Oil for Skareb Super?
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more info., please
It's the first time I get around to doing a job like this
Thanks a lot!
Thnx, but could you please give me just a little more info.? - What is semi-bath and what do you mean by saying "bother with", what does that imply?MK_ said:
It's the first time I get around to doing a job like this
Thanks a lot!
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2,480 Posts
It depends on the year of your fork. If it's an 03 or older its grease lubricated, 04 and newer use semi-bath lubrication. Semi-bathe is the oil that is used for lubrication of the stanchions. It's a multigrade, full synthetic motor oil like 5-30 or 10-40, as long as it's a full synthetic multigrade, it'll work. You have to unscrew the bolts at the bottom of the legs to put it in and it only takes 16cc's, about two tablespoons. Don't overfill, unless you don't want to use all of your 80 mm of travel....
The oil used for dampening is a 5wt. motorcyle fork oil. That's the only weight you use in a Manitou fork. You can get it by the quart from motorcycle shops for a fraction of the cost of a little bottle at a bike shop. Golden Spectro and Bel-Ray are two popular oils.
I'd say keep an eye on your semi-bath oil. If you notice any seepage out of the bottom bolts of your fork, go ahead and pull the bolts out and check the o-rings on the bolts. They're notorious for getting mangled really easily. the right leg bolt is an hex bolt that's reverse threaded. So as you look at the bottom of the leg (leg inverted) it'll crank clockwise and retract back into the leg itself. That's the bottom of the rebound damper. Then undo the left bolt and let the oil drain out. Use a syringe from a hardware store to inject the semi-bathe oil back into the legs. Put it back together, right leg first. It's a little tricky but you'll get it.
Depending on how much you ride, the dampening oil should probably be replaced about once a year. All these instruction are on Manitous web site, www.answerproducts.com , and are pretty well detailed.
Don't take it to a shop to do the work, they'll either rape you or screw it up. It's better to learn to do it yourself and learn how your fork works. Once you get the hang of it, you can do it in minutes.
The oil used for dampening is a 5wt. motorcyle fork oil. That's the only weight you use in a Manitou fork. You can get it by the quart from motorcycle shops for a fraction of the cost of a little bottle at a bike shop. Golden Spectro and Bel-Ray are two popular oils.
I'd say keep an eye on your semi-bath oil. If you notice any seepage out of the bottom bolts of your fork, go ahead and pull the bolts out and check the o-rings on the bolts. They're notorious for getting mangled really easily. the right leg bolt is an hex bolt that's reverse threaded. So as you look at the bottom of the leg (leg inverted) it'll crank clockwise and retract back into the leg itself. That's the bottom of the rebound damper. Then undo the left bolt and let the oil drain out. Use a syringe from a hardware store to inject the semi-bathe oil back into the legs. Put it back together, right leg first. It's a little tricky but you'll get it.
Depending on how much you ride, the dampening oil should probably be replaced about once a year. All these instruction are on Manitous web site, www.answerproducts.com , and are pretty well detailed.
Don't take it to a shop to do the work, they'll either rape you or screw it up. It's better to learn to do it yourself and learn how your fork works. Once you get the hang of it, you can do it in minutes.
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2,480 Posts
As far as seals and bushings, I've never replaced the bushings on any of my Manitous. The seals I usually replace the first time I change the oil. I order them from Enduro Seals: http://www.enduroforkseals.com/id41.htmlOdnis said:
They have really good instructions on their site too.
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7,297 Posts
The Skareb Super uses a fully sealed damper, which means that the damping oil and the stanchion lubricating oil are prevented from interacting. The oil which lubricates your stanchions (and as mattsavage posted, could be Prep M grease, if your fork has grease ports in the back of the stanchions) is exposed to dirt and debree which gets inside past the seals. The oil inside of the damper is not.
In my original post, I referred to the oil in the damper. Since it doesn't come in contact with the outside, it stays very clean and can be run for a long time before needing replacement. The oil which lubricates the stanchions, on the other hand, does get dirty, however, its only function is lubricating the contact between the stanchions and the lowers, therefore if it is dirty, it can remain dirty for quite some time before you should replace it. If you have grease ports, then you continualy inject Prep M every few rides, or whenever the interface feels dry.
This is contrary to Marzocchi and Fox, as well as Manitou's new Intrinsic damped forks. In those forks, oil used for damping is also used for lubricating the stanchions. It does come in contact with dirt and debree, therefore it needs to be changed regularly. This is particuarly the case with Marzocchi as the dampers themselves produce a lot of metallic debree.
Why you shouldn't bother? That's because it is a very messy procedure, especially if you haven't done it before, to disassemble the fork and replace all of the fluids. And Manitou's way of separating the damping oil from lubricating medium is very effective in keeping the maintenance to the minimum. If you want to do it, still, then by all means go for it, as it is very educational.
_MK
In my original post, I referred to the oil in the damper. Since it doesn't come in contact with the outside, it stays very clean and can be run for a long time before needing replacement. The oil which lubricates the stanchions, on the other hand, does get dirty, however, its only function is lubricating the contact between the stanchions and the lowers, therefore if it is dirty, it can remain dirty for quite some time before you should replace it. If you have grease ports, then you continualy inject Prep M every few rides, or whenever the interface feels dry.
This is contrary to Marzocchi and Fox, as well as Manitou's new Intrinsic damped forks. In those forks, oil used for damping is also used for lubricating the stanchions. It does come in contact with dirt and debree, therefore it needs to be changed regularly. This is particuarly the case with Marzocchi as the dampers themselves produce a lot of metallic debree.
Why you shouldn't bother? That's because it is a very messy procedure, especially if you haven't done it before, to disassemble the fork and replace all of the fluids. And Manitou's way of separating the damping oil from lubricating medium is very effective in keeping the maintenance to the minimum. If you want to do it, still, then by all means go for it, as it is very educational.
_MK
Remove the top cap on the lockout side and measure the oil height from the top of the opening to the oil surface. It has to be the same level as specified in the service manuals. If its lower or the oil looks very dirty its time to add or change it accordingly. This oil is usually very well sealed off so it should always remain pretty clean. Manitou forks are typically very good at keeping the damper oil isolated and clean. If it looks very dirty its definately time to reservice. Use 5w suspension oil here. The other oil is the semi-bath which only lubes the bushings and stanchions. This oil level is hard to minitor because you need to remove the lowers to see its condition. Removing them will cause all of it to spill out so you'll need to change it anyway. Fortunately its easy. Just add 16cc per leg of synthetic motor oil. Manitou uses 5w-40 but any other similar kind should do. The last place to check is the air piston. Remove the air side top cap. You only need about 3 to 5cc here. The air piston is like a can with no top. Just look to see the oil goes slighly over the sidewall of the piston so it lubes the shaft wall. You can use any kind of motor oil here. Use the same semi-bath oil here if you want.Odnis said:
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