Rockshox Monarch R weeping oil.

[Tom B]

I've recently had my Monarch R rebuilt under warranty. On a ride of a couple of hours where the shock got a good workout I noted the sliding part had a good film of oil on it.

As I am pretty new to this suspension lark

Is this normal or a sign of impending doom?

Be

 

[Drago]

Shouldn't be doing that. They need servicing every 50-100hrs, so if you ride a lot wait until its next service, else take it back.

 

[dan_bo]

Yeah get it sorted. Those things don't like being dry.

 

[Yellow Saddle]

Wipe it clean and go for another ride and take some more pictures. I'd like to have a look again. Make a note of the colour of the oil on the cloth you use to wipe.
At the end of a ride, there should be an oily ring at the end of the shock's stroke. It should never be dry after riding.
Directly after a service it is normal for it to leave a bigger ring of oil than after ten rides. This is because assembly grease is inserted behind the lip seal you can see at the end of the canister and the felt ring that sits behind that. This grease is of the type that drips oil under pressure. All excess will work out within a few rides. If it doesn't, then you have a leak.
A shock like that has three types of oil inside.
1) Rubber grease/assembly grease (as mentioned above)
2) Right behind that, lubricating oil. This is a thick, sticky oil that's supposed to keep the felt ring drenched and it lubricates the seal. In other words, it should always seep a little bit otherwise the seal runs dry. When this runs dry, you know the shock is "empty" and needs a service.On Fox shocks this oil is blue, on Rock Shox, it is red. However, non-branded oils could be a different colour.
3) Damping oil. This should never leave the shock at all. It is a very lightweight oil and usually yellow.

For now, the oil on your shock looks a little bit excessive but let's see after a second and subsequent ride. There is no imminent danger.

 

[Jody]

How recent was it rebuilt under warranty? Personally it has way too much oil on for my liking even if it had a couple of weeks wroth of hard riding and would be going back to the shop.

 

[Tom B]

Wipe it clean and go for another ride and take some more pictures. I'd like to have a look again. Make a note of the colour of the oil on the cloth you use to wipe.
At the end of a ride, there should be an oily ring at the end of the shock's stroke. It should never be dry after riding.
Directly after a service it is normal for it to leave a bigger ring of oil than after ten rides. This is because assembly grease is inserted behind the lip seal you can see at the end of the canister and the felt ring that sits behind that. This grease is of the type that drips oil under pressure. All excess will work out within a few rides. If it doesn't, then you have a leak.
A shock like that has three types of oil inside.
1) Rubber grease/assembly grease (as mentioned above)
2) Right behind that, lubricating oil. This is a thick, sticky oil that's supposed to keep the felt ring drenched and it lubricates the seal. In other words, it should always seep a little bit otherwise the seal runs dry. When this runs dry, you know the shock is "empty" and needs a service.On Fox shocks this oil is blue, on Rock Shox, it is red. However, non-branded oils could be a different colour.
3) Damping oil. This should never leave the shock at all. It is a very lightweight oil and usually yellow.

For now, the oil on your shock looks a little bit excessive but let's see after a second and subsequent ride. There is no imminent danger.

From what I managed to get on the end of my grubby finger when the photo was taken the oil seemed light yellow like vegetable oil which it had a similar consistency to. I cant say if there was a similar build up on previous rides as I didn't pay attention (too busy nursing my wounds). Thinking about it, it wasn't cleaned after the ride before this one. So that is probably 5-6hours worth of use - If I am honest it wont have have much more than a a quick wipe since the rebuild as my rides havent been particularly wet or mucky.

How recent was it rebuilt under warranty? Personally it has way too much oil on for my liking even if it had a couple of weeks wroth of hard riding and would be going back to the shop.

A couple of weeks ago, it was sent back for knocking under light compression on cobbles etc.
Since it has seen 3-4 rides only 2 were quite rough.

I will give it another ride and see what happens - Thanks for your advice.