Fork seals

[dustdogg]

I have recently noticed that one of my fork seals has been weeping slightly, and after a very muddy day of riding it really started to really puke ? . I have heard of the film negative trick to get out small pieces of dirt. I already removed the fork legs from the bike so that I could inspect the closely, and I also removed the dust seal. Anything else that I need to know? What are your thoughts on new fork seals, and special tools to get the job done? Is it necessary? The bike only has 1400 miles on it. I would also like to change the fork oil while i've got them off the bike. Could you give me some tips on doing this on inverted forks? I have only done this with conventional forks. What weight, level and mfg. do you recommend? Sorry for the long post, hope someone can help ?

[mjslim]

I recently had a problem with one of my fork seals, so I had a local suspension place replace the seals for me and change the oil since I didn't have time to do it myself. I thought the manual explains the oil change process fairly well, but to replace the oil seals properly you need to buy (or make) a split clamshell tool for seating the seal in place after reassembling the fork components. I also invested in a set of Seal Savers which for $20 is cheap insurance for your seals assuming they work as advertised. Seal Savers are simple neoprene tubes that slide over your fork tubes and act as an additional dust wiper a few inches below the stock dust wiper. I don't have enough time on them to give an honest opinion on their effectiveness, but the concept makes sense to me and the price is reasonable.

[tgodwin]

I had this happen recently as well. I just pulled the dust cover down and inserted a piece of a tear-off (film) between the seal and the housing. Each time I pulled it out a little debris came out with it. After a few times of doing this there was no more debris. I replaced the dust cover and had a good day riding, that is until I wrecked and broke my clutch perch....The point is unless the seal is completely blown this works well, easily, and you don't have to take the front end apart.

One of the many little pointers learned here at TT...hope it helps.

Cheers, Tim

Forgot to say, it hasn't leaked since ?

[jdubsooner]

I'm having the exact same problem right now. Good questions dustdog, good luck with the fix. Hopefully we'll get more input.

[BrandonW]

Another quick fix is to remove the dust wiper, then wrap a band of electrical tape around the fork tube, TIGHTLY, as high as you can. Then thrust the fork down as far and hard as you can, effectively driving the electrical tape band underneath your fork seal.

It will either push any debris into your fork oil, or it will pull it out. After doing that once or twice, take off the electrical tape, clean up the area, put the dust wiper back in place, and forgettaboutit.

Easier than trying wedge film under the seal, and quicker too.

[Jackazz]

Another quick fix is to remove the dust wiper, then wrap a band of electrical tape around the fork tube, TIGHTLY, as high as you can. Then thrust the fork down as far and hard as you can, effectively driving the electrical tape band underneath your fork seal.

It will either push any debris into your fork oil, or it will pull it out. After doing that once or twice, take off the electrical tape, clean up the area, put the dust wiper back in place, and forgettaboutit.

Easier than trying wedge film under the seal, and quicker too.

Wouldn't this push crap that could clog up your fork's valving internals into the chamber though? I wonder what the potential for a problem is? ?

[BrandonW]

Wouldn't this push crap that could clog up your fork's valving internals into the chamber though? I wonder what the potential for a problem is? ?

Yes, you will possibly push crud into your forks. When your seals are "weeping", they have little granules that are getting stuck between the seal and the fork tube, and that breaks the "seal", which is why it starts weeping out.

The first method described here (using slim film and using that to scrape out the granules) is hoping to pull that stuff out, but you are probably pushing just as much in.

My method is knowingly pushing some in, but it gets it out of the way. The granuals are really quite small, in comparison to the orifaces that the oil is passing through.

Not a fix for everybody, but it works for me. I change my fork oil three times a year, and I also run SealSavers. Since running the SealSavers, I rarely have to do this stuff anymore.

?

[endurodog]

I use to change fork seals several times a year. Then about 4 years ago I started doing the cleaning trick and have not had to replace a fork seal since. I keep the stuff in my tool box so I can clean at the track/trail. I put lots of miles on my bikes also, riding 1 to 2 times a week.

In short, clean off the fork, remove the fork guards, I hit the dust wiper with brake clean, then pull it down, hit the seal with brake clean, wipe it clean, insert some business card material, run it around a couple time using a clean piece each time, then do the same to the dust wiper, put everything back together and ride.