blown fork seal

[Slinkyman16]

Hey fello tters,

I blew a fork seal last weekend. I really dont know how it happand but i think it was either due to some freak inccident or i pulled down on my tie downs to tight and blew the right seal. Its not leaking that bad and at times it completly stops.. My question to you guys. What kind of damage can i expect if i continue to ride on a blown seal if any.. Im planning on having enzo rebuild the front forks after im done riding this weekend.

thanks

josh

[grayracer513]

Probably not much damage, but the fork could start to feel mushy and bottom a lot. It will make a mess, too, and if it's leaking on the brake side (and why wouldn't it be?), it can ruin your brake pads.

It started leaking because of one of 3 reasons:

> There's dirt under the seal.

> The fork tube has a scratch or a nick in it, and/or the seal is damaged by dirt, a scratch, or a nicked tube.

> The seal is worn out.

It has nothing to do with tying the bike down unless you think that you can put more pressure on the forks seals that way than by taking them from full extension in the air to the bottom of their travel off a jump.

On the assumption that you have the first problem, try the tear off/film strip trick:

Remove the fork guard for better access, then pull down the outer dust seal with a thin screwdriver. Clean out around the exposed surface of the seal. Then take a strip of a tear off or a film negative and slip it under the lip of the seal, between the seal and the tube. Roll it around the tube as you pulll it back out, so as to dislodge any grit that might be caught in the seal. Be sure to go all the way around a couple of times.

Run a little bead of grease around the tube between the seal and the dust seal and slide the dust seal back in place.

Odds are it will stop leaking. If you read your manual, you will see that Yamaha recommends cleaning around the fork seals after every ride.

[Drfletcherdc]

What Gray said.

Sounds just like some dirt is stuck in the seal.

[Slinkyman16]

thanks for the info.. ill do that today..