Öhlins Lower Leg Service (50-Hour – No Dust Wiper Replacement)

Öhlins Lower Leg Service (50-Hour – No Dust Wiper Replacement)

This is a standard 50-hour lower leg service for Öhlins RXF and DH38 forks. You don’t need to replace the dust wipers for this service, just clean, grease, refill oil. It’s a great first step for any home mechanic.

⚠️ No tools needed from us for this one!
This procedure doesn’t require any special tools, so there’s nothing to purchase on this page. Just make sure you have Slickoleum or SRAM Butter and the right oil on hand.

 What to Expect

  • Remove the adjusters using an Allen key and spanner (hold the knobs).
  • Undo foot nuts with a standard long socket and ratchet. These forks use foot nuts, not foot screws like rockshox.
  • Gently tap the air side with a soft mallet if the leg won’t slide off but it should slide out without the need to use a hammer.
  • Clean everything thoroughly.
  • Soak the foam rings in lower leg oil for 2 minutes and put them back in the fork
    • make sure they are not twisted
  • Grease the lower leg bushings with sram butter and the inside lips of the dust wiper seals.
  • Remove the circular springs from the dust wiper and put them on the stanchions.
  • Slide legs back on slowly. Leave a gap before full insertion to pour in oil from the holes where the damper shaft and air spring fit, then slide the rest of the way.
    • 5–10 cc per leg. Too much oil can create harsh ramp-up, don’t overfill.
  • Reinstall foot nuts gently: MAX torque is ~6 Nm (Very low). The crush washers seal it, overtightening can break the shaft.
  • Don’t forget to reinstall adjusters and knobs at the end.
  • Never torque the small allen screw, just slightly with some blue loctite.
Oil Tips:
Some Öhlins manuals recommend 5 cc per leg, but 5–10 cc total is generally fine. More oil isn’t better.
 Important Notes:
  • Remove the dust wiper spring ring before re-inserting stanchions or you risk damaging the seals.
  • Soak foam rings and align carefully, don’t twist or deform them during reassembly.
  • Use Slickoleum inside the dust wipers and on bushings to reduce stick-friction when riding your fork :).