Tech Talks: Fork Wiper Seal Replacement, Presented by Park Tool - Video by pinkbikeaudience

11 0

rivercitycycles (Mar 30, 2017 at 8:05)

3:45 on the video, he installed the wiper seal on the oil seal end of the tool and most likely buggered up the seal lip and garter spring. way to go

4 0

DBone95 (Mar 30, 2017 at 8:40)

No kidding.... this was like a 'what not to do' for me.

3 0

goytay (Mar 30, 2017 at 11:02)

Saw that eh?

1 0

kmg0 (Jun 18, 2019 at 21:19)

bike shops in a nutshell.

11 0

santoman (Mar 30, 2017 at 0:59)

I learned the hard way that wearing safety glasses when working with shock/brake oil is a good idea.

2 0

Archimonde (Mar 30, 2017 at 8:03)

Or springs. A mechanic close to my place is one eyed because of this mistake.

11 0

howsyourdad (Mar 30, 2017 at 2:47)

I have to really smack the bolts on my pike to get the legs off. Always feels wrong

5 0

stumpymidget (Mar 30, 2017 at 3:41)

Same with every fork i have ever serviced, never did any harm though.

3 0

dsl4life (Mar 30, 2017 at 4:01)

Same here. Have to hit it pretty hard. Most the air side is tough... and yes it feels wrong. But so far nothing has broken :-)

7 0

half-man-half-scab (Mar 30, 2017 at 7:35)

It's important that the seals are level with respect to the recess in the lowers, or else the stanchions will prematurely wear the seals. You can see that the damper side seal is askew in this video. To make it easier to install seals, especially the new Fox seals, I throw them into the freezer during disassembly and cleaning. I can usually work them in with my hands pretty easily after chilling.

2 0

zer0c00l44 (Mar 30, 2017 at 14:18)

Just get a set of these they are amazing and cheap and it is as easy as in the video. www.youtube.com/watch?v=q305dJW_Lm4

And with dual air forks you should always inflate the positive chamber first or you can encounter all kinds of problems with the fork not working as it should.

2 0

jmblur (Mar 31, 2017 at 21:16)

@zer0c00l44: The Unior seal press tools are great, but I found with the new fox seals in an old Fox 32 fork (my friend's bike) the new "Flangeless" seals still wanted to go in at a slight angle, despite the lead in chamfer. Ended up having to sink one a bit low in the pocket to get it back straight. Pain in the ass.

1 0

half-man-half-scab (Mar 31, 2017 at 22:11)

The freezer trick works pretty well for me on the new fox seals

1 0

zer0c00l44 (Apr 1, 2017 at 16:10)

@jmblur: I know theyre tight as hell and a pain. I line them up and give them a short sharp whack to get em started. Get em down to where they need to be then if a little wonky I straighten them up with a screw driver very gently from the base of the wiper being careful not to damage any part of it.

10 0

sevensixtwo (Mar 30, 2017 at 5:43)

Seeing that awesome workspace makes me want to go wipe my stanchion

7 0

DBone95 (Mar 30, 2017 at 8:32)

Man, clean that fork thoroughly before you ever begin... jeez.

2 0

MtbSince84 (Mar 30, 2017 at 12:57)

I know, right?

4 0

DBone95 (Mar 30, 2017 at 8:35)

... also, always remove the wiper seal spring before seating them so you don't crush the shit out of the spring, and the tool fits as intended.

4 0

theteaser (Mar 30, 2017 at 12:43)

... and do not forget to put them back on BEFORE you install the lowers :-)

7 2

ziles (Mar 30, 2017 at 0:57)

Can we have the next one on bleeding brakes please?

5 0

Zany2410 (Mar 30, 2017 at 2:52)

Youtube is your friend

2 0

smoranc (Mar 30, 2017 at 7:37)

^^^^ He's right. I just bled the brakes on my two bikes last week only with the help of Youtube and the Online Manuals from Shimano and Avid. Cheers.

2 0

jdt086 (May 28, 2017 at 15:30)

Epic bleed Solutions have good step by step guides, I found them more useful than a video.

4 0

tacubaya (Mar 30, 2017 at 21:00)

Ugh, very surprised Park Tool allowed this to be published. So many wrongs.

4 0

AZRyder (Mar 30, 2017 at 10:10)

"Dampening"? I didn't know my fork was just making things more wet.

1 0

nickkk (Mar 30, 2017 at 11:40)

smh

3 0

iamamodel (Mar 30, 2017 at 17:29)

An ISIS bottom bracket tool fits perfectly over 32mm seals. Use one to seat the seals.

1 0

El-Warpo (Mar 30, 2017 at 22:32)

I used a Rexona roll-on deodorant lid for 34mm seals... works perfect, it's plastic and doesn't damage the seals but takes hammer blows just fine.

2 1

Davichin (Mar 30, 2017 at 4:41)

What with the opposite approaches of greasing/nongreasing the wiper/seal seatings? it is a discussion almost as fierce as 29/27.5...

9 2

romkaind (Mar 30, 2017 at 5:26)

Always apply a little of slick honey - sram butter on wipes if yuo want a smooth action...

4 1

half-man-half-scab (Mar 30, 2017 at 7:31)

I've always applied grease to the lowers/wiper interface, and never had any issues.

3 3

romkaind (Mar 30, 2017 at 10:16)

@half-man-half-scab: I practice this for a 15 years on every clients fork, no issues

But we send a lot of Fox forks to official service and they put them dry, forks work like crap and stanchions sticks a lot after their service ...

4 1

zsandstrom (Mar 30, 2017 at 12:59)

@b-wicked: Seriously though. I guess in theory, the oil in the foam rings should keep the actuation at the wiper seal smooth. But in reality, with only a few ml of oil in each leg of the fork, it's never enough. It is SO much better when you grease it. The grease also helps debris off the bushing.

1 0

carlmontnative (Mar 30, 2017 at 20:29)

@half-man-half-scab: I actually have had issues after applying slick honey to the wiper interface. sometimes the wipers do not stay in place after the service. I'v seen the wipers slide up into the middle of the stanchion multiple times. don't know if they were faulty wipers, though they could have been. I choose to put the wipers in dry so that there is more friction and they are more likely to stay in place. I definitely have to be more careful during installation but have never had an issue with them popping out of place after the service.

3 2

romkaind (Mar 31, 2017 at 13:30)

@carlmontnative: nonono dont grease the sutface that contacts with lowers grease the surface that contacts with stanchions! Never use grease to install wipers they will pop out

1 0

carlmontnative (Mar 31, 2017 at 14:26)

@b-wicked: isn't that what this thread is talking about? "wiper/seal seatings", "lowers/wiper interface". seems like you and @zsandstrom are talking about the wiper to stanchion interface for some reason.

fox factory services are great imo. if there is an issue after the factory service, they take full responsibility and will complete a full factory service a second time free of charge.

1 0

romkaind (Apr 1, 2017 at 7:11)

@carlmontnative: sry dude maybe i got i little missunderstand it. About fox service it's not the same everywhere... And i wont accept them not greasing wiper to stanchion interface even if they rebuild it second time and do the same...

2 0

Alexdeg (Mar 30, 2017 at 5:40)

Looks like he is soaking em´ foam rings in 5 wt oil: 15 wt is for sure recommended for longer lasting lubin´.

3 0

fabriciofracchia (Mar 30, 2017 at 7:43)

Great video but that music looks like a porn movie of the 70's jajaja

3 1

theteaser (Mar 30, 2017 at 12:47)

Every 30h of riding? Or buy a Marzocchi and do it at the end of the season.

5 2

LucasGauci (Mar 30, 2017 at 0:05)

My boy Kelvin !!!!!

5 0

cmi85 (Mar 30, 2017 at 0:20)

Calvin*

4 1

nickkk (Mar 30, 2017 at 1:57)

@chrisingrassia: My boy Kelvin !!!!!

2 0

J4m3z420 (Mar 30, 2017 at 5:33)

@chrisingrassia: www.youtube.com/watch?v=fFkmKPQpZh4

2 0

flatlandr (Apr 1, 2017 at 13:54)

...All those cone wrenches. What are cone wrenches for again?

1 0

owlie (Mar 30, 2017 at 7:11)

I came for the tool wall.. Am I the only one?

1 4

mjohnson801 (Mar 30, 2017 at 18:29)

Step:1 Clean the fork before disassembly
Step:2 Remove the foam rings from the packaging and throw them away
Step:3 Fill the void with Slick Honey
Step:4 Remove the Rock Shox and throw it away

Tech Talks: Fork Wiper Seal Replacement, Presented by Park Tool - Video

47 Comments