; i'm fairly certain FOX wouldn't be much different). IF you're going to do the damper service, you will need the 2nd oil as well (you would drain the damper oil, clean, then add new light weight oil.) Lower leg basics are to pull the legs, dump the heavier oil, clean (usually with isopropyl alcohol; was going to write ipa but didn't want anyone screaming about a. wasting beer or b. really sticky fork parts;) replace rings/seals, replace lower, add oil through bolt hole, install bolts. Not much more to it than that.

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I did my Fox 34 this weekend. Not that hard. Borrowed the Fox tools to tap the bottom of the damper and air spring loose and that made it easier. I replaced the filthy foam rings but not the wiper seals. Replaced the 140mm air spring with a 120mm.

Now I have a spare 130 and 140mm shaft for a Fox 34, in case anyone wants to change theirs. PM me.

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While at Spider Mtn. yesterday I noticed that Push Industries had set up shop in the camping area.  I took a break from shreddin' the gnar to go ask them about their lower leg service kit and why it comes with 10wt oil when most modern Fox forks call for a different type of oil.  I didn't really get a definitive answer, but the guy I spoke with made it sound like you could just use the 10wt oil on both sides instead of the 20wt on the air side and 5wt on the damper side.  He tried to rationalize that statement with some Coors-influenced suspension math that went something like, "Well, there's not much oil in the air side anyway, and 10wt is pretty close to 5wt - which is used in much larger quantity on the damper side.  So it kind of all evens out..."  As you can imagine, I didn't walk away from the conversation feeling super-confident about what I was just told.  The cost is pretty minimal, so I'll probably just end up getting the oils that Fox recommends.

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On 2/19/2020 at 5:02 PM, Big_papa_nuts said:

Fox is almost as bad as Magura at disseminating information.

I've been able to find everything I needed to know including schematics of Fox forks with all the specifications, oil volumes, and rebuild procedures for forks dating back to 2010 and earlier. I'm not sure what else they could provide. The fact that their products come with little codes that direct you to exactly the right info is way better than digging through this...Fox Manual Archive

With your suspension, follow the manufacturers instructions. Other instructions may work, but proceed at your own risk. If you really want to go down the rabbit hole, search on MTBR for the threads debating which aftermarket suspension oils work as fox brand oil replacements.

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You CAN change the oil weight, within reason, for tuning. I used 5wt instead of the recommended 3wt when I redid my PIKE damper (at 210, figured a little extra would help) I did not change the lower/air chamber oil weight, as it's already a bit heavier, mostly just to keep things slick.

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30 minutes ago, jcarneytx said:

You CAN change the oil weight, within reason, for tuning. I used 5wt instead of the recommended 3wt when I redid my PIKE damper (at 210, figured a little extra would help) I did not change the lower/air chamber oil weight, as it's already a bit heavier, mostly just to keep things slick.

I also switched the oil on my old Manitou R7. I never liked how it felt, then I serviced it with different oil and it was an amazing transformation.

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