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I want to change the oil on my fork. Am I asking for trouble?

Del

Monkey
Feb 20, 2004
366
0
Alexandria, VA
I have roughly the mechanical aptitude of a potted plant and I'm tempted to change the oil on my Marzocchi 2005 Z1 FR III.

I found the service guide here, which seems to explain everything pretty clearly.

My only question though, is how bad can I possibly mess this up following the instructions in the service manual? The process seems simple enough but I want to make sure.

There are only a couple stores near me that offer the service - one is REI and they are backed up for weeks and the other is about an hour away and they can have it done the next day. REI wants $50.00 and the other shop wants $30.00 (plus gas for the 4 hours of driving).
 

HAB

Chelsea from Seattle
Apr 28, 2007
11,580
2,005
Seattle
You'd need to do somthing incredibly retarded to do any irreversable damage. Worst case secenaro, you mess up, and need to take it to a shop. It'll cost you a little money, but you'll also learn somthing. Best case, everything goes fine. Give 'er a go.
 

ultraNoob

Yoshinoya Destroyer
Jan 20, 2007
4,504
1
Hills of Paradise
You should have no problem with that fork... if you have the correct service manual. Just make sure to buy the correct fork oil and have some way of accurately measuring the amount of oil.

A few tips:
- before closing everything up, actuate the fork to get any unwanted air bubbles out
- if your fork requires you to measure somekind of oil height when compressed, do this without the spring
- if you have to measure the oil height, make sure to get the air bubbles out (no more gurgling sound, squishy sound is ok)
- If you want to flush out all the crud... drain the old oil, add the correct amount of new oil, close up the fork and pump it up and down to flush out any risidual crud in the dampening system. Drain the fork again and fill it up with new oil.

Everytime I flush my 888, I use about a full quart of fluid to flush and fill. Read the ALL the directions before you begin and read along as you do it. You'll be fine. Good luck!
 

Del

Monkey
Feb 20, 2004
366
0
Alexandria, VA
Thanks for the tips - I think I might give it a go this weekend!

What is the oil type everyone recommends? I remember seeing it mentioned but I was not aspiring to such lofty goals at the time.