Edited Date/Time
12/2/2024 11:16am
Dumbest question ever but what's the deal with Rockshox crush washers?
There’s the old 8mm normal ones (11.4015.259.000)
There’s the new 8mm flanged ones (11.4018.127.000)
And there’s a metal retainer (11.4015.260.000)
I have a 2021 Zeb Ultimate. Which combination of these parts do I need? And does the metal retainer pair with the old 8mm crush washer, the new flanged 8mm crush washer, both, or neither?
The first two (11.4015.259.000 and 11.4018.127.000). I've got bags full of each that have serviced a ZEB many a time. No idea what that metal retainer would be used for lol
Can I partially hijack this thread? When servicing a RockShox fork, the old crush washer often gets stuck in its little recess in the foot-bolts. Is there a trick to getting those out efficiently. There have been multiple times I have struggled for a looonng time tying to wedge that thing out.
Use a pick and jab 'er in there. Use the little hole you just made to jack it out a bit. If you can get it up on the thread a bit, twist counterclockwise and the thread helps lift it out. Godspeed.
Rockshox probably doesn't approve that but works fine for meeee
Is there a functional difference between the first two options or is either one fine? Like, is one of these options better or more sealed, or is the old one maybe incompatible.
The flanged washer is used for the damper side and the non-flanged is used for the air spring side. If you plan to replace them, then you need both unfortunately.
Thank you! That makes sense. Couldn't find that info anywhere, even when I looked in the RS Zeb service documentation.
I believe if you mix up the crush washers on the damper side it screws with your rebound range - I think an old fork with a flanged crush washer will space the adjuster out far enough that the allen disengages from the internal rod when you close the dial and you will need to stick an allen key up there to wind it back out. A flangeless crush washer in a new fork might reduce the total number of clicks you have.
Honestly there isn't much need to replace them most of the time unless there is visible damage - the shafts are sealed internally and pressed in to the lowers so they need to be pretty mangled to cause an issue. The old air spring shafts with the retainer would get pretty squashed so would usually replace those. And the current damper side ones slide off easily so if you have the service kit with new washers then there's no reason not to replace it. I wouldn't worry about fishing the air side one out as you would probably do more harm than good.
Thats as long as you USE A TORQUE WRENCH on the bolts! The most common reason they get warped or squashed flat is overtightening. Which also loosens the pressfit in the lowers, damages the thread in the shafts, makes them a pain to dsiassemble in the future....
Does anyone know if they're even necessary? Somewhere I saw a neat diagram that claimed since the air and damper shafts were essentially pressed into a socket at the bottom of the legs no oil can get out that way (which is why you have to knock them loose) and that the only purpose of the washers was to protect the paint on the legs.
Is that silly or...?
Interestingly the MRP Lift damper I’ll be reviewing doesn’t come with or require crush washers for use on the damper side of a Zeb.
Good point! I have that same damper in my Lyrik Ultimate and also did not use a crush washer. (I am very impressed w/ the damper too, SO much better than the Charger 3.0 I had in there).
The metal retainer was used on older forks. Now the retaining bolts have a seat for the crush washers; the old ones were basically just normal bolts and so the metal ring was necessary to capture the crush washer.
I have re-used crush washers on my personal forks in the past--that wide, flanged RockShox one in particular seems to have almost no deformation when torqued to spec. However, as a matter of professional principle I always replaced them on customers' forks.
I second the point above about using a torque wrench on foot bolts. I haven't tested this, but I suspect you might get a slightly different actual torque re-using an old, flattened crush washer.
Not enough of an engineer to say whether they're strictly necessary, but given that Fox and RockShox continue to include them in every service kit, I imagine they must provide some kind of functional value.
Hey all, just heard back from Rockshox tech support and here's what they had to say. Interestingly, they approved reusing cursh washers between 200-hour services:
"The 200-hour service kit includes crush washers, which only need to be replaced during the 200-hour service. They can be reused during 50-hour services. The crush washers for each side of the fork are unique.
Bulk crush washers:
Charger 2.1 Damper side: 11.4018.127.000 FORK CRUSH WASHERS (FLANGED 8MM) QTY 50 (ZEB , BOXXER 35MM, 35G, 35S, REVELATION RC/CHRC, YARI, PIKE RC B1+, LYRIK RC C1+
DebonAir Spring side: 11.4015.259.000 FORK CRUSH WASHERS - 8MM (QTY 50)
A crush washer retainer is not used with your DebonAir spring or Charger 2.1 damper."
Ohlins doesn’t have em and I love it
I bought the Lift for a Fox 38 and it didn't come with crush washers either. Also partially hijacking this thread - do any of you use a thinner oil(think 68k supergliss or the EXT/Ohlin stuff) in the cold winter?
I use thinner oil than the fox gold (~50cSt eg Maxima Plush Dynamic light, Rockshox 0w-30 or Motorex 10wt) all year round, especially in larger stanchioned forks or long bushings like a Zeb. Certain applications (ie cold weather or large oil volume like a smashpot) can be even better with a 5 or 7 wt oil. The stuff over 50cSt is good for 32mm cross country forks but creates too much viscous damping at high speed, and can be dragged past your dust wipers and in to your damper too easily
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