Tech Tuesday - Change the Seals and Fluid of Your Marzocchi 44 Fork

Feb 14, 2012
by Richard Cunningham  
Marzocchi's 44 fork has been gaining traction among the sport's elite bikehandlers for good reason: it shreds technical descents as well as most large-chassis freeride/AM forks - an it is a must ride for anyone in the market for a super-capable 32-millimeter-stanchion slider. Pinkbike readers asked us for a tech video that shows how to overhaul the 44 while Marzocchi works on getting its version up and running. We also have been pressed to return to the TT video-edit format. You asked, we delivered. In this Tech Tuesday Marzocchi suspension guru Ronnie Dilan walks us through the steps to change the seals and suspension fluid of the mid-travel 44 fork. Scroll down for the video, or take your time and read the intro text - your call.

Pinkbike at Marzocchi
Ronnie Dilan makes it looks easy. Dilan has been sorting out suspension and customer's tech questions for much of the time that Marzocchi USA has been in business.

Which Marzocchi 44 Fork?

There are a number of 44 fork models, and in this Tech Tuseday, we focus on the top three: The 44 Micro Switch TA, the 44 RC3 Titanium and the demonstration model for this this tech piece, the 44 Micro Ti 29. While there are minor differences in the three forks, Ronnie says that the steps to disassemble, replace the seals and reassemble them are nearly the same. Give him a shout if you have any questions about your particular fork.

Marzocchi 44 multi
(From left) Marzocchi's top trail forks - 44 MIcro Switch TA, 44 RC3 Titanium and our subject fork, the 44 Micro Ti 29.

Tips: While the following tech edit covers every step quite well, we'd like to add that eye protection is a must when you are dealing with sharp tools, chemical fluids and small missiles like errant C-rings. Use it. Also, Ronnie slipped and said 'oil' when he was lubricating the seals and wipers before assembling them into the lowers. He recommends lightweight low-friction grease as shown in the edit. Contact Ronnie at Marzocchi's tech center at techron@marzocchiusa.com for the inside story of any Marzocchi suspension product.


How to Change the Seals and Service a Marzocchi 44 Fork

Tech Tuesday - Marzocchi 44

by deceptacon
Views: 38,419    Faves: 148    Comments: 10

Video edit by Aaron LaRoque



After watching the Marzocchi 44 fork Tech Tuesday edit, I am...



Past Tech Tuesdays:
TT #1 - How to change a tube.
TT #2 - How to set up your SRAM rear derailleur
TT #3 - How to remove and install pedals
T #4 - How To Bleed Your Avid Elixir Brakes
TT #5 - How To Check And Adjust Your Headset
TT #6 - How To Fix A Broken Chain
TT #7 - Tubeless Conversion
TT #8 - Chain Wear
TT #9 - SRAM Shift Cable Replacement
TT #10 - Removing And Installing a Headset
TT #11 - Chain Lube Explained
TT #12 - RockShox Totem and Lyric Mission Control Damper Mod
TT #13 - Shimano XT Crank and Bottom Bracket Installation
TT #14 - Straightening Your Derailleur Hanger
TT #15 - Setting Up Your Front Derailleur
TT #16 - Setting Up Your Cockpit
TT #17 - Suspension Basics
TT #18 - Adjusting The Fox DHX 5.0
TT #19 - Adjusting The RockShox BoXXer World Cup
TT #20 - Servicing Your Fox Float Shock
TT #21 - Wheel Truing Basics
TT #22 - Shimano Brake Pad Replacement
TT #23 - Shimano brake bleed
TT #24 - Fox Lower Leg Removal And Service
TT #25 - RockShox Motion Control Service
TT #26 - Avid BB7 Cable Disk Brake Setup
TT #27 - Manitou Dorado Fork Rebuild
TT #28 - Manitou Circus Fork Rebuild
TT #29 - MRP G2 SL Chain Guide Install
TT #30 - Cane Creek Angleset Installation
TT #31 - RockShox Maxle Lite DH
TT #32 - Find Your Tire Pressure Sweet Spot
TT #33 - Three Minute Bike Preflight Check
TT #34 - MRP XCG Install
TT #35 - Stem Choice and Cockpit Setup
TT #36 - Handlebars - How Wide Affects Your Ride
TT #37 - Repairing A Torn Tire
TT #38 - Coil spring swap
TT #39 - Trailside help: Broken Shift Cable
TT #40 - Installing a Fox Float Air-Volume Spacer
TT #41 - Replace the Seals on Your 2011 RockShox Boxxer World Cup Fork
TT #42 - Clean and Lubricate Your Fox F32 Dust Wiper Seals
TT #43 - Thread Locker Basics
TT #44 - Install a SRAM X.0 Two-By-Ten Crankset
TT #45 - VPP Suspension Bearing Service
TT #46 - Rotor Straightening
TeT #47 - Finding and fixing that creak
TT #48 - Bleed and Service Magura Marta Disc Brakes
TT #49 - Cup and Cone Hub Basics
TT #50 - Install and Adjust Pedal Cleats
TT #51 - Cup and Cone Hub Rebuild
TT #52 - Converting Mavic Crossmax SX Axles
TT #53 - Cassette Removal and Installation
TT #54 - Cane Creek AngleSet Installation
TT #55 - American Classic Tubeless Conversion
TT #56 - Wider Rims Are Better and Why Tubeless Tires Burp Air
TT #57 - Pedal Pin Retrofit
TT #58 - Bleed RockShox Reverb Remote Lines
TT #59 - Cutting Carbon
TT #60 - Silence That Squeaky Disc Brake
TT #61 - Five Minute Wheel True
TT #62 - Removing Bike Rack Rattle
TT #63 - Inside Shimano's Shadow Plus Mech and How To Adjust It
TT #64 - Steerer tube length

Visit Parktool.com to see their entire lineup of tools and lubes

Posted In:
Reviews and Tech Tech Tuesday Marzocchi


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98 Comments
  • 33 2
 I miss servicing Marzocchi... could buy one just to change oil in it. Freshly serviced openbath fork is the sht!

Nothing to Mike or Richarsd TTs but I really appreciate hearing servicing advices from "factory technician", so it would be great to see few more of such kind. That one was so great, with so much details, Totaly appreciated PB!
  • 3 0
 please make videos like this instead of picture tutorials! you get so much more detail and you see exactly what you have to do!
  • 18 0
 Pinkbike needs to do a how-to on lowering your travel using only a toothpick and a marshmallow.
  • 4 2
 Throw in a lighter and you have got yourself a s'more.
  • 8 1
 Not being funny... Why is there a Rockshox sticker in the toolbox ? lol
  • 1 1
 And a Fox decal
  • 3 0
 fox head is fox gear/ clothing. fow tail is fox racing shocks. yes it is one in the same but still.. rockshox is funny tho. nothing wrong with it. they are both great shocks so why not be a fan of all suspension not just your own
  • 6 0
 Honestly the entire process takes longer to explain then it does to complete. If you have most of the tools and a clear understanding of the job you are getting into it just makes things easier in the long run. I have seen other video clips done for rebuilds and they don't tell you that a detent ball is going to fly across the room and kill your hamster..lol. It might seem like excess information and a time wasted but if you have already serviced a couple of forks then it just ends up being useful information to keep in mind.
  • 9 0
 18:00 "... the balls aren't gonna go anywhere. Kind of like getting married." LMAO!
  • 2 0
 They go straight into the wife's purse......that's where they go.
  • 8 0
 I'm guessing this fork could've went 2 seasons without needing any servicing...
  • 3 0
 or more lol
  • 7 0
 Ronnie is the shit. Always helpful on the phone, always helpful on race day. Marzocchis are what every product should be: user serviceable without 17 1/2 proprietary tools.
  • 5 0
 Oh thank god Mazocchi did this one, and made it a video! I love to see a video from some that dose this day in and day out, now I can really say I learned from this.
  • 1 0
 he made removing the oil seals look so incredibly easy. I have rebuilt my RS totems many times and they are a bitch to get out! It required an insane amount of force to pop them out.
  • 3 0
 Just got a 44rc3ti, love it, but why not offer an online maintenance manual like every other brand does?
Anyone been able to find a service manual or video for the 44rc3ti (2011) out there?
  • 1 0
 We are working on it and thanks for the support.
  • 2 0
 i wait for a video about marzocchi 55R service.i couldn't find anywhere a manual or a video about "how to service your marzocchi 55R".

if anyone have seen a kind of this video, please give me a link with it.

thank you
  • 1 0
 call marzocchi and they will send you a video how to. they did it for me last year when i was turning an 08 55r into and open bath fork
  • 1 0
 do you mean the 08 55R's weren't open bath before?
  • 1 1
 I do believe marzocchi is switching from open baths to sealed cartridge dampers on many models as it is the superior way to do it (from a performance standpoint).
  • 3 0
 Marzocchi is not switching to sealed cartridges and a completely sealed cartridge has many drawbacks to an open bath system. The RC3 dampers are a complete open bath system where oil continually cycles through the cartridge. Our new CR and LR dampers are described as a "Dynamic Bleed" system where oil is contained in a cartridge is allowed to circulate, this system removes the possibility of ever "blowing" a cartridge and losing the damping function.
  • 1 0
 didn't Marzocchi run into problems when they stopped using open bath?
  • 1 0
 i think the 08 was one of the earlier sealed cartridge forks they did. and yeah they did have problems. they would hydro lock. which sucked because you would end up during one of your rides working your way from 6in of travel to 2in. made for a rough ride and you can fix it by drilling two or maybe it was 3 small holes in the cartridge making it an open bath.
  • 1 0
 oh maybe it wasnt sealed cartridge. but it was some sort of cartridge that was sealed in the 55r
  • 1 0
 I just rebuilt one of these for my friend, and a local self proclaimed Marzocchi Factory tech had wrapped the coil in CLEAR PACKING TAPE. He said he was out of shrink fit, I dont know about anyone else but tape and oil do not work together,and had way to much oil in it all I could do is laugh its people like this who give shops a bad name. And this guy owns the shop.
  • 1 0
 Hi Marzocchi users, i have 55 rc3 ti and i made everything suggested to improve the fork, oil change, remove the foam ring, remove the coil plastic. The problem is stickness, the fork is not smooth, is like "hiccups" on the car park test. I have the compression all to the minus (-) the coil compression all to the minus (-) and no air on the damper side.
What should i do more to turn this fork to the buttery felling????
  • 1 0
 Found this vid when I was looking at tearing apart my Marzocchi Ti44 and was gonna give it a go. Happened to call Marzocchi for Parts and got a chance to talk to Ronnie, who had me come in so he could go ahead and do the work for me. I will say that dude knows what he's doing! I LOVE this fork too. Buttery smooth and tons of adjustments.
  • 6 0
 blindfold him.
  • 4 0
 So when the bushings had there best time they just replace the complete lowers...?
Wat a waiste of material...
  • 1 0
 I had to watch that part a few times, because i did not believe what he said.... I still don't get it. Why would a person do that, instead of just, changing the bushings?!
  • 1 0
 because they can't get the tolerances with replacement bushings, new bushings would require sizing an honing to get close to a new casting with factory bushings.
  • 1 0
 I have never heard anything like that before. I thought that there is no difference between the bushings (at least not enough to notice it)?!
  • 1 0
 if castings had nicely machined bushing seats, it wouldn't matter. but every casting is different and bushings need to be resized accordingly, the tolerances that make the difference between too much stiction and sloppy fit are very small. btw, it can be done but it's a pain in the ass and you need lots of tooling as the guy said in the video.
  • 1 0
 I was also wondering about that part. But it makes sense, the complete lowers are a lot cheaper than the tools. Besides how often do you have to do deal with bushing play...
  • 3 0
 Really good Tech Tuesday! I hope there will be this kind of video for all of the 2012 Marzocchi forks, im very interested especially in the 888 and 66 types.
  • 1 0
 Chainreaction did a video last year on how to do seals and oil on a 888. check youtube
  • 2 0
 Ron, you were very thorough! Great job. Instead of throwing the foam seal away, how about cleaning it, and then instead of the fork oil, you use a fine quality grease like slick honey?
  • 2 1
 It ends up running dry over time and just makes the fork feel tight. I have tried a few different type's of lubrication on the foam wiper but always end with the same result.
  • 1 0
 they do use a fine grease in place of the foam ring. the grease is much finer then slick honey too
  • 1 0
 Emailed Ron a couple of times for questions/servicing on the 66. Really helpful and real prompt with the replies, provided they service things left and right, all day everyday. Really appreciated.
Now only if we all had those tools...
  • 2 1
 This fork is not more complicated than a RS Air U-Turn. Old ones perticularly, had c-clips and tons of ball detents under the adjuster cap, I can't remember from memory if 5 or 4 for the Air U-Turn.

It's not mentioned on the video, but some carts may make your life miserable if you don't have an air tool to drive the 12mm foot nut. The rod may spin along with the nut and you may not be tightening that thing until cows come home (or at all). In that case, I thread the cart on the crown, lock it and then try to compress the nut while I tighten the foot nut. Then you can reopen the top cap and fill with oil.

Similar for air cartridges, just put some pressure in them and tighten the foot nut. Cartridges without a lock out like RC3 may be more difficult as you can't push the end of the cart against the bottom of the lowers to prevent it to spin.

Yes, I know... who doesn't have power tools. Well, some of us cheapos don't.
  • 1 0
 that is a very good point. having a air gun or fast drill can be very helpful, especially with cartridge service
  • 1 0
 If you experiance slip when you are trying to tighten the footnut on your fork just use a dab of Finish Line Fiber Grib on the base of the cartridge. Just make sure to have eerything very clean and oil free and it will bite down on the first try. Locking the cartridges in the crown won't always work to secure the footnuts into place on our forks. And rememeber JUST A DAB!! it works very well in all cases. Ronnie
  • 4 1
 Is it me or are there a lot of little parts under the knobs on top of the fork compared to fox and RockShox?
  • 2 0
 Good tips! But...I d stay clear from the brake clean; it ll likely damage the bushings and a proper clean within the lowers with a dowel and lintfree rag won t harm at all.
  • 1 0
 You can use the Maxima Suspension clean on every componenet of any fork of shock. It is harmless to all rubber and teflon material in most suspension products. brake cleaner is just harsh and from personal experiance it is hard to work with in small areas.
  • 4 0
 Good video, well explained!
  • 2 0
 Thanks for the video, but where is the part about the RC3? And can you please clarify the correct way to read oil quantities
from the Marzzochi site?
  • 1 0
 The measurement units on the webpage are in CC's. Cubic centimeters. Or Millimeters, same thing.
  • 2 0
 That's what I mean. Are they cc's of oil quantity or mm's of the oil level measured from the top with the fork compressed?
  • 4 0
 djtechron is the man!
  • 2 0
 Peeling a decal protector with his gloves on?.... This guy Ronnie must be my father!.
  • 3 0
 Perfect timing, as mine arrives Thursday!
  • 1 2
 this is so complicated. no wonder fox separates the cartridge from everything else. changing oil and seals on a fox is probably the easiest of any fork. even their rear shocks, so easy to replace the seals. but hey, i like marzocchi coz you don't need to service it that often compared to the other forks out there.
  • 3 0
 It's easy to replace seals on all forks. Fox forks and shocks don't have user serviceable dampers unlike rockshox and Marz. You have to send them in for service every time.
  • 2 0
 "Kind of like being married" Ha! Ronnie is a HARD-WORKING tech. He has done his share to repair Marzocchi's reputation.
  • 1 0
 Tried to email Ron at address provided in the article. He's gone now. Was hoping to find out how to do this service to a 2012 55 Micro Switch TA....
  • 2 0
 do Marzocchi dust seals fit inside a Boxxer?
  • 1 0
 No the seal will not work on a Boxxer.
  • 1 0
 fox skf's do, people say it dramatically decreases stiction
  • 1 0
 Wish I could afford a Marzocchi or at least the good models of SR SUNTOUR *sadface*
  • 1 0
 I have an 2010 Marz 44 TST2 Micro air fork. Can i use these instructions for a guide line for my fork? THANKS!
  • 1 0
 And oil level?
  • 2 0
 yes. and oil levels can be found on their site
  • 1 0
 so many sharp pointy metal objects inside the lowers..... it gave me the butt hole puckers.
  • 2 0
 What a great Marzocchi tech! Wink
  • 1 0
 Great video, very through and logical. People complaining it's too detailed need to top up their Ritalin scripts.
  • 1 0
 Lovin' the Rockshox sticker on his tool box lol
  • 1 2
 and fox too!
  • 2 0
 fox clothing is not fox suspension
  • 1 0
 haha, i forgot about that. hopefully, they don't make rockshox clothing as well. LOL!
  • 1 0
 Can you guys do 888 RC3 EVO Ti please!!?
  • 1 0
 check chainreactions video on how to do it
  • 1 0
 Thanks for bringing the videos back!!
  • 2 0
 Glad they did a video
  • 1 0
 We need a same how to for 66 forks!!
  • 2 1
 that looks way more complicated than servicing my revelations
  • 2 1
 I'm going to go ahead a end that video early
  • 1 0
 It´s good that they had filming movies again instaid of pictures
  • 1 1
 god, how many freaking tools you need just to replace the oil and seals? I am spoiled from Fox Shox.
  • 2 5
 Quick tech video? You must me joking. The damn thing is way to complex compered to other makers. You really have to be careful not to lose all the parts. They need some Keep It Stupid Simple way of doing things.
  • 2 5
 My god, what a mission to do simple maintenance!! Fox is soooo much easier.
  • 2 2
 I was just thinking the same thing. the longer the vid went on I would had my 40,s striped and back together 3 times.
  • 1 2
 So true, it just kept going and going haha!
  • 5 1
 40 is a coil sprung fork this is air so it's bound to take longer.
  • 1 5
flag GloryNZ (Feb 14, 2012 at 7:41) (Below Threshold)
 Either way, still a butt load more steps. I'll stick to my 40's Yaaaaawn.
  • 1 1
 the thing with fox is they have the cartridge separate from the lubrication so its much its easier to change the oil and seals on a fox even if its an air fork. i did my F100 and it was soooo easy. the only folks that would tell me otherwise are the folks who haven't tried changing the oil and seals on a fox but have or like marzocchis. true?
  • 12 0
 I'd rather spend twice as long to do something 5 times less often.
  • 1 0
 ^^ exactly
  • 3 0
 @GloryNZ, Please don't try to compare this fork with your Fox 40. It is an entirely different component designed to do a different task then barrel down a mountain at top speed. I swear, as soon as someone sees or owns a 40 they become the biggest fanboy and nothing in their mind will ever compare even if it a totally different beast. Even though a Fox fork may be your cup of tea, its going to take a s**t ton more maintenance than a Marzocchi and that's a fact.

Try climbing 7k+ feet on a 40 then compare it to a Zoke 44 please. I think you'd have a different opinion.
  • 1 2
 Stop getting your lycra all in a twist. Im sure its an amazing fork, just rubbish amount of work to do simple maintenance. I'll stay well clear. *Fox Fan Boy*
  • 5 0
 GloryNZ I am sorry that you feel the video is a little to long of a description for a quick service. In this case I have to go into every little bit of detail possible to make sure that the video is clearly understood by a first time mechanic and also by someone who has serviced many suspension products. Keep in mind that you have probably serviced your fork 10-20 times since you have purchased it, so you have lots of experiance with a ll the small details that you will encounter during a quick service. Imagine having to make a very descriptive video for all viewers to understand how simple the procedure can be without costing twice as much due to a poor decision or hasty move. Realistically this service takes 8-10 minutes to complete by an experienced tech who is cautious the entire time.
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