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servicing fox suspension.
I'm looking to have a go at doing a basic service on my suspension and I have some questions for those of you who have serviced their own Fox forks and air cans. Firstly, I have a 2011 Anthem x3 with the initial forks and air can which as far as I can work out are Fox rp2 air can and Fox F-series 100rl forks.
All I want to be able to do at the moment is change the fork's dust wipers and seals along with the oil. With the air can I just want to be able to change the seals and lube it. In order to do this I think I need to buy 32mm wiper seal kit, fox green suspension oil, fox air can rebuild kit and some blue fox fluid for the seals. I can get all of this from pushy except the blue fox fluid for the forks.
My questions are
1. With the forks do I have to undo the top bolts to remove the lowers or can I just undo the bottom nuts?
From what I can work out from videos online, the bottom nuts connect the lowers to the control arms inside the forks while the top bolts fasten the dampener and air units within the stanchions. Therefore if I don't undo the top bolts I wont be able to remove and clean the dampener unit or air unit (if that is what it is called) but I will be able to remove the lowers and clean the lowers, control arms and stanchions.
2. If I cannot get blue fox fluid for the wiper seals in the forks is using the green fluid acceptable/advisable?
The air can kit comes with one 5mm pillow of the blue fluid but the 32mm wiper kit does not so I have to work some else out.
3. Do I have to remove the cranks in order to undo the bottom pivot on the air can on the anthem frame?
The bottom pivot that holds the air can is in line with the chain rings and I'm not sure which side the bolt will come out.
4. Does anyone have an current info on the torque specifications for the pivot joints on the anthem?
I have found some older manuals online but the most recent was 2009. I think the spec were originally written on the bolts but they must have worn off.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
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A3. Yes. I'm sure its the crank side which is the nut. Doesnt really matter, you need to take it all apart . I was never able to get a decent size allen key between the cranK & the Bolt.
A4. torque settings AnthemX 2010 onwards
http://forums.mtbr.com/giant/giant-anthem-x-torq...
also....If your 2011 X3 is still factory It should have a Fox R rear shock
http://www.giant-bicycles.com/en-au/bikes/model/...
However its all the same anyway, as far as changing the air seal kit & undoing the suspension bolts the get the rear shock out.
Also take note when you do take the bolt out that holds the shock.Take note how the spacers are positioned direction as well. Needs to go back in the same way.One time it took me 30 min to get it back together. other time it took me 10 secs....LOL. maybe have a helper around.....to hold the rear suspension up a little.
As far as the fork is concerned......To change the seals & oil only, you need to undo the lower bolts. Thats it.Get a ruber mallet or something. I couln't undo the lock out on mine. It was missing some bolts in the description from the fox site. I didn't know how to unclip the blue lock out thingy.
FYI I started with a 2011 X3 its now a X1 after cracking the frame & upgrading almost everything. Only thing original is the Fork & rear damper, head set & BB.
Quote,"I couln't undo the lock out on mine. It was missing some bolts in the description from the fox site. I didn't know how to unclip the blue lock out thingy."
That had me stumped for a while too. The earlier forks had three small set screws to attach the lockout lever, but 2010 onwards just clip on with a spring loaded ring. To remove it you need to put something under the blue lockout lever - I used a plastic tyre lever - and then give it a sharp smack upwards with a hammer and it'll 'pop' out. Fox have a short video on their website showing how to do it - http://service.foxracingshox.com/consumers/Conte...
Mamil.....You are a gentleman & a scollar. A dying breed. Thats awesome. Thank you so much.
You're entirely welcome! And here's another lesson I learnt the hard way - make sure when you come to putting the lockout lever back on, that you follow the instructions (linked to above) very carefully for aligning the lever with the internal mechanism, or the lockout won't operate
Thanks guys for your help, hopefully it will all go well now.
Fox's service guide website now advises soaking the foam seals in the green oil instead of the Float Fluid.
My old Float fork still required 5cc of Float Fluid above the air spring assembly though, i.e. the air chamber. I'm not sure if this is still required on newer forks, but the oil volumes page details what goes where and in what quantities.
Went and did both the forks and air can the other day. Took about 7 hours, a stuff up in putting the oil in the dampener leg did not help and the rebound dampener and lock off switches did not work. Took the fork apart again and redid it and it went fine, so not sure what that was about. Took it off road today and really feel that the suspension was more responsive so am happy that I did it. Only issue is that I had a stack today and ruined my saddle so need to get a new one, damn.
one question, and it might be for those of you with an anthem, is there a trick to undoing and putting the rear suspension pivots back together? Had lots of trouble getting the bottom one on the air undone and back in place. Eventually had to use a rubber mallet to knock the bolt out, which I was reluctant to do as I did not want to damage the bearings in the frame and swing arm. How have others managed to do it?
Thanks Chris
Haven't done the shock service on my Anthem yet, but have done it on my Trance which is near identical. It did take a bit of 'persuasion' to get the pivot bolts out, and I remember the upper one being the worst, but covering the bolt with a bit of wood, then a few whacks with a hammer eventually did it. As for putting back on, wasn't really an issue, but it helps if the shock isn't pressurised yet, and bike is in a workstand with rear wheel off so you can manipulate the rear pivot easily.
On the damper and lockout not working first time round, a couple of thoughts...
1. You need to carefully align or 'clock' the lockout lever with the internal mechanism when re-assembling. Fox have instructions here - http://service.foxracingshox.com/consumers/Conte...
2. You need to cycle the damper a few times after a service to fill it with oil before the lockout will work.
My trance's Float"R" Rear shock has developed a slow leak . It seems to be losing about 40 psi after a ride.
Replacing the air chamber seals seems to be pretty simple as shown on video.
I think the LBS is going to charge around $100 for the job.
Seal kits price around $30.... so DIY or LBS?
Is there any other issues with the Float R which I should be aware of before shelling out for a minor servcie when I could possibly bite the bullet and upgrade the shock?
If so..what shocks/lengths/strokes are compatable with trance?
Thanks for your advice .
I'd say doing an air can service on a Float R is a relatively easy task - if you're practically minded, have some tools, and follow the instructions on the Fox Website.
It will also save you a bit of money over the LBS, but this wasn't my primary motivation (tho' it did help!) as I was more interested in the challenge of maintaining my own bike, and finding out how it works.
From my (admittedly limited) experience, a more expensive shock won't necessarily give you a 'better' ride, it just has more versatility because it can be adjusted for a wider range of conditions. The R has a factory fixed propedal setting, no user adjustable compression dampening or lock-out. On more expensive models you will be able to adjust some or all of these to customise the shock to you, and adjust it for different trail conditions as you ride.
Personally, I haven't missed this functionality on my Trance, because I use it for the same conditions for most of the time, and I have different bikes for other uses. On my Anthem however, I have found the adjustability of the CTD shock useful, because I use that bike in a wider range of conditions.
So, I guess its down to how you use the bike whether its worth fixing the R versus upgrading to a more versatile model.
Hope that's of some help....
Hey Shano
As far as I know all of Fox's float series air cans are the same in regards to the seals. This video
http://youtu.be/vb8BNsFcINQ shows you exactly how to do the seals and it was really quite easy. Even if you are thinking of upgrading it might be worth doing because if you stick with a float series shock you will know how to do it on your new one as well.
The only other thing to think about is how you get the air can off your bike. On my anthem I had to take the cranks off and two suspension pivots. Because of this I splurged and bought a torque wrench so I was confident I did not over tighten any of these components when I put them back on but many other people have done the same service with out a torque wrench.
After doing it once, it is something I will definitely keep doing myself and I feel it made a noticeable difference to my bikes performance.
Chris
One other thought....
If your Float R is losing air pressure, as well as doing an air can service you should also replace the schraeder valve core, in case this is where the leak is.
Fox shocks take a standard schraeder valve core used in inner tubes, car valves etc. (I've had this verified by Fox) so all you need is a valve core removal tool - a couple of bucks from Repco or similar, and a new valve core from an inner tube. It's a one minute job!
Hi Guys.
So I finally got around to removing the rear Fox Float R Shock and noticed a small gouge which is probably where my leaking issues have arisen.
I am guessing that a file and some nail polish can smooth this out.
Any advice on upgrading to a new shock.
Trance I2I is 184mm/44.5.
Could I just change it out with a DT Swiss XM180 shock that seems to be a close enough fit at 190mm/50mm?
If so would mounting hardware be a problem?
Thanks
New shafts can be put in, I dented the shaft on my RP2 and had NSDynamics in QLD do a full strip and rebuild. Shaft was $90 and service was $200. I had a busted boost valve, etc in the shock so the bike felt like sh*t.
Just did the fork seals on my 2011 F150's and still don't feel like they are performing, and from my reading up it seems like oil from the air spring side can get past a foam washer in the leg and into the air chamber - causing too much oil (only meant to be 5cc).... looks like I will have to tear them down again.