An appeal to the mechanically-minded...
I've got a couple of pairs of Fox 32mm forks that I've regularly taken the lowers off, cleaned and greased the seals, applied new float fluid to the foam rings, refreshed lubrication oil, etc
Recently I've noticed an excessive amount of oil creeping up the stanchions with dirty tide marks left when the forks compress and move the oil up the stanchions.
My question is, if I get hold of some replacement oil/dust seals and fit these next time I take the lowers off, is this likely to solve the problem or is the seals' inability to contain the oil within the fork likely to be due to wear in the bushings such that fore-aft movement in the fork is causing oil to leak? I can't really feel/hear any excessive movement while riding. Maybe time to bite the bullet and send to Mojo for a full service?
A bit of oil is fine. They are wipers not seals so they won't keep every drop back hence the need to service them so often too.
But if you have a lot then it possibly points to a problem somewhere.
How old are the foam rings and wipers? I'd start here.
Also when you removed the lowers did you spot any wear on the sanctions? This can cause oil to leak out too.
This happens to me the first few cycles of a fork when I've really soaked new foams.
There is still only a finite life in the seals, so if you've never replaced them so far and clearly handy at dropping the lowers, get yourself an skf (kashima) seal kit and keep doing what you have been but with new parts.
I'd suggest your seals have more likely stretched out rather than any other issues.
PS, no grease in skf seals like in the regular seals
Oddly my 32s do this, mostly on the spring side, dunno why. I usually invert the bike for 10 minutes before a ride, so it may just be oil residue from the rings.
When it gets really bad I take that as a hint to replace the seals.
I'd suggest that if you have the opportunity it's worth changing to the SKF seals anyway - they've made my fork smoother than the original Fox ones (and waaay better than the short lived Enduros).
Thanks all. I'll get myself some new seals then...
