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Hi all.
I just did my first service on my fox 36 floats.
I changed the dust seals (at the top) foam rings etc.
When I put the new seals in, I greased the sides of the seals to help them go in easier but I could actually push them in by hand.
It's a tightish fit but I could pull them out again by hand.
Considering how tight the original ones were in and the fact it's common to have trouble getting the seals in with a driver I'm a bit concerned the shop have sent me the wrong seals.
Will my bike explode into a fireball if I ride it tomorrow?
Should I not ride and send the seals back?
Would really appreciate some advice.
Cheers
I one greased the seals on some Rockshox Rebas and one kept popping off. Removed the grease and it stayed in place.
I'd remove the grease to be sure. It's easy enough to remove seals either way so there's no point having it if they're going in ok without it.
Well it stayed put after this morning's ride.
Just in case anyone has the same issue.
I might emove the grease though at some point just to be sure.
IANAE, but a wise man told me that fork seals have mold release on them from the manufacturing process. They should be cleaned with IPA before fitting and never greased.
A suspension tech on here might be able to confirm.
Hmm, I've never experienced this & I've had several different makes of seals in my 36's. Mine always put up a fight going in and when being removed again. They go in unlubricated but they need driving in with drift & could never be removed by hand.
Couldn't speculate what's causing this. Most odd.
Related question...
What's the best grease to put inside the lip of the seals once they're fitted?
I know people recommend Slick Honey but there must be something similar that isn't 20 quid for a tiny tube.
Sram butter is exactly the same thing as slick honey but half the price - quick google finds it for £10 off ebay. You can use other types of grease but Slickoleum (Sram butter/Slick Honey) is really low friction and designed specifically for this - forks probably won't feel as plush if you use standard/normal grease. Little tub of it will last you forever and makes it easier to service forks in the future, I still think mine's a worthy investment.
They aren't usually supposed to be greased for fitting (Fox specify that you can use a thick oil if the seal won't fit dry).
I recently got the Sram butter off eBay for around £10, it's a little tin the size of a pocket size vaseline tin but you only need a tiny bit so would last forever. If you bought a big tub you'd soon realise it would outlast you!
IANAE, but a wise man told me that fork seals have mold release on them from the manufacturing process. They should be cleaned with IPA before fitting and never greased.
A suspension tech on here might be able to confirm.
Possibly, but then RS seals have a grease applied to the inside of them (obviously not from a mould) from new. The rest is completely dry as you’d imagine
2oz tube of slick honey for £13 lasts quite a while, you only need a bit on your finger smeared around the seal, don't bother with the 1oz syringe or the guy on ebay putting it in 30ml tins, not great value. A big tub is unnecessary unless you've got a fleet of bikes to deal with. I install seals dry or a tiny bit of oil wiped around if they don't wanna go in.
Slight thread drift. Do you use a seal driver or can you get them in without one?
RSP Ultraslick grease from TF.
Slight thread drift. Do you use a seal driver or can you get them in without one?
On Rockshox lyriks i bodged a set in using the old seal the first time and it was a massive pain. I bought a fork driver (3D printed green coloured one I got from eBay) the next time and it was much easier. Personally I think it’s worth the money for a seal driver.
I always clean the outside of the seal with IPA first then push them in while they are still wet.
The IPA then evaporates off and the seal sticks in.
Had a Reba that used to blow seals out until I started useing this method.
I’m sure I greased the seals on my 2019 fox 36. It still needed the seal driver to seat them as they were tight.
The Unior seal drivers are very good and well priced, just used one of those for mine. I've always bodged it in the past but I'm cutting down on the general stress of things that might go wrong and annoy me.