Did I Ruin my Rockshox Fork with Motor Oil?
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 14 ก.ค. 2024
- A while back, I increased the travel on my Rockshox Recon fork from 130mm to 140mm. At that time I did not have the 5 wt. suspension fluid recommended by Rockshox to go in the air chamber. So instead I just used 5w30 motor oil. Some of my viewers pointed out that doing so was a terrible idea because it could damage the seals. I recently had to reduce the travel back to the stock 130mm giving me the chance to find out what, if any, damage was done.
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For the record, I do not recommend using any other oils or fluids than those specified by your fork manufacturer.
whaat? sorry do you know fork x fusion brand is from? or if you know this brand could i using oil from suntour or rockshox fork oil?
I did exactly the same with my fork in August, following your tutorial, using the same oils :) . I've been riding a lot, including DH trails and I haven't noticed anything wrong with the fork.
I’m glad it worked out for you. I’d still suggest putting the right oils in whenever you get the chance. Rockshox engineers are definitely smarter than me.
Still going okay? I have some Fox oil and some Castrol 5W30 in the boot of my car. Bought a bike with RS forks off ebay a year ago and about to give them a service.
@@jonathanhowson6420 I've upgrade my bike with Fox 36 Float at the beginning of the season so hard to say if RS would have been still ok.
Its just a business scheme that you have to use this fork oil for the designated fork. Any oil that protects bushings, o rings, or any rubber component in the fork and is of the same viscoscity is good. No harm, same performance no destroyed forks.
The funny thing is is that a few of the other fork manufacturers recommended 40w motor oil for quite some time. From my old days racing my subaru, the only motor oil that the racers stayed away from was high mileage oil since they cause seals and orings to swell to stop leaks. Other than that, the conditioners and additives in regular synthetic oil are there to keep things clean, increase lubrications, and prevent wear. I would probably go with a 20w though next time since forks seem to like lighter weight oils.
Interesting. If I remember correctly, my first SR Suntour air fork called for gear oil in the air chamber.
@@downtoridemtb yeah I remember hearing about that and some people still do that. But, gear oil is thick at 75w and doesn't have as well of lubricating properties as synthetic motor oil. The thickest motor oil weight I've found that was ever recommended was 40w, and i think it was Marzocchi if I remember correctly. There's pros and cons to heavier weight oil in that it'll cling to things better, but since it's thicker, i can see the thick oil not flowing between the stanchions as easily as a 20w, and the thicker oil may possibly make the fork more sluggish if used as bath oil. All in all, if your in a pinch and got to use motor oil as a bath oil, just stay away from high mileage oil since that's designed to swell up seals to treat gasket leaks in older cars.
Solid advice, makes sense to me!
5WT and 5W30, the only difference is the viscosity rate. There is a slight difference in viscosity, it is just a matter of how thick the oil is when it flows through the chamber in the damper for compression. I used it 5W30, when i didn't have 5WT. I worked exactly fine, for me i didn't feel any difference and it does not ruin the seals. Think about it, 5W30 is used in cars that are meant to go to high speed as fast as 200km/h and more and motor engines have seals and well as other seals that are used in conjunction with different oils. The fastest DH racers catch between 50km/h to 75km/h on a brief short section probably lasting less than 15 seconds. Majority of us don't ride that fast. Use whatever oil you want, if you dont like the way it feels, go back to the manufacturer's recommendation. The point is, you are no going to ruin the seals.
Yeah that was basically my thought process when I did it, you just articulated it way better. I just kind of figured if it can take the abuse of an internal combustion engine then a bike fork should be no problem. I also used to put motor oil in my skateboard bearings back in the day instead of buying the overpriced lube from the skate shop.
@@downtoridemtb. Agreed. People just need to look into things themselves and use their own judgement. After 5 season, I took my Yari fork apart for the first time to install a rockshox charger Damper. I probably put in about 500 hrs, there was no leak on the seal. No problems, nothing. Only the 5WT oil was maybe 2 to 3 cm lower. So you just open the cap and put in new oil normally. Rockshox normally recommends a 200 hr service kit, so every 2 seasons for me. The point is, look at their recommendation, look at your equipment and decide whether you really need a service. My conclusion with my Yari is hey, i just need to put in some more oil every year perhaps and maybe i might change the seals on the 6th year. Point is be wise, use your instincts and judgment and don't always afraid just because the manufacturer says so.
Yep common sense trumps manufacturer recommendations sometimes. Like oils changes in your car every 3000 miles. Of course the people that sell the oil are going to tell you that. Or my favorite, shampoo. Wash, rinse, repeat. Then you use twice as much and buy twice as much.
They are not essentially the same wt. 5-30 is 30wt. ,
There is *ZERO* reason why the engine oil would have messes up the seals. Most O-rings are made from either Nitrile or EPDM (others too like silicon and viton for example but are a bit less common) and those are the same most common materials used for the oil seals on any engine (mostly Viton and Silicon though because of their high temperature rating over Nitrile and EPDM) so you're fine there.
I think the confusion comes from the common notion of not using engine oil in a fork or shock that is actual oil dampened via valving and oil flow though the valving because it will ruin the dampening characteristics because it will likely foam as its repeatedly and rapidly forced to flow though the valving.
Yea that make total sense. In the air chamber it is just simple lubrication
💯 I use highend oil like 'PJ1 Gold 5w' which is still cheaper and has the 'none foaming' addatives. Perhaps anly motorcycle 'cartridge suspension' oil will be suitable (obviously get the right weight [w])
Fork oil is actually cheaper to manufacture because it has less additives, its the same base oil. Motor oil has more anti wear properties in it. Some have more surface tension modifiers which can cause binding but all in all fork oil is more simple form of the same base oil.
hi is it possible to use a base oil?
Motor oil is fine as 5w30 means 5w at cold start in an engine and 30w at operating temp 80-120°C. Forks operating temp is far lower than that so all good
That’s kind of what I was thinking too
If your stuck at the time for obtaining the proper oil, 5w30/40 motor oil will be fine, just make sure it's fully synthetic it will not harm any plastic or seals, regular motor oil will eventually swell and destroy the seals and may damage plastic components
I work in a bike shop and do a lot of fork rebuilds. Most of what you said is correct. The oil you put in the air spring and the oil that you put in the lowers is only for lubrication so the viscosity isnt super important. However, if you take apart the damper than the oil you use IS very important. It is even more important if the fork has an open bath damper because the oil needs to both dampen and lubricate the wipers. Also, the oil weights are arbitrary so fox 5wt is not the same viscosity as rockshox 5wt. I know that fox 10wt is almost the same viscosity as rockshox 15wt for example... I may have used them interchangeably once or twice, dont tell
Hey cool to get a bike mechanic seal of approval! I had no idea that the weights weren’t the same across brands. Why even have have weights if they don’t really correspond to anything!?!?
If you can prove that fox 5wt isn't 5 wt by physics standards than you will get plenty of money from fox durning court trial :) stop spreading nonsense.
I used pure mineral oil for my Tora and another xc28, it works fine for old and cheap forks.
Nice, I never thought about using mineral oil.
SuperLube synthetic oil? (Use this stuff regularly on things like my sewing machine, chain lube, etc.)
I don’t know that stuff specifically but probably ok. I think as long as is stays slick and doesn’t get thick in various temperatures then it probably would be fine. But I’m no mechanic either.
That's good 💯👍
I was riding with MX forks fluids in my mtb suspension for 20 years now and i will pour them for at least another 40
Nice! Probably better than motor oil.
I have put hydraulic oil in my rear air shock but it is a bit thinner than the stock oil so more comes out of the dust seal when the shock compresses, If I used thicker oil like motor oil maybe this wouldn't happen
Yep I just bought the little pillow pack of Fox Float Fluid. Only a few buck but man why can’t they just use the same stuff they use in their forks. Three different fluids in total for 1 bike.
Hi mate
Do you know a good TH-cam video about gear adjustment in mountain bike?
This is a good one:
th-cam.com/video/36YFI637EZs/w-d-xo.html
what can you recommend for me on my rockshox recon 120mm 0W-30 damper/uppers 10W-20 lowers?
I really wouldn’t recommend anything other than what the manufacturer recommends. Or at the very least a suspension fluid from any brand that matches the recommendation.
now they will be mad that there is teflon in it.
LOL!
Of course it's fine. SO many people just can't think outside of the box and love to tell you how wrong you are when you do something.
The internet is full of self proclaimed “experts”. I’m sure in some instances I’m one too though!
Hey great minds think alike. It's outrageous how much SRAM/Rockshox/Fox upcharges for their rebranded oils (~$13 for 120mL). I've always got extra syn Mobil1 sitting around from doing car oil changes and why not use that instead! That being said, I'm still going to use OEM cuz I'm a sucker and would rather play safe than sorry.
Haha yeah I hear you. Hard to swallow spending that much on a little bit of oil but even harder to swallow the fact that messed up you own fork by cheaping out.
Is definitely going to the bobcat...
Yes sir!
any difference noticed with oil? im looking to stiffen my recon forks, im wondering if more oil or heavier weight oil would accompllish this?
I didn’t notice anything like that
The only way to "stiffen" a fork up is to take up space in the air spring. Usually they put little plastic "tokens" to do this. You can add more oil to take up space in the air chamber, and it will have a similar effect. I don't know if I'd recommend filling your air spring half way with oil though.
Never underestimate the ire of the keyboard warriors!!
Lol, none yet surprisingly!
Ive read some guys used ATF, will that work??
I’m really not sure. I’d honestly suggest just biting the bullet and buying a suspension fluid of the right weight.
Why would it ruin when Synthetc oil is top lubricant
Yep, thats what I was thinking when I put it in in the first place.
I ruined my manitou markhor last year. I used the same oil for the damper and lowers. I should have used thicker oil for the lowers 🤣🤣
Dang! Well at least I put the right stuff in the lowers on the initial rebuild.
It’s a different 5 Weight lol 😇
This is very late clearly... I was in a jam.. need fork oil. Right then.. could not find any.. I used 20/ 40 synthetic, Lucas. Motor oil.... Seems to work as good as the day I bought it from Harley.. I see no different.. I changed my fork seals 2yr later.. just as maintenance. Had some seals & time.. was wondering it might be damaged.. hell I ain't need to change it.. I even when & got more 20/ 40. So I can say I ran 20/ 40 like 2yrs. & 18k miles. Nothing has happened nothing was different.. food for thought..
I do live in New Orleans.. & stay's very hot. 3/4 of the yr.
Motor oils from big oil companies spend billions of $ to perfect their product. So i would trust motor oil from from big companies than SRAM oils ;)
I’m sure Sram just rebrands existing oils anyway. Regardless, best to use the right thing unless you have no choice.
Oil is Oil its better than nothing
Agreed
Hey food for thought all cars have valve seals in them that oil lubricant as the motor is running so in Theory motor oil should do fine ha
Yeah makes sense. I used to put motor oil in my skateboard bearings too.
but dont forget that motor oil is designed to work at the operating temperature the best ... around 80-100°C .... you will hardly reach that in a bike
I want for my birthdày a easy pedal crank assemble ready easy to modd by lowrider and import tuner magazine I gotta buy a coaster brake (both gotta be single gear) as of now wolf's head Sae-10/30 weight car engine oil is on chain and both rear wheel/ pedal gears gears have stopped skipping amongst being a vegan I put only on outside stickers are still on the clunkers rear shock I put wolf's head oil on hexagon bolts with new supplied hexagon tool I gotta put wolf's head engine oil inside piston style shock assembled design plus do the same with front end bicycle suspension to be wolf's head engine Sae-10/30 weight deliberate. I think lowrider magazines 24" pedal/crank set looks easy and clean my brake calipers times one for one set Is kinda bent I have a catholic plastic crucifex about front handlebar thanks.
The seals swell
They looked ok to me. But like I said, still probably best to use the correct oil.
Synthetic motor oil doesnt swell
All fork oil is the same, just like dot brake fluids and lubricants.
Mtb brands come with tax whereas automotive fluids are the same but without the tax.
I used motorcycle fork oil in my forks.