Fork oils is fork oils, ain't they?

M

MelbRod

Likes Dirt
I'm starting to think there can't be much oil left in my Fox forks (2008 F-Series RL, open bath), based on the amount I wipe off after every ride.

I'm keen to service these myself, but looking for some advice on what slippery fluid to use. I was planning on changing to the 13-803-00-878 seals, and running Fox Gold. Then I discovered my forks are open bath, so I'm not sure if this is a goer or not. My alternative is to use the 13-803-00-613 seals, and stick with Fox Green.

The Gold is cheaper, and supposedly about 14 times as slippery, but if it's no good for open bath, I'm buggered.

Once again, advise away Sol.
 
teK--

teK--

Eats Squid
Run fox gold oil on the air spring side, run standard fox oil (green) or equivalent 10W on the damper side.

I have open bath damper and do the same thing.
 
Nick_M2r

Nick_M2r

Likes Dirt
The new Fox Gold oil i believe is only meant to be used in the lower legs of fox's closed cartridge dampers (Fit, CTD etc) i.e. it doesn't do any of the dampening, just lubricates the bushings, stanchions and oil seals.
In your open bath fork, the oil does both the dampening and lubricating of the bushes, stanchions and seals, just like marzocchi's open bath designs. You will need fork oil which comes in different weights, generally 5wt, 10wt and 15wt, with the higher numbers meaning a thicker oil. I believe that the Fox Green is around a 7wt oil. You can make 7.5 by mixing equal parts of 5wt and 10wt. There is supposedly some variability in labelled wt's due to the standards being lax (one companies 5wt is thicker than another 10wt) but I've never come across that. When you do buy oil, forget bike shops and goto Supercheap auto or a motorbike shop, you'll be able to get the oil much cheaper and in bigger bottles.
 
M

MelbRod

Likes Dirt
Thanks driftking. That's pretty definitive! Much appreciated.

TeK--, What's the advantage of the Gold in the air spring side, and is it enough to justify buying both, considering I'll only use 20ml of Gold for each service?

Also, can I use 5ml of Green, instead of Fox Float fluid?

Cheers, Rod
 
The Duckmeister

The Duckmeister

Has a juicy midrange
Dampening = to make something damp (slightly wet)
Damping = the act of limiting movement

It might only be two letters, but those two letters mean a totally different thing, so please get it right. :rant:

Now....

Fox Gold, according to the tech from the local distro I spoke to at the annual launch last year, is a much stickier oil than the other stuff it replaced, so rather than splashing & dribbling around inside the air chamber, it gets smeared up the inner wall & stays there, giving much better seal lubrcation. It also better seals off any porosity in the spring seals, so you're less likely to suffer blow-through & pressure loss from the air chamber. It is a lubrcating/sealing oil, not a damping oil.
 
S

spoozbucket

Likes Dirt
Waaa waaa, dampen is fine-

to make (something) less strong or active

transitive verb
1
: to check or diminish the activity or vigor of : deaden <the heat dampened our spirits>

I have nothing useful to add.
 
merc-blue

merc-blue

Likes Bikes and Dirt
Yeah its stupid.
you have a damper
which dampen
you have a dampener
which dampens



Above is true just get a quality 10wt for both sides green if you can get it will be best as it does have a few additives that make it better,
 
stinky1138

stinky1138

Likes Dirt
forget mixing your own 7.5wt. really easy to get at moto shops.
Also pretty sure that Float Fluid is its own thing and only Fox makes it. Pretty certain we did a dodgy and used Associated's Green Slime once. Couldn't say on which fork so must not have done too much damage..
 
PerthMTB

PerthMTB

Likes Dirt
I've got an O/B fork and went through the same thing when I wanted to service it a while back. Here's a summary of what I found out from a mixture of Fox and the guys who service them for a living...

Fox have stopped selling Green, and although you can still pick up some old stock here and there in future they will only sell Gold and Red. Gold for lowers/bushings and Red for dampers

You can't use Gold in the Damper side of your fork, as an open bath fork shares the same oil between lowers and damper, and Gold is too 'sticky' for a damper oil

If you don't have any Green then Fox advice is to use Red in the O/B damper side. It isn't as good as Green or Gold as a bushing lubricant, but still works Ok, and is great in the damper as it's the stuff used in the FIT and O/C dampers

If you use Gold in the air side you need the new wiper seals, as the old ones aren't compatible with Gold (apparently the additives in the oil delaminate the rubber)

Personally, I just stocked up on a couple of litres of Green to see me through the lifetime of the fork. If you can't find it in Oz then you can still get it (and all the other bits and pieces you need like float fluid, wiper seals, shock air can kits) from here https://www.bike-components.de/en/Fox-Racing-Shox/Suspension-Fluid-Green-Gabeloel-10-WT-p26586/
 
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