[flipnidaho]

My Talas is about 3 weeks old and from day 1, it has leaked a little oil every ride. I thought that it may just be the breaking in period but the leak has not let up? The picture below is an example of how much leaks out of it (after a 3+ hour ride). Is this normal or should I have the LBS look into it? It's my first Fox fork (I've always had RS which didn't leak this much) so I have no past reference.... What do y'all think?

 

[tiSS'er]

That is a bit too much oil. Take it to the LBS and get it fixed.

 

[like_the_wheel]

definitely not good. Take 'er in ASAP for warranty work.

 

[KevinB]

I agree with the others...

...it's leaking too much oil.

 

[blackagness]

I think your LBS is just gonna call Fox and they'll say it's normal.... But I don't know, mine leeks alot to and that's what happened to me.

 

[Ratt]

Its normal because Foxes just do this but agree with others, send it back for warranty service and when warranty runs out put in Enduro seals. If you ignore it, it will either eventually run low on oil and stop leaking or start leaking so bad oil will just coat the sliders.

 

[jdcamb]

Its normal because Foxes just do this but agree with others, send it back for warranty service and when warranty runs out put in Enduro seals. If you ignore it, it will either eventually run low on oil and stop leaking or start leaking so bad oil will just coat the sliders.

Your touching yourself. Mine doesn't do this nor does any of the other 10 or so forks on my friends bikes.

 

[like_the_wheel]

Its normal because Foxes just do this but agree with others, send it back for warranty service and when warranty runs out put in Enduro seals. If you ignore it, it will either eventually run low on oil and stop leaking or start leaking so bad oil will just coat the sliders.

riiiiiight.......

 

[jrm]

I have the same thing

My Talas is about 3 weeks old and from day 1, it has leaked a little oil every ride. I thought that it may just be the breaking in period but the leak has not let up? The picture below is an example of how much leaks out of it (after a 3+ hour ride). Is this normal or should I have the LBS look into it? It's my first Fox fork (I've always had RS which didn't leak this much) so I have no past reference.... What do y'all think?

happening on my 05 talas. I havent given it any worry but if your concerned i suggest you ask your shop to take a look at it.

 

[flipnidaho]

update

went for a 1.5 hour ride today and here is how much oil is coming out... much less (or maybe all the oil already pumped out)...

 

[Megaclocker]

First thing you should know :

For are not supposed to leak, warranty time !

 

[KevinB]

went for a 1.5 hour ride today and here is how much oil is coming out... much less (or maybe all the oil already pumped out)...

That's more or less how my Vanilla with the original Fox seals would look after a ride. (I'm using Enduro Fork seals on my Vanilla now and see no oil on the stanchions after a ride.) I also have a 2004 Fox Talas with the original seals. It doesn't leak much oil at all.

 

[PUSHIND]

Fork Service

flipnidaho,

You need to stop riding that fork and get it serviced ASAP. Contact Fox and get an RA.

Fox 32mm Forx are very sensitive to oil volume. The amount that you're losing IS damaging the fork every time that you ride it. Even worse, you could potentially get hurt riding an improperly functioning fork.

Give them a call.

Darren

 

[Ratt]

My apologies

Your touching yourself. Mine doesn't do this nor does any of the other 10 or so forks on my friends bikes.

I didn't mean to offend anyone with my post. I just seen these fork do this, yes a small minority of them but often enough to make me wonder. That and the posts i see here on mtbr may have lead me to the wrong conclusions.

http://forums.mtbr.com/showthread.php?t=140154&highlight=leaking+fox
http://forums.mtbr.com/showthread.php?t=139498&highlight=leaking+fox
http://forums.mtbr.com/showthread.php?t=139498&highlight=leaking+fox
http://forums.mtbr.com/showthread.php?t=127313&highlight=leaking+fox
http://forums.mtbr.com/showthread.php?t=119571&highlight=leaking+fox
http://forums.mtbr.com/showthread.php?t=117338&highlight=leaking+fox
http://forums.mtbr.com/showthread.php?t=105338&highlight=leaking+fox
http://forums.mtbr.com/showthread.php?t=107928&highlight=leaking+fox

 

[mtnbiker1973]

flipnidaho,

You need to stop riding that fork and get it serviced ASAP. Contact Fox and get an RA.

Fox 32mm Forx are very sensitive to oil volume. The amount that you're losing IS damaging the fork every time that you ride it. Even worse, you could potentially get hurt riding an improperly functioning fork.

Give them a call.

Darren

You better pay attention to this guy, he know's what he's talking about. I' either send it to Fox, or service it yourself if you have the ability to do so. Don't buy Fox seals. Do yourself a favor and get some of these.....
enduro seals

 

[flipnidaho]

The corporate reply

Here is the reply I got from Fox this morning:
"The wipers are designed to lubricate themselves, you will see a build up of dirt and oil on them after a ride.
The right side usually produces more of a film because it has your cartridge and 3 times as much oil as the left leg.
Included is some dust wiper & bushing information for you."
I asked the same question again and sent the picture asking if this was a problem because I think the answer above is somewhat vague. I'm much happier with Push's answer to my email since it was very definitive and I'm also more inclined to send them my fork instead of to Fox (even if the fork is 3 weeks old and still under warranty. I also ordered Enduro seals and will be scheduling to put them on just in case (or send it to Push directly but I'm afraid they'll use the 05 seals again, replicating the problem in a few weeks).

 

[like_the_wheel]

Fox seals are better than Enduro seals. Your seals are defective, not all Fox seals will leak oil instantly. I have run various Fox Forx since their inception w/o a single incident of leaking seals. My suggestion is to send the fork into Fox for warranty work and see what happens. Most likely the seals in your fork were damaged at the factory during installation nothing more. Even if you go with Push I'd still keep the Fox seals.

 

[KevinB]

Fox seals are better than Enduro seals.

Can you provide some reasons why...?

 

[flipnidaho]

One more response from Fox

I resent the picture and asked again if it was something to worry about... The response... I'll probably take this offline with Fox after this as I don't want to bore anyone with my ordeal...
"The harder or longer the forks are ridden, the more of a film is produced.
Also since the fork is an open oil bath design, lying the fork/bike on its side or hanging it upside down will cause more of a coating because the foam rings behind the wipers become saturated with oil.
Yours does not look bad if your riding pretty hard, it may also be that since it is new, the grease that is packed into them might be migrating out."
FWIW, all my bikes are stored and transported right side up....

 

[like_the_wheel]

Can you provide some reasons why...?

I have heard users complain of more friction and comparable or shorter lifespan than stock seals. I and many others have had great luck with stock Fox seals, just because he got a defective set doesn't mean he should scrap Fox seals altogether.

RM thread about Enduro seals:
http://www.ridemonkey.com/forums/showthread.php?t=95927&page=2&highlight=enduro+fork+seals