JohnFyf

I just took apart my suspension fork on my mountain bike, and the spring is in need of new grease. This came off a 2014 Trek 3500 Series 3.

I noticed that there was only one coil, don't know if that's normal. Which grease would I need for it, and what type of degreaser should I use to clean it? Does it need oil too, or is that for air shocks?

sweeks

First look for technical documents from Trek... there may your answers be found.

Degreaser: mineral spirits (or kerosene as second choice).
Steve

JohnFyf

I have took a look, and it only says to lubricate the sleeves, seals, and re-grease after 100 hours. Mostly it's saying to take it to a bike shop mechanic instead of informing what to use, but over here they charge $60 to service a fork, $35 just to install one.

FBinNY 

No need to degrease, simply rag clean it as well as possible.

Any grease of comparable viscosity is fine, but you want to be careful about plastic or rubber seals. So, look for something formulated to be compatible. Specialty O-ring greases may be right, but are expensive and may not be necessary.

Lastly, if you ride in the winter, you'll want a grease formulated to be OK in the cold. Otherwise, many greases can stiffen significantly and affect the ride.

JohnFyf

Should marine grease be fine? There is wd40 type and liquid wrench type but I'm quite sure they are all the same hopefully.

JonathanGennick 

Is your fork a Suntour? There are some service videos, including one on replacing the spring at this link:

Tech Videos - SR SUNTOUR Cycling

I don't think it matters much what grease you put on the spring. You just want something that will stay in place to lubricate the spring against the inside of the stanchion. I would just use whatever bicycle grease I had on hand.

If you have removed the stanchions from the fork lowers, then you should grease the seals when reassembling. For that I like to use Slick Honey.

Most forks will take some bath oil in the lowers. That's to slosh around and keep the stanchions and bushings lubricated.

Some brands (like Rockshox) are good about posting detailed service manuals for their forks, at least for the more expensive ones.

BTW, you asked about the spring being only on the one side. That's common. It's typical to see a spring (air or coil) on one side, and a damper assembly on the other.

J.Higgins 

SRAM Butter for forks. Parks Poly 1000 for assemblies. Bel Ray Marine grease for bearings. Amalie hi-temp for coaster brakes.

SquidPuppet

Amalie

Operating range: -40f to +350f
Dropping point: +500f

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Red Line CV2

Operating range: -100f to +500f
Dropping point: +900f

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Plus..... it's RED

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You are welcome.

J.Higgins 

That grease shur is purty. Where would a feller git that thar grease, bwah? I use the Amalie because its what I have on hand.

JohnFyf

Thanks for the help guys.

SquidPuppet

You can get it almost everywhere. Very common at many auto parts places. Amazon, etc. A bunch of big snazzy car race teams use it.

I've been on a grease research and testing binge for a couple years now. I found this grease made by White Lighning that got me all excited because it was Crystal Clear. Literally. NO odor. NONE. Biodegradable. Claims to be 100% waterproof. And a HIGH drop point for the coasters. I figured it would be great for showing contamination. It is actually a very good grease. But what attracted me to it turned out to be it's downfall. Because it's 100% crystal clear, it's a pain in the butt to work with. It's difficult to see if you have applied enough, or not enough, or too much. Placing loose balls is weird because there is no background color for context. Silver ball against a silver race, Is it where it should be? I can't tell. Cleanup was a pain because you cant see which part of the rag is contaminated so you end up using the greasy side to clean something. You don't readily spot any excess that has oozed from a seal, so you are always bumping into it. UGH! I need colored grease!!!

But......opaque greases are easy to lose sight of loose balls that become submerged. The hunt was on. I needed a translucent grease so that I can accurately position balls. It needed a color, so that I can see how much I've applied. I need a light color so I can see through it and to easily spot contamination. And it needs to be a FAST color so I dig smearing it all over stuff. But it can't cost nine million dollars like Dura-Ace grease.

Voila! I found it. Made in Switzerland by tall, blonde, long legged super model scientists.

Introducing Motorex 2000.

How's that for sexy?

My bikes are twice as fast now.

J.Higgins 

Good times, SP. You rock my world!

rollagain

SuperLube is good stuff; it's pure silicone grease, so no petroleum products to eat rubber or plastic parts. Wide temperature range; odor-free and non-toxic. It's even approved for use in food-processing equipment in case you want to convert your bike into a sausage grinder. ;-)

veganbikes

speedevil 

+1 on the Redline CV2 grease. Really good stuff and not ridiculously expensive. Bikes don't need much so a tub will last a long time.

Fitness Rider

Over many years of riding, I have tried just about every grease that seemed to be a worthwhile candidate for use on bicycles and my hands down choice for quite some time has been Motorex Long Term Grease 2000. I have yet to find anything that performs better or lasts any longer on our bikes. Adheres wonderfully, resistant to water, provides corrosion and wear protection, has a claimed operating range of -30 to +120 degrees centigrade and is neutral in contact with elastomers and seals. I usually buy Motorex 2000 in the 850 gram tubes and is the only grease I recommend anymore.

Frank

JohnFyf

I am thinking about getting the Motorex grease. I've also heard good things about it. But can it be used on every part including suspension? That would be perfect if I only needed 1 type of grease instead of more.

Fitness Rider

I would think that the Motorex 2000 could be used anyplace a grease would need to be applied on a bike with the exception of the freehub pawls and coaster brake applications. For the freehub pawls it would be a little thick and that is one place I have never tried it. The Motorex 2000 is claimed to be totally neutral with regard to elastomer degradation and provides excellent protection from water and corrosion. It is the only grease that I use and have used for quite some time. For the freehub I use the freehub grease made by Shimano.

I buy it in the 850 gram plastic tubs from Summit Racing however it is available from a number of suppliers in several different packaging options. It comes in the large tubs, grease gun cartridges, small little jars with a brush applicator, etc. Go to the Motorex web site and check out their documentation and data sheets on the product and see what you think. Motorex is a Swiss company and the products are made in Switzerland.

Frank

SquidPuppet

With a drop point under 300f, it's not suitable for coaster brake hubs.

Fitness Rider

Point well taken, fortunately I do not have anything with a coaster brake (have not had a coaster brake bike for well over 55 years) on it but no doubt there are many out there that will have them or something similar that could create a great deal of heat, particularly on a steep or long down hill run.

I will file this information away in my memory bank for future reference. Thanks SquidPuppet ! !