Need fork seals, and help!

[Rip Wheeler]

OK, I have a 2001 WR426F and it has a leaking fork seal. I have bought a new set of seals including the dust seals also. Here is my problem, I have never dissasebled upsidedown forks before and I assume these are filled with nitrogen also, there is a schrader valve on top of the forks. Any tips and how do I refill the nitrogenand dissasemble the forks. The bike is working fine, but evertime I strap it down, it leaves a puddle and I need to get this fixed before my next ride. Appreciate any help or tips on avoiding trouble, springs flying. Oh, and how much oil in CC's does it require when refiling and the viscosity and where do I get the nitrogen and mow much? ?.

[Machster]

Before you go to all the trouble in replacing the seals...try this first. get an old film negative and slide it up the tube. Go all around the seal and see if any debris comes out. 9 time outta 10 this is the problem. I have seen it work more times than not. A buisness card will work in a pinch. If this dosen't work, it is fairly easy to change the seals. The Yamaha owners manual shows you how to do it. ?

[Machster]

P.S...no nitrogen! ?

[FroggerXCF]

Same deal here. I need to replace a seal on my right leg, and havent done this before. Im gonna try the film neg idea before I take on the bigger job.

[ddialogue]

I had never heard of the film trick before joining TT. The last time I had a seal start leaking (two months ago) I decided to give it a try. I was amazed that it actually worked!

[FroggerXCF]

Oh man, thats what Im hoping for. I just read the manual on how to do this, and it looks like an all day job!! ARGHHH!

[sjw]

the film trick worked for me,try it !!!

[FroggerXCF]

I did this last night. I was able to get alot of crap from under the rubber wiper out, but I couldnt tell if it stopped the leak. There wasnt any oil on the leg this morning, and I pumped on the forks about ten times last night. Maybe it fixed it?? I guess I'll find out if it ever stops raining around here. ?

[R_Little]

Wayneo

Make sure you got all the way in the seal.

Pull the wiper down by prying it out with a dull screwdriver. Then run the negative into the seal.

Better to use some contact cleaner on the ngative too.

When done stuff the wiper with bel-ray grease and yo8u will be good to go.

BTW, I'm in No Jersey and I ride on L.I. from time to time.

good luck

[Stefe9999]

I also have a leaking right seal. Just a small leak, it leaves a little oil ring after a stroke. What I don't see here is how pushing something up into the seal will allow you to extract debris. Seems like it would push the debris up into the fork beyond the seal. Is there more to the technique than just pushing the negative straight up? Do you move it diagonally when you extract it? Anyways, so far, mine is still leaving the little oil ring.

[elephant_rider]

It is not too bad if you TAKE YOUR TIME! Have a clean work area and have lots of light (Not Lite-Beer, but light beer would be better than Hi-Test) .

Little helper...Rig something like an elastic band on a wall hook to keep the fork leg standing up.

Electrical tape works instead of film negative...just do not go more than half way.

Good Luck!

[FroggerXCF]

I only could get about an inch or 2 up under the wiper boot. Think Im gonna take it down and do a more thorogh job. I kind of used a diaganol "wipe" with the film.

Rich-where do you ride on the island?

[Rip Wheeler]

Wayne, I just talked to an old timer on this and he said basically the same deal, he told me to use a think feeler blade and run it under the seal and around, he said dirt gets unde rit and makes it leak, if left to go, it will score the tube and be a permanent leaker. I did replace the seals in my fork using the factroy repair manual and it went real well. But I'm carrying around some feeler blades or some ne :thumbsup:gative film with me from here on!

[FroggerXCF]

Looked at it this morning after a quick ride yesterday afternoon, and didnt see any leaks. I didnt pound the forks, but gave them a little play.

When you replaced your seals, how long did it take? Just curious.