Honda SS8 cartridge fork oil sure looks a lot like ATF..
- Thread starter grcamna5
- Start date
I was told by a suspension tech at Racetech that ATF tends to eat at rubber parts like seals,etc. and that will cause stiction if my fork seals swell.
I've proved this and saved my power steering 'rack' on my old Volvo and haven't replaced it yet,it's still the original one from 1987' and even though the seals do leak a little it still is useable;I've been adding ATF for a few years and it has slowed the main seals from leaking by swelling them a bit.
I believe the Racetech guy so I'm switching over to actual fork 'oil' rather than ATF.
I just wonder how I can find out if this Pro Honda SS8 is made from ATF,that's the reason for this thread.
Can anyone tell me? possibly guys who race motocross and change fork oil a lot and tune their forks,use Racetech gold valves,etc. ?
I've proved this and saved my power steering 'rack' on my old Volvo and haven't replaced it yet,it's still the original one from 1987' and even though the seals do leak a little it still is useable;I've been adding ATF for a few years and it has slowed the main seals from leaking by swelling them a bit.
I believe the Racetech guy so I'm switching over to actual fork 'oil' rather than ATF.
I just wonder how I can find out if this Pro Honda SS8 is made from ATF,that's the reason for this thread.
Can anyone tell me? possibly guys who race motocross and change fork oil a lot and tune their forks,use Racetech gold valves,etc. ?
atf is very similar to fork and shock fluid it may be much better they are all just hydraulic fluid
atf is designed to run at much higher temps than fork oil at the same time it is anti foam
i dont know about the seal swelling but i am sure it doesnt harm seals otherwise they wouldnt use it in transmissions
i use it for shocks when i want that weight its close to 10 w, i guess and i used it all the time mx and enduro racing it was never a downgrade in ride compared to mc fork oil that i felt
there is no reason to hesitate trying it, it wont do any harm.if a mfg says use 10wt in forks it is only a recomendation you can try anything you want
the bonus of atf is there is so much of it made that it is not crazy spendy like some shock and fork oil which means you can change it once in a while
atf is designed to run at much higher temps than fork oil at the same time it is anti foam
i dont know about the seal swelling but i am sure it doesnt harm seals otherwise they wouldnt use it in transmissions
i use it for shocks when i want that weight its close to 10 w, i guess and i used it all the time mx and enduro racing it was never a downgrade in ride compared to mc fork oil that i felt
there is no reason to hesitate trying it, it wont do any harm.if a mfg says use 10wt in forks it is only a recomendation you can try anything you want
the bonus of atf is there is so much of it made that it is not crazy spendy like some shock and fork oil which means you can change it once in a while
i use the honda pro in shocks in the lighter weights i find it online pretty cheaP its red like atf smells a little like atf atf doesn't swell seals that guy is pullin yer leg :grcamna5 said:
he would have to explain why an auto transmission works with it
they use seals of the same material as forks if they were swellin in a tranny they would burn out
stiction is something to be concerned about,for sure, on an older bike there are many things to address that can cause it
do they have bushings? are they loose or wrn out? if it is a vintage bike without fork bushings it is not rare at all to have a worn out sliders especially with lots of miles,and they never changed the oil , a feller needs to check that
are the stanchions bent? lots of them are, you need to check them ,have to drop them out of the clamps to do it
are you using a fork brace ? if so its easy for it to cause stiction and even wear out the sliders if not mounted exactly right ,you cant just bolt one on
finally there is a specific careful procedure just getting the front wheel axle bolted in tight,that if not done right will cause stiction
i wouldn't even think about seals until you cover the other more likely and more common causes
do they have bushings? are they loose or wrn out? if it is a vintage bike without fork bushings it is not rare at all to have a worn out sliders especially with lots of miles,and they never changed the oil , a feller needs to check that
are the stanchions bent? lots of them are, you need to check them ,have to drop them out of the clamps to do it
are you using a fork brace ? if so its easy for it to cause stiction and even wear out the sliders if not mounted exactly right ,you cant just bolt one on
finally there is a specific careful procedure just getting the front wheel axle bolted in tight,that if not done right will cause stiction
i wouldn't even think about seals until you cover the other more likely and more common causes
xb33bsa said:
I haven't installed the forks yet.I just got some better/lighter spring rate fork springs from Racetech for them to install on a smaller bike and that's when I spoke w/ the tech. there about the ATF,he said it'll soften up rubber parts(seals,etc.)over time.
I'll be installing these forks after a while;I wanted to get them all done and then put them away until I've moved out of state and then later install these 2) CB400F forks along w/ a nice fresh CB350K4 twin front wheel/large drum brake which is all cleaned & polished up.The forks are 'old tech' so I was really trying to find some synthetic 10wt. fork oil(couldn't find it yet) to keep them moving smoothly.These forks are in good condition along w/ the lowers.
that is awesome to be fixing up some good legs like that
i sure cant prove it doesn't soften seals but if it doesnt soften seals in 5 years and 50,000 miles at 300F+ at 250 psi in a auto tranny, how does it at 90F and 15psi in forks ? just doesnt make any sense to me intuitevly, it is an interesting subject though
i sure cant prove it doesn't soften seals but if it doesnt soften seals in 5 years and 50,000 miles at 300F+ at 250 psi in a auto tranny, how does it at 90F and 15psi in forks ? just doesnt make any sense to me intuitevly, it is an interesting subject though
mydlyfkryzis
当有疑问时踢你的敌人在生殖器上，你可以道歉后
Automatic Transmissions have rubber seals......Most ATF "leak fix" additives soften seals, because the ATF doesn't.
ATF is essentially 10wt Hydraulic fluid. It also has to be kind to clutch material. AT's are very much like motorcycle clutches in their internal materials. ATF are antifoam, anti corrosion, and need to lube gears and bearings....The bearings are similar in material to fork sliders.
Most older Japanese bikes specified ATF as the preferred fluid, usually Dexron.
ATF is essentially 10wt Hydraulic fluid. It also has to be kind to clutch material. AT's are very much like motorcycle clutches in their internal materials. ATF are antifoam, anti corrosion, and need to lube gears and bearings....The bearings are similar in material to fork sliders.
Most older Japanese bikes specified ATF as the preferred fluid, usually Dexron.
sav0r
Coast to Coast
ATF will work fine. The issue however is that down the road should you desire to change the characteristic of your suspension you then are left without many good options. Do you have options for 3w, 5w, 10w, 15w, etc. in ATF fluids? Not usually, but you do have those options with a lot of fork oils. It should also be noted the fork oils and shock oils often differ. There is a chart out that I have seen that show many brands of fork and shock oil and then shows them with standardized viscosity indexes so that you can get a good idea of what oils do what. That said, the easiest way to stay consistent is to pick a brand and stay with it.
Why do you have your mind set on the oil being synthetic? Mineral oils work just as well in this application.
Synthetics are worth the money in high performance engine applications, but for fork oil it doesn't really have any advantages.
Simply changing your fork oil every year will be the best thing you can do to them.
Synthetics are worth the money in high performance engine applications, but for fork oil it doesn't really have any advantages.
Simply changing your fork oil every year will be the best thing you can do to them.
mobil one sythetic atf go ahead and try that you couldn't do better quality wise
i assume you are going to spend the effort to have great suspension,you have plenty of time to settle on forks oil
have you already tested and got the front rear springs rates dialed in and the balance ? you gotta do that first that is at least a good static base to work from,the springs are the most important component of the suspension
i assume you are going to spend the effort to have great suspension,you have plenty of time to settle on forks oil
have you already tested and got the front rear springs rates dialed in and the balance ? you gotta do that first that is at least a good static base to work from,the springs are the most important component of the suspension
actually while you are testing and dialing in the springs and gold valve, oil level etc just use whatever atf is on sale yer gonna be playin around inside spingds in and out gold valve adjustemre=ents maybe even
and when you get tuned rael close on the front rear balnce,drian the cheap shit out it will have some swarph and shanker bits innit anyway
and when you get tuned rael close on the front rear balnce,drian the cheap shit out it will have some swarph and shanker bits innit anyway
xb33bsa said:
I haven't even started to adjust them,I've first got to get the rear shocks and install the forks,etc.
I was thinking synthetic oil in the forks would help them move really smooth and easy.
I'm glad to have so much good feedback while I'm trying to figure the best way to set this up so it's balanced.
synthetic wont have any diff in smoothness ,atf oil all have a built friction modifier that is spec'd by the transmission mfg. you are hyper focussing on a little thing that matters even lessgrcamna5 said:
you would be so much better off just put in any brand on sale dexron and start from therer or 10wt fork oil get some on special whatever it is quite possible that you will want lighter or heavier than 10 in the long run but that has got zero to do with calculating and weighing and measuring to try to get the springs balanced
because springds come first it like when you go to tune carbs or an out of tune bike you gotta make sure the ignition is done first, with suspension sstarting from a fresh slate springs first !!
get the springs that suit your weight ,statatic sag, rider sag,for the travel you have and correct spring preload you dont even need any oil at all in the forks or shocks for that matter
suspension damping does not effect ride height and sag or balance ,you dont even want to think fork oil at first
