Mountain Bike Forks Leaking Oil
This is a really easy repair that will bring the life back to your old mountain bike forks.
Mountain bike forks leaking oil. If ignored the oil will drain out of the fork severely affecting its performance which can also make the bike unsafe to ride. Suspension forks use a unique oil based lubrication system. Fixing overhauling the 15 specialized hardrock mountain bike duration. You re supposed to put 20cc in the top of the left hand leg so it coats the spring itself and leaves enough left to lube the bushings which means taking the spring stack out by undoing the top cap.
Also there is the issue of purchasing oil and disposing of your old oil. Once spotted leaking fork seals need to be replaced straight away and you should ideally replace the oil and seals in both forks at the same time. For those reasons it may be advantageous to bring your fork bike into a shop. If it s leaking you will see fork oil on the outside of the tube.
As the front suspension on a standard mountain bike gets older the seals start to wear and water from. I d stop riding it if oil started really leaking from the forks though of course. Get the latest mountain bike reviews news race results and much more by signing up for the mtbr newsletter. To keep the oil in and the dirt out suspension forks contain a number of seals.
If you want to do it yourself you should be able to find the specs for your bike s fork online. Then flip the fork over with attached bike if present and pour 10cc of 5wt fork oil into the right hand leg. This sits in the fork and lubricates the interface between stanchion tube and fork leg. The oil pools in the lower part of the fork legs and from here it helps to lubricate the bushes and seals within the fork allowing it to move smoothly and without friction.
Generally your local shop if they service fox forks can have a much shorter lead time than sending it into fox will charge less than fox and can save you shipping costs both directions. Join date jun 2008 posts 11 025. Usually the specs require the oil level be accurate to a few ml s as well as no air bubbles or other contaminants in the oil.