I stripped down my 2007 Fox Van R’s to give them a bit of pre-alps service the other night and the foam wiper on the spring side, and the oil in that leg, we’re both filthy grey/black.

The stanchion on that side has some quite bad wear consistent with the bushing rubbing but that hasn’t caused it to leaked in the past, and they have only been ridden for 5/6 dry days in the Alps since the seals, foam rings and oil were last changed so I was a little surprised at how dirty it was…the other leg is fine.

Do you think the contamination is likely to be dirt/dust ingress or the consequence of further wear to the bushing/stanchion?

Anyway, given all of the above would you…

A.  Clean, change the oil, put it back together and hope it all lasts another week in the Alps.  Possibly with Enduro seals.
B.  Attempt a repair of the stanchion with some metal epoxy, hope it lasts the Alps.
C.  Buy some new forks.

Interested to hear people’s thoughts, thanks.

Just change put them back together maybe with new seals and just ride them until they leak badly then replace

Service and put back together.
now service a little more often as it may use a little more oil.

I’d put them back together, patch them up and ride them until they die.

The head of household finance will be overjoyed at the lack of expense involved in the responses so far! 🙂

I assume the contamination is from stuff getting in past the seals? But am surprised given they don’t leak.

Or is it from the stanchion wearing on the bushing?

Thanks for the replies so far.

They are only oil seals to keep the oil in and sh@t out.
The air pressure is inside in a cartridge thingy.
The one side is for damping the other for air spring.
So as long as they are smooth ish, keep on going

There isn’t much oil to leak on the spring side of fox forks (30ml?) and gravity will keep what little there is at the bottom of the fork. In fact its probably the lack of oil around the top bushing which has caused the wear.

Dropping the lowers to clean and lube the foam rings is only a 5 minute job so just do this regularly and they will probably last a good while yet.

Agree with others: clean, re-lube, assemble and go ride!

Especially as its a Vanilla using a coil fork, which is quite resistance to a bit of dirt getting in.

If was air spring I’d probably look to fix or replace soon as the dirt ingress would start to effect the o-rings and seals on the air spring.

But for coil, its not ideal but should be fine.

I’m amazed! I was expecting a barrage of “you’ll die if you ride them” type comments 😉

I’ll put them back together and see how they hold up over the weekend.

A further close examination of the lowers reveals the bushing is quite worn were it has been rubbing on the stanchion.

Fingers crossed they’ll last 5 days in the Alps at the start of July.

Although I have been granted funds for a new set if required…tempting to buy some new ones while I can! 🙂

You can always prise the seal off whilst in Th’Alps and drop some float fluid or other oil in every other day

Should keep em moist and even tho some would say it’ll contaminate quicker, the seal is borked already cos the stanchion is worn but at least you’ll keep the foam ring oiled and the bushes ok

Or just put new seals on if you’re really bothered

Service and sell them, describing them accurately (somebody will buy them for something).

Then buy some Pikes. If your suspension has seen better days then you will get really beat up in the Alps. You might as well spend the money now so you can enjoy your holiday, instead of forcing yourself to ride despite your hands killing you.

If you were just riding at home then I’d say to ride them into the ground but the Alps does beat your body and kit up. Anything to keep your hands and arms fresher so you can enjoy riding is worth it IMO.

Once you’ve relubed try leaving the bike upside down while you’re doing your pre ride faff – that’ll help get a bit of oil where its needed.

As most others here have said. Clean the stanchions of any muck and rub down any corrosion smoothly. Spray a little coat of lacquer over bare metal if corrosion is that bad to seal. Re-lube and change seals and just ride them till they die, which will prob be alot longer than you are thinking now … simple cheap job.

Hi I have this problem aswell apart from mine is leaking some white residue iv been told that it’s water damage but can’t really afford to replace them just yet so was wondering if I could just service them and ride them till I can afford new ones or try and push for a new set with the other half haha!!

New seals needed by sound of it. Clean & relube.

Thanks for the info I’ll get it done till I can afford to upgrade to rs revs :0)

Things are turning a little weird…I’m being persuaded by the head of household finance to buy some new forks 😕

Apparently it would be a good investment as it will reduce the chances of me killing or seriously injuring myself through mechanical failure…there is little than can be done to compensate against my lack of skill! 😉

Will have to start a what forks thread.

.there is little than can be done to compensate against my lack of skill!

New bike? Worth a try while she’s under the influence of whatever she’s just taken…

Lol, I don’t think she is that worried about me surviving!

As above,us them till they die, it’d be £300 plus to replacve the crown steerer unit, bushes and service them so not really worth it when you can pick up brand new units for that price or a couple of hundred more for Pikes etc

Yea was looking at pikes but I have a trek am designed for 130 travel and I can’t afford to upgrade the wheel for Maclean at the same time!!