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I'm getting a lot of conflicting information regarding the volume of oil for the lowers on this 2014 RockShox Pike RC w/ charger damper. Can anyone confirm the correct quantity of 0W-30? Is there a safer side to choose?

Service manual:

Recommends - Non-Drive Side 15 mL and Drive Side 5 mL

Nato Youtube walkthrough:

Recommends - 10cc or ml in both the right and left

LBS/Sram Dealer:

Recommends - 5cc or ml in both the right and left

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  • Note the video recommends 2015: 5cc or ml in the right, and 15 in the left so matches the 2014 manual....
    – mattnz
    Jan 11, 2018 at 5:34
  • Take a look at the description under the video, thats what i was talking about
    – polar
    Jan 11, 2018 at 5:36
  • Difference between Model year and year of manufacture and year of sale.
    – mattnz
    Jan 11, 2018 at 5:56

2 Answers 2

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The Service Manual or the Air/Oil chart from SRAM are your most reliable sources. This is the same source a SRAM/Rockshox dealer should be using to provide you this information, so there is no reason your LBS should offer you different information.

As for YouTube, that source is only as trustworthy as the guy who made the video, and given the volumes you quoted, I’d say you should stick to SRAM support.

Make sure you are paying attention to model year, since different model years may require different oil volumes.

The air/oil chart for 2014 Rock shot suspension can be found here.

enter image description here

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  • That is the same data in the manual which I'd also like to side with, but it concerns me that no one else is agreeing with it. Do you have direct experience filling this fork? And, what are the dangers to overfilling/underfilling?
    – polar
    Jan 11, 2018 at 2:24
  • The shock damper requires a specific amount of oil to function as designed. Overfilling can stiffen the shock or cause it to lock out or lose travel. Under filled shocks will react like a spring, with no damping action at all. It also is more likely to break down, as the oil is part of the lubrication for the action of the shock.
    – zenbike
    Jan 11, 2018 at 2:27
  • So it sounds like going with the higher amount is a non-damaging scenario? I edited my comment perhaps before your response, but do you have direct experience with this fork?
    – polar
    Jan 11, 2018 at 2:28
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    As for finding the most reliable source of data for the oil levels, the engineer that designed it would be that most reliable source. And that’s who provides the data for the chart and manual. I’ll never really understand why someone would accept the word of some rando on the inter webs, but discount that of the engineering team that designed the product. Go with your gut. Follow the manual.
    – zenbike
    Jan 11, 2018 at 2:29
  • No, going with a higher amount is not a zero damage scenario. It can cause seals to blow, worst case, though at the volumes with this fork, it is unlikely to do so. But it will cause the fork to function poorly if you use a different amount than is required.
    – zenbike
    Jan 11, 2018 at 2:31
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It really depends which seal is installed in the Charger damper.

Rock Shox started with a pretty simple o-ring setup to seal the damper from the lower body and the lubrication oil in there. This caused issues with the damper as some lubricating oil could find it's way inside the damper and cause the bladder to explode.

I think at that point they decided to only put 5ml inside the lower leg of the damper side. The replaced the seal with a a blue skf seal which is better and I think allowed 10ml afterwards.

If your lower seal of the charger cartridge is not blue you should fill in only 5ml. If it is blue you can use more than that. In any case if you use too much it will add some progression to your fork and can cause other seals to blow due to the higher pressure.

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