DIY Fox servicing. What do I need?

I’ve got a 36 fork and an X2 shock.

I don’t want to send them off to a specialist every time they need a refresh, I want to get stocked up so I can do it whenever I feel like it. I’ve done lower legs and shock can services before but not on this stuff. So I understand the process but I’m just checkin in before I mess with the poshest suspension I’ve ever had.

Any recommendations for the best seals, oils, lubes, etc? I’ve got a nice orange top cap spanner, rubber mallet, socket set, anything else I need?

Any pro tips or tweaks I should know about?

Unior Seal tool is a handy and cheap tool for fitting new seals, tenner off ebay, worth having.

Fox do litre bottles of their own oil, might as well have the right one

If you stick the 4 digit code on your fork and shock in here;

http://www.ridefox.com/fox17/help.php?m=bike&t=tuningtips

It will give you full service manuals with pictures, parts and tools required, videos for some procedures

Alternatively service procedures are listed here

http://www.ridefox.com/fox17/help.php?m=bike&listall=service

You can then decide what tools to buy, make or bodge.

I would get a seal driver, makes installing the seals so easy, you cant just push them in by hand like you can with RockShox ones.

Unior Seal tool is a handy and cheap tool for fitting new seals

Bought.

If you stick the 4 digit code on your fork and shock in here;

Thanks for that I didn’t know it existed.

Are all the seals the same? I’m looking at Fox, TFT, SKF etc. The Push ones with ‘impregnated with slipperiness’ look alright. Is there any appreciable difference?

Am I right in thinking proper mechanics use Slick Honey grease on the seals rather than Float Fluid? Because a tub of that stuff is surprisingly expensive!

Bookmarked, I don’t actually know of anyone who’s managed to DIY service fox stuff, well aside from people who actually do it for a job. The ‘instructions’ were always just a list of odd parts to service in a row and you needed a lot of specialist tools, including a nitrogen chamber from memory.

It was part of the reason I’ve almost completely switched to RS.

a tub of slick honey will last for ages.

Best thing you can add is something to catch the oil in that you can fish bits out of 🙂

including a nitrogen chamber from memory.

What exactly are you trying to accomplish?!

I just want fresh oil and seals every 6 months.

What exactly are you trying to accomplish?!

I just want fresh oil and seals every 6 months.

Ah so just a lowers service and seal change, nice and easy then

What exactly are you trying to accomplish?!

I just want fresh oil and seals every 6 months.

Like Mike said, Fox ‘happy’ for you to complete a lower / can service yourself, in fact they’re keen you do, but they really, really don’t want you to go any further or at least didn’t last time I had fox stuff 2 years ago. I looked into servicing my Float X CTD and couldn’t even find a decent diagram of it let alone a service guide (not a list of things you should do, but half a clue how you do them or even what they look like).

Ultimately I discovered you need some fancy tools that Fox sell and I couldn’t even find a picture of what they looked like to see if I could bodge it so I sent it to TFT.

What folks might be missing is that the X2 piggy back is attached to the wrong end. You can’t do an air can service without a full strip down and bleed afterwards. There is a manual bleed process and it’s okay to presurise the ifp with air. However, there is several hundred quids worth of specific tools to make it happen.

I’d love to do my own X2 and if we could make a list here of cheaper tool alternatives, or some on here could make some, that would be great.

Old Fox stuff was all “secret”, new stuff is all on the website links above.

Parts diagrams as well;

https://www.ridefox.com/fox17/help.php?m=bike&listall=partlist

For a lower service you need a deep socket set to undo the nuts, you can then unthread the nuts and use the removal tools to knock the shafts in, if you dont mind marring the nuts you can just undo the nuts a couple of turns and hit the socket with a hammer. Plastic ebay syringe makes putting the right amount of oil in real easy.

If you want to go full on it gets a bit more expensive buying shaft clamps, shaft seal bullets and specific piston head tools etc

IFP is a pain on Fox as you need to use a needle setup, motion pro is the cheapest, but annoying to use and you will need to drill an allen key. Fox nitrogen needle is easier to use. You need a nitrogen bottle, regulator and transfer hose. Hobby nitrogen cylinders are not that expensive.

You can hand bleed the dampers, vacuum bleed using an Andreani is easier.

Fox use a lot more propriety tools than RockShox