What Kind and What Weight Oil For a DHX 5

Nick53

Nick53

Likes Bikes and Dirt
Ok guys,
Just took apart my bike and basically disasembled every part you could think of. Everything went to plan but as I put my shock back on (Fox DHX 5.0 on a 07 Santa Cruz V10) some kind of pinky/red oil came out of the main body. It came out of the black cap thing that slides into the shaft. There was probably only 20-25 drops or so but it's made a huge difference.


So....what I need to know is what kind of oil it is? Normal oil isn't pink is it? Or is it just dye? So if it's a special type of oil and what weight. I've found out that 07 DHX 5.0's came with 10wt oil but has anyone tried anything different that works better for them? I'm only 55kg and I'm running a 350lbs spring but they are suppose to run a lot of sag so does anyone have any suggestions as to what oil I should use?


Thanks,

Nick
 
Fat_Ride

Fat_Ride

Likes Bikes and Dirt
you'll need 10 weight suspension fluid.
Get it from your local motorcycle spares joint. I use PJ1.
 
Sam.

Sam.

Eats Squid
K.E.G.S is your man. Unless of course, you know how to pull the shock apart, and put it back together.
 
udi

udi

swiss cheese
The right oil is the easy part, what no one mentioned was that you have to bleed the shock - you can't just put oil back in. You need a bath (at least 2L, 1L may be enough if you're an expert), and need to make sure the shock is assembled air free.

Anyway if you have that sorted, then for the oil I'd recommend Silkolene Pro RSF 7.5wt (or 5 or 10 if you want it harder or softer than stock). Oil weights in "wt" can't be compared between brands, some brands run thicker or thinner than others for a given wt claim. Shock oils need to have a higher VI (viscosity index) than normal fork oils which means they maintain their viscosity more consistently over a temp range, and the Silkolene is the cheapest (and IMO probably the best) product that will give you that.
 
Nick53

Nick53

Likes Bikes and Dirt
O yer I forgot to mention that all that was wrong with the shock is that the black cap on the shaft was just loose. I tightened it (with my extreme strength:p) and so far nothing else has come out of it although I've only riden it up and down the road a couple of times. O yer I only had the shock serviced by kegs about 5 months ago and he did a great job but I'm just hoping that I will have the skill to do it so I don't have to fork out more money.

Thanks for your help so far
 
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