Fox Float Fluid vs. Fox Suspension Fluid

Mojo site suggests using Float fluid to lubricate foam rings below seals but then storing bike upside down to allow Suspension fluid to lubricate seals – so isn’t this just going to mix the two fluids?

I should think they know what they’re on about!

Me too but I’m a numpty when it comes to the inner workings of forks hence the question 🙂

Aren’t both fluids one & the same?

Apparently not

Float fluid is for lubrication.

Suspension fluid is for damping, and is I believe in a sealed cartrige of some sort. (I’ve not had my Foxs apart yet)

They are, really, pretty much the same thing. Oil. One is just thicker than the other.

i’ve serviced my fox’s and i did a bit of research into this subject. i spoke to TF tuned and Mojo and also found a load of stuff on the interweb:

Fox talas service MTBR thread

peter verdone’s webpage on fork suspension fluid alternatives

Aparently fox float fluid AND fox suspension fluid are just re-branded with the fox name. Fox float fluid is 85w gear oil (used in engine gearboxes) which is a lot thicker than the suspension fluid which is 7.5w as standard.

i was expecting the fox video to tell me to put float fluid on the seals, as this is what they bundle in with the seal kit but it actually told me to soak them in suspension fluid. So i dont really think it matters too much.

and by the way i got a syringe full of gear oil free from my local motorbike shop in exchange for a few syringes, and TF tuned recommended 5w synthetic motorbike oil (i’m under 10 stone) to reduce spiking and they feel really smooth 🙂

Thanks Peter – don’t understand how the seals get lubed when forks upside down if the cartridge is sealed?

they tell you to squirt a few mls of fluid in the lowers

10ml goes in at the bottom on the talas side

160ml goes in at the bottom on the damper side. this damper oil is free to wander the right leg of the fork but as the fork is upright most of the time it collects at the bottom and gets sucked up by the damper cartridge on the rebound stroke. When you dismantle the fork half of this oil just falls out of the right leg and you have to pump the rebound cartridge to get the rest out.

Fox’s simple oil change/dust wiper service doesn’t reference float fluid at all and instructs using 7wt for both oil baths.
From the oil volumes table, float fluid is used in the air chamber (inside the stantion) not in the lowers..

That said, mojo probably recommend this as it has good (better?) lubricating properties and is easier to supply in low volume to the user as it comes in handy size packs.

Any attention/maintenance is a good thing although don’t rely on this simple service and think that you can avoid oil changes like these on the fox site

I’d compare the ‘lift seal and lube foam rings’ as simple service like lubing your chain, the oil swap is more like taking the chain off, thoroughly cleaning it, re lubing it and putting it back. Kinda

i wouldn’t lift the seals too often if i were you as you’ll just nacker them. My talas are from way back in 2004 and when i took them apart a few months ago i was petty surprised to find them absolutely spotless inside. foam rings clean as a whistle, no dirt in the lowers, no wear on the stanchions at all. To be fair i clean them thoroughly after every ride and use a bit of teflon dry lube to keep the seals lubricated but all this talk of lifting the seals every 15 hours seems a bit extreme to me.

jamesgarbett – It also depends on which fork-in some cases the damping cartridge is sealed in the upper stanchion. Take a 36 with a FIT damper for example. When you pop the legs off the only oil that comes out is the relatively small volume in the lowers, not the oil in the damper side cartridge, which itself has to be removed and stripped down (but not every 15 hrs thank God). When you pull the lowers off all the oil doesn’t come pissing out of the damper in aforementioned fork. So, when it is upside down the oil would eventually drip down to lubricate the wiper seal. Have a look at the MTBR suspension forum – they’ve linked to detailed Fox service videos which are way better than the Mojo leaflet, which is frankly a bit generic.

I’d compare the ‘lift seal and lube foam rings’ as simple service like lubing your chain, the oil swap is more like taking the chain off, thoroughly cleaning it, re lubing it and putting it back. Kinda

Yep, I guess i didn’t really finish that.. the lift the seals service is like lubing the chain.. it might make you feel better about having ‘serviced your chain’ but its not really a service unless you clean it properly.

My fox service schedule is much like bomberman describes. I’m anal about keeping my seals clean and use lube on the stantions. I’ve never done a seal lift ‘service’ but do an oil swap service mid season and end of or beginning of season.