Time for new fork seals?

[Braapstustu]

Trying to get my bike in tip top shape and recently noticed oil building up on the bottom of the forks, one side seems to be worse than the other, wiped it off and rode it around my yard and there was oil on the shocks again all around the seals look fine but i dont really know what im looking for either aha, how much do new seals cost? Is it an easy job i could  attempt myself  or need to be brought to a shop? , heres a picture. 

[BOAB]

Try this first:

[Braapstustu]

18 minutes ago, cjjeepercreeper said:

Try this first:

Seal mate? Can it be bought online anywhere like ebay etc? How does it work or get applied? 

[BOAB]

Its thin plastic, you clean the fork seals with it, get all the grime out.  Costs less than $10, shops carry it or you can buy it online.  There are youtube videos about it, look it up, its simple and cheap before you spend the money and time to replace the seals.

[Braapstustu]

1 hour ago, cjjeepercreeper said:

Its thin plastic, you clean the fork seals with it, get all the grime out.  Costs less than $10, shops carry it or you can buy it online.  There are youtube videos about it, look it up, its simple and cheap before you spend the money and time to replace the seals.

Thanks alot? ill definitely look into it

[rharr]

How old is the bike and have the forks ever been serviced? if it's more then 2 years old and ridden regularly I would suggest doing a fork rebuild with fresh fork oil . 

 

Oil can break down after repeated use and reduce the dampening ability. Also dirt and water can work there way in and make a pretty nasty mix of goo. 

Jump on youtube and look up videos of fork rebuilds for your model of bike. 

It's not hard to do just requires the correct tools (no pliers, or monkey wrenches), no excessive force (if you think you need to force something you are doing it wrong),  no halfassed attention to detail, oil,  seals and bushings. It's a 3 out of  5, 1 being a oil change, 5 being an engine rebuild. 

Most shops charge about 200 bucks to rebuild forks. 

[Kawabuggy]

rharr has it right.. This is an opportunity to open those forks and inspect them. There are bushing inside that commonly wear and need replacement, in addition to other seals, and the fluid. If it has not been serviced in the last 2 years, do yourself a favor and open them up, clean them inspect all components and put at least a bushing and seal kit in them with new fluid.

If you are NOT the mechanical type and don't want to mess with it, ask one of your more knowledgeable friends to assist you, or pay a shop (LAST option in my personal opinion) to do it. You can find manuals for your bike on-line for a small fee, or even free if you know where to look. If you are own a dirt bike for any length of time this is something that is going to be on your "to-do" list on a regular basis.

[turbo dan]

In my experience seals leak due to worn bushings allowing more slop between the inner and outer tubes than the seal can take up.  The seals themselves usually look perfectly fine when you take them apart, they've just been beaten up and deformed.

If you have never serviced your forks they were overdue for an oil change anyway.  Time for bushings, seals and fresh oil.  Depending on the type of fork you may find more stuff to fix once you take them apart.

[Sir falls alot]

I made one out of an old plastic sprite bottle. Just mimicked the shape of that one.

[ukele6]

im actually going through this right now.  i replaced the fork oil in one and the seal is still good.   the other fork needs a seal and i think im going to have to take it to the shop.

 

I have a question for those who have replaced seals. * yes i def need to change this seal its toast after 8 years. *     

When it came time to separate the fork outer and inner tube, i did not undo the bottom like you were supposed to.  removed the seal and the clip and yanked three times and the fork tube almost separated like it was supposed to. ( not sure if i broke something in the process). it was then i realized that i was probably supposed to unbolt the bottom with an impact wrench.     i checked my bushings and they look fine.   my question is can i get away with what i did or do i need to completely separate the tubes?   i  know the seal needs to be driven in but what about the bushings? 

[Braapstustu]

1 hour ago, rharr said:

How old is the bike and have the forks ever been serviced? if it's more then 2 years old and ridden regularly I would suggest doing a fork rebuild with fresh fork oil . 

 

Oil can break down after repeated use and reduce the dampening ability. Also dirt and water can work there way in and make a pretty nasty mix of goo. 

Jump on youtube and look up videos of fork rebuilds for your model of bike. 

It's not hard to do just requires the correct tools (no pliers, or monkey wrenches), no excessive force (if you think you need to force something you are doing it wrong),  no halfassed attention to detail, oil,  seals and bushings. It's a 3 out of  5, 1 being a oil change, 5 being an engine rebuild. 

Most shops charge about 200 bucks to rebuild forks. 

Its a 2004 yz85, been taking it apart and finding more and more stuff the previous owners did, guy i bought it off of didn't know much about it, i dont ride it much, anywhere from half hour to two hours a week, i am comfortable working on the bike, but have heard bad things about trying forks yourself, id honestly be morr comfortable with a top end rebuild then rebuilding forks, i know a guy who is very good with bikes though, ill look into it and if it seems beyond me ill get him to check them out, i dont do any track riding either, a bit of trail but mostly farm riding, thanks for the knowledge? 

[GoneDirtBikeN]

6 hours ago, cjjeepercreeper said:

Try this first:

 

3 hours ago, Sir falls alot said:

I made one out of an old plastic sprite bottle. Just mimicked the shape of that one.

I learnt from another mx'er at the track - even better is to make one out of a tear-off. The thinner the material you make it from the less oil you loose from the fork using it.

[GoneDirtBikeN]

2 hours ago, Braapstustu said:

Its a 2004 yz85, been taking it apart and finding more and more stuff the previous owners did, guy i bought it off of didn't know much about it, i dont ride it much, anywhere from half hour to two hours a week, i am comfortable working on the bike, but have heard bad things about trying forks yourself, id honestly be morr comfortable with a top end rebuild then rebuilding forks, i know a guy who is very good with bikes though, ill look into it and if it seems beyond me ill get him to check them out, i dont do any track riding either, a bit of trail but mostly farm riding, thanks for the knowledge? 

Rebuilding forks (seals, bushings and o-rings) is pretty easy.

 

[GoneDirtBikeN]

6 hours ago, Braapstustu said:

Trying to get my bike in tip top shape and recently noticed oil building up on the bottom of the forks, one side seems to be worse than the other, wiped it off and rode it around my yard and there was oil on the shocks again all around the seals look fine but i dont really know what im looking for either aha, how much do new seals cost? Is it an easy job i could  attempt myself  or need to be brought to a shop? , heres a picture. 

 

Go to Rocky Mountain (or other parts site) and use the OEM part finder. Use either OEM parts or good aftermarket. For Bushings and o-rings I use OEM and for the seals I use SKF.

You could just have some dirt lodged under the seals and cleaning that out may work. Given the age of the bike, chances are dirt is in the oil itself and the leaking will come back.

The cleaner you keep the oil and keep up on the maintenance the longer the internals and surfaces of the tubes will last.

[CDNSXV]

The Sealmate is crap.  It is way too flimsy and will deform very easily.  I had one, it lasted about 2 uses.

This one is 100x better and is way easier to use as well.

It is not uncommon to get crap up inside the seal and have a bit of a leak.  Run one of these cleaners around and it will most likely solve the leak.

[mog]

Just use a feeler gauge

[BOAB]

10 hours ago, GoneDirtBikeN said:

 

I learnt from another mx'er at the track - even better is to make one out of a tear-off. The thinner the material you make it from the less oil you loose from the fork using it.

The whole point is, just try cleaning the seals before you replace them.  I'm not endorsing using any one product, just potentially saving the OP time and money. ?

[Braapstustu]

9 hours ago, cjjeepercreeper said:

The whole point is, just try cleaning the seals before you replace them.  I'm not endorsing using any one product, just potentially saving the OP time and money. ?

Ordered a seal mate fork cleaner, ive heard great things and for $10 cant go wrong, if its just some dirt, great, if not ill look into rebuilding them myself, previous owner said he did seals not too long ago so forks likely need fresh oil, ill see what happens! 

[kdxyardsale]

Keep in mind if it has leaked a lot on just one side you could have less oil on one side. If you would attempt a top end you can do forks, it is actually easier, just find some good instructions

[Motox367]

On 6/14/2017 at 7:24 PM, Sir falls alot said:

I made one out of an old plastic sprite bottle. Just mimicked the shape of that one.

Yep plastic coke bottle, milk jug even the old tearoffs work.