Removing just the lowers (Fox F100 RL)??

[lukewiens]

I have had an oil leaking issue for some time now. I figure I will start with replacing the dust wipers and foam rings first and then go from there. The deal is....I just want to remove the lowers to do just that....not an entire fork rebuild.

The fox site has the nice pics and such....however, I am not sure if all of those steps are necessary to replace the dust wipers and foam rings??

Questions: By removing just the bottom nuts and crush washers can I remove the lowers?? Do I still need to bang the nuts with a rubber mallet?? What do you suggest to do for a quick clean of the interior before reassembly??

and last but not least....is this an easy enough operation that I wont screw something up the week before a big race (should I just wait till after)??

Thanks in advance for your help!

[Pato]

You can remove just the lowers to replace the seals, foam rings and dust wipers by removing the bottom assemblies. Banging the nuts is only required to get the internals out of the upper stantions.

I wouldn't suggest this though. You will need to remove all the old fluid in order to get the proper measurements when you reassemble it. The only way to do this is to go through a full rebuild. There will be fluid in the damper which you will only be able to get at by pulling it out of the uppers.

If you just add the recommended fluid measurements, without emptying the chambers, you will lose some of your travel in the very least. Damaging the fork is a possibility if you take a big hit.

I would not go through your method before a race, but would not hesitate to do a full rebuild.

[CalEpic]

As Pato said, you're better off changing the oil too. It's super easy. You'll need a 6 point 26mm socket. If you have access to a grinder, remove any chamfer from the bottom of the socket so that it sits flush on the top cap of the fork.

[thephat]

This is not something we offer as a service in the shop, but you can remove your lowers and put them back on without changing the oil.

If you turn the bike upside down, the oil flowes into the upper tubes and damping cartridge. You will want to leave the bike upside down for a bit, and cycle the fork a bit. The closer the fork is heald to perpedicular to the ground, the more oil will go in the upper tubes instead of trickling by the busings, and leacking out when you pull the lowers.

This technique is pretty much just as time consuming as a reall oil change, and I don't recomend it unless the oil is brand new, and the seals started leaking when you reassembled it.

You can clean out the lower legs with clean suspesnion fluid. If you do an oil change, you can flush out the damping cartridge with clean suspesnion fluid too. Fox recomends that you use nothing but suspension fluid to flush out debris and dirty oil.

Good luck.

[Winger]

Originally Posted by CalEpic

As Pato said, you're better off changing the oil too. It's super easy. You'll need a 6 point 26mm socket. If you have access to a grinder, remove any chamfer from the bottom of the socket so that it sits flush on the top cap of the fork.

26mm Sockets are hard to find. Home Depot doesn't stock them. My local Sears only sells that size in a pack of 5 sizes for ~$30. Buying a single socket online was expensive due to shipping costs so I got the 5 pack.

That socket sat flush enough for me not to have to grind it.

[CalEpic]

Originally Posted by Winger

26mm Sockets are hard to find. Home Depot doesn't stock them. My local Sears only sells that size in a pack of 5 sizes for ~$30. Buying a single socket online was expensive due to shipping costs so I got the 5 pack.

That socket sat flush enough for me not to have to grind it.

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