FOX 38 Air Spring Service - Simple step-by-step instructions
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 17 ต.ค. 2024
- Fork performing poorly? Lacking small bump compliance? Fork stuck low in its travel?
Follow these simple steps to carry out an air spring service on your Fox 38, and feel the huge improvement!
Thanks bro. Greetings from Brazil 🇧🇷
Welcome!
Your videos are amazing! Thank you so much.
Thanks for your appreciation!
So stoked on these videos. My only question is what clamp are you using on the damper/airspring shafts? I'm trying to figure out how to hold mine in place safely.
Hi Mason, thanks for your positive feedback! You can try drilling an appropriately sized hole in a piece of wood, then cutting the wood in half right through the middle of the hole and using that to hold the shaft in the vice.
What still baffles me after doing a 38 rebuild is equalization of the negative/positive.
Doesn’t seem to be the case and if not rebuilt with the airshaft at full extension, you will have issues that cannot be resolved by pumping and cycling in increments.
Achieving equilibrium between the positive and negative chambers is still feasible after a rebuild without the shaft at full extension, but it becomes more challenging. First, extending the fork-instead of compressing it-is necessary to maneuver the air piston beyond the equalizing channel. Additionally, the force needed to compress the air within the smaller negative chamber is significantly higher compared to the compression force required for the much larger positive chamber.
Effectively pumping and cycling the fork typically relies on the proper positioning of the airshaft, specifically, resting on or near the equalizing channel. In instances of even minor “Stuckdown,” where the fork does not rebound fully, it becomes necessary to extend the fork instead of compressing it to achieve proper equalization.
Is that Push top cap socket made from aluminium or painted steel? I turned down a regular steel socket of my own but worry its too hard a material to be using on the aluminium top cap and going to damage it.
The PUSH socket is made of aluminium - but I’ve used bevel-less steel sockets in the past without too much damage.
Great explanatory videos, thanks for that! What red Loctite do you use? Does it need to be 262 or can it be any other similar (like 270)?
Thank you! I’m using Locite from a
Germany company called Würth, but any will do!
And a request for a Fox DHX2 rebuild noting any special tools please.
Will do soon!
Very interesting. Thanks for sharing
You’re welcome!
Thank you for these videos! You rock !
Glad you like them!
Probably a really silly question, but do you have to heat the base of the shaft to remove the base stud from the airshaft? I'm worried about potentially overheating the airshaft surface or damaging the seal that sits inside the base stud? Any help or recommendations would be greatly appreciated!
Yes you really do need to heat the shaft. There is a fair amount of Loc Tight on the base stud and that won’t be easy to remove if you don’t heat it.
The seal won’t be damaged if you don’t go crazy with the heat! 10 -20 seconds should be plenty
Chances are you’ll damaged the shaft and/or the stud if you try to remove without heating up because of the extra force needed to break the LocTight.
Thanks, I have a brand new 38 and it's super harsh. I pulled the lowers and the air shaft is completely sucked down.
Sadly, this is pretty common...
Great vid!
Wondering if it is normal for a new air shaft to have a ton of friction and stiction without the 3 mL Fox 20Wt in the top to help lube things up? As in even if it's been properly greased? My brand new one that Fox replaced as a warranty feels pretty crap. The one I rebuilt felt much better by using enough grease to completely coat the inner sleeve as the piston traveled up and down, but now I realize a tiny bit of oil may be better suited for that? Also I didn't see you take out or grease the shaft seals and bushing at the end of the air can? Isn't that an important seal that can be dry as well? Any reason not to use a bit of Fox gold on all the seals as well to keep friction/stiction down?
Fox 20WT will definitely help keep things smooth. Like I mentioned in the video, be careful about using too much grease as this can lead to stuck down if it blocks the small channel between positive and negative air chambers.
And you’re right, the shaft seal on the neg plate is an important seal which also needs to be kept well greased.
👍
@@mtbsuspensiontech is that the blue one that is very hard to replace?
Good Job - is there a link for that bullet tool? or a fox number?
Fox Number: 398-00-657 Tooling: Bullet, Sealhead To Shaft, FLOAT NA 2
Seems like a nice to have tool but not necessary? Will the shaft line up without it?
beatifull video!!! what is the serial number of air kit maintenance? tks!
803-01-487
38 Float NA2 Rebuild
@@mtbsuspensiontech tks a lot!!!!
Is there any alternative to the press to hold while unscrewing, and without drilling holes etc? Also, for the bullet tool, alternative? I noticed now its fully sucked down and cant solve it.. Fox 38 on new bike...
Sadly this is a common issue with new forks! Unfortunately I don’t have any alternative solutions for holding the shaft safely (wooden block split in half with appropriate size hole could work), however you don’t necessarily need the bullet tool if you can solve the Stuckdown without removing the shaft completely.
@@mtbsuspensiontech how would it be done then, because I understood i have to remove it completely. Or there is another way to solve suckdown. Its completely sucked in for me... I will have hard time clamping it anyhow, with or without tool 🫠
If you can find a way to safely clamp the shaft, it should suffice to remove the base stud which will release the excess air from the negative chamber.
The downside of not removing and cleaning the whole assembly is that it could happen again.
Sorry to bore you, but could you maybe tell me a timestamp in your video where I can see to what you mean that base stud is...Since on one end is white cap, and on other end is the shaft you clamp in video. Thanks a bunch
1:10 shows how the base stud is removed. After this step, air can escape from the negative chamber, allowing you to fully extend the shaft again. After you have fully extended shaft, simply reinstall the base stud and your done.
Un décapeur thermique est-il suffisant pour chauffer à la place du bec à gaz ?
It’s possible, yes.
@@mtbsuspensiontech Ok, il faut tester ! Thanks
@1:36 Are all fox 38 air shaft rod hollow? That is part of the negative chamber?
Yes and yes!
Nearly all air shafts are hollow, doesn’t matter which model or brand, and yes this is part of the negative air chamber.
@@mtbsuspensiontech Amen. Looking at the na2 air shaft assembly diagram, the air piston pin gap must face the base stud. So yes, it is indeed hollow. I wonder if the air shaft rod insides gets gunked up with grease too.
where can i buy the bullet tool? (not for 40 euro) XD
Hmmm good question... I don't know.
Can I use sram butter at 3:30 ?
yes, any suspension grease is perfectly fine
Yes, better than nothing
is there a quad seal to replace inside the neg plate?
There is, but it’s not really necessary to swap unless you are loosing air or have several thousand miles behind you…
thanks
You're welcome!
Bonne vidéo !!
Merci beaucoup!!
respect
Thank you 😊
yeah man, do a dhx2 plssss
Soon!