An unemployed friend is having a hard time of it now. She wants to get cycling again and she asked me to take a look at her bike for her.

Scott Spark 20 from i think 2010. Tyres, brakes and wheels all sound, drivetrain worn but replaceable.  However the rear shock  is wheezing alot and the fork is locked, even though it isn’t locked via the remote. Figuredi try a lower leg service first to try to get those moving.

What are the chances of servicing these at home and being able to get spares for them?

that early generation DT nude TC was fragile at the best of times.
Fortunately we had a DT service center locally if our did go pop.
2011 bike btw.

Have fun!
MTBR for DT nude TC service suggestions if you search back through the forums. seal kits will still be available.

I might have a service kit for those forks in the garage, bought for a 2014 zesty but never used. You can have it for postage, assuming it’ll do.

Watch videos on you tube regarding stripping them and cleaning all internals re-grease and new oil and put back together and see what happens, it’s pretty simple to do, you may need to buy a few bits if you haven’t got specific tools and the grease and oil is cheap of eBay

theres also a good chance the outer has been overpulled at the lockout dial on the fork. splayed the strands around the plastic housing and is keeping the lockout inner cable under tension even if the bar lever is open.

@howsyourdad1 the Scott disti in Sweden is down the road from me (Librobäck/Uppsala). Worth giving them a call to see what they have in a cupboard for spares?

First of all check the fork lockout isn’t just jammed on.

Float open baths are a really basic fork and easy to service. The main problem with them, apart from the adjusters getting jammed, is oil migrates from the lowers to the top of the air spring, which makes them harsh over time.

Unless the seals are damaged (they are surprisingly hard wearing) and the fork has been ran dry, you can usually get away with just doing the lower oils. A splash of blue on top of the air piston and re-soaking the foams and off you go.

I’ve got the Fox oil volume chart for them old forks somewhere.

Cheers all. Yes @chestercopperpot the oil chart would be great thanks.

<span style=”font-size: 0.8rem;”>Same if anyone knows more details about the rear shock , how much oil to use.</span>

I’d say that unless there is actual damage to any of the moving parts, that bike can fairly easily be resurrected. When you say ‘wheezing’, I’m thinking the rear shock may just need a bit of a strip and clean; try just wiping a bit of oil (anything really, 3in1 is fine) on the shaft, give it a few cycles to see if it is less wheezy (could just be dry seals and friction). If the action feels smooth, and it retains pressure, then it might be ok really. It might need a new shock, but if it’s a fairly common size and replacement shouldn’t’ be too expensive, for a basic unit. Bikes really don’t need complex suspension systems. As for the forks, in addition to the above advice; might it be a ‘hydro lock’? I’ve heard of this happening, when fluid gets into places it shouldn’t be, and prevents movement. Don’t ask me any more cos I’m really not an expert! Hope you can fix the bike up for your friend though.

Fox still have it on their website. Take a screen capture!

https://www.ridefox.com/fox17/help.php?m=bike&id=530

The air spring side you can use pretty much any fully synthetic oil and it doesn’t affect performance. Even the blue float fluid (goes on top of the air piston) you can just use a splash of the lower oil, as all it does is keep the the piston seal wet and the lower oil ends up in the positive air chamber anyway!

You have to cycle the damper to get any oil out of it (squirts out and goes everywhere) or you will overfill it. Any oil variation from standard spec on the damper leg will alter performance. Whether it matters or is actually an improvement is another matter. Even Fox say you can use 20wt instead of 10wt for a different tune!

Edit: Cleaning and re-soaking the foam rings in oil makes a nice job of it and the fork will be as plush as those forks get!

You don’t need new crush washers either I reused mine several times and they never leaked.

Thread resurrection! How do i fill the damper with oil? I have taken the fork apart, cleaned the foma rings, greased the seals etc. I then put the lowers back on, but cant fix on one bolt becasue the damper compresses. Therefore the damper needs oil in it , but how?

You don’t need to pre fill it. Just be careful as you slide the lowers into the uppers and guide the rebound knob through the hole.
I often find it easier to not put air in before reassembling as that means the air shaft is further in than the extended damper and gives you more ability to deal with the the damper first.

Odd one, just seen this.

I’ll be needing to do the same thing too, hopefully soon, on what seem to be the same model/year of fork:

Painting suspension fork lowers, any tips?

but cant fix on one bolt

I used to have that issue if I reused crush washers, fresh ones made it much much easier.

I’m not familiar with that fork but if it has compression/lockout adjusters, set them all to ‘lots’ and it’ll stop the damper rod compressing so easily.

Cheers all , i just cant figure it out. Will try again

You don’t need to pre fill it. Just be careful as you slide the lowers into the uppers and guide the rebound knob through the hole.
I often find it easier to not put air in before reassembling as that means the air shaft is further in than the extended damper and gives you more ability to deal with the the damper first.

compression/lockout adjusters, set them all to ‘lots

Solid advice. Dry fit it first till you get the hang of it, then do it properly with the oil! I sometimes use a torch to peak into the hole and whatever thin implement that is close to hand to guide it through.

For all you budding youtube mechanics take note these little details are rarely included in manufactures guidance or youtubers videos.

Edit: I have on occasion had to put a little bit of air in the air spring for resistance to make life easier. So the damper through the hole first, then pump some air in and get the air spring through it’s hole!