Fork oil

you SURE you need to change the seal? Most of the time its just dirty and can be cleaned externally. Unless the fork tube has a nick in it that tore the seal.
 
I pull down the wiper and clean it with wd40, rinse and work it around the fork tube several times til clean. I work it around in an eliptical way so it works the dirt out.
Then I go to the seal. I rinse it out externally the same way, several times, pump forks and do it again til it comes out dirt free. It takes a little work to get all the dirt out of the area.
Then once it is externally clean I do the sealing surface of the seal. I use a piece of plastic soda bottle that is cut with about a 1/4" radius to do the cleaning. It has a curve built into the plastic that helps conform and it is thicker and tougher than the commercially sold plastic piece. I bent the one I bought the first time I used it and then went to the soda bottle. Lasts for years.
Work it around a couple of times and then pump the forks. Do it again. Do it again. Put back together.

With this method I have only had to replace a couple of seals. If you cant find a gouge or ruff spot on the chrome part of the tube then the seal is PROBLY Ok.
 

James

Staff member
What brand are you all using?
This is what I use:

Silkolene_PRORSF_5wt_1litre_lrg.jpg
 
Fork oil is really all over the place when it comes to the engineering characteristics. Even simple things like the advertised viscosity can vary widely. A key characteristic is the viscosity index or VI. The VI measures how much the viscosity changes with temperature. A large VI is a good thing. It's amazing how different the VI can be. It can vary by a factor of three or more. In general synthetics are much better than non. There is also a general trend of it cost money to have a good VI.

Since shocks get so hot mot shock fluids have a large VI.

There is a giant chart with every suspension oil known to man. I'll have to see if I can dig it up.
 

James

Staff member
Fork oil is really all over the place when it comes to the engineering characteristics. Even simple things like the advertised viscosity can vary widely. A key characteristic is the viscosity index or VI. The VI measures how much the viscosity changes with temperature. A large VI is a good thing. It's amazing how different the VI can be. It can vary by a factor of three or more. In general synthetics are much better than non. There is also a general trend of it cost money to have a good VI.

Since shocks get so hot mot shock fluids have a large VI.

There is a giant chart with every suspension oil known to man. I'll have to see if I can dig it up.
:thumb: I've never heard of VI, is that somewhere on the bottle or do you have to find it else where?
Does that say crash formula:smirk:
:rolleyes:

I hope you guys never get hurt because paybacks a beotch :smirk:
 
Top