Forks question

[Rijack]

So today after getting home a ride I noticed I have quite a leaky front left fork.

I was going to try a seal mate but I think with the amount of oil on there it’s a replacement job regardless. I’ve attached a pic from earlier and I suspect any replies will be along the lines of that’s well past seal mate terroritoy.

My question would be can I just replace seals and oil on both sides, or is it best practice to also then replace the bushings and dust seal too? Most of the fork seal packs I’ve seen come with a dust seal anyway. Fork rebuild kits tend to also come with the two bushings needed for each fork.

I’m probably going to stick with oem seals, but if it is a good idea to do bushings at the same time, oem too? Or any would do?

Also any recommendations on fork oil?

I suspect it’s never been done before and I’m on 35k miles. So I’m not expecting it to smell too nice….

 

[miweber929]

So today after getting home a ride I noticed I have quite a leaky front left fork.

I was going to try a seal mate but I think with the amount of oil on there it’s a replacement job regardless. I’ve attached a pic from earlier and I suspect any replies will be along the lines of that’s well past seal mate terroritoy.

My question would be can I just replace seals and oil on both sides, or is it best practice to also then replace the bushings and dust seal too? Most of the fork seal packs I’ve seen come with a dust seal anyway. Fork rebuild kits tend to also come with the two bushings needed for each fork.

I’m probably going to stick with oem seals, but if it is a good idea to do bushings at the same time, oem too? Or any would do?

Also any recommendations on fork oil?

I suspect it’s never been done before and I’m on 35k miles. So I’m not expecting it to smell too nice….

Try a seal saver to see how it goes, you may be surprised. You might then be able to do seals at a more convenient time.

I replace oil, seals and dust wipers and only do bushings as needed. Keep in mind they will show some wear, after all they have 35,000 miles on them. But you decide if you want to let them go until next seal replacement or do them right away. Most of the time you can do seals at least once without doing bushings but it sort of depends on how much they are worn out which you won't know until you get in there. If you want to be 100% ready and do it once, yeah, get them, they are not stupid expensive and easy enough to do.

I have not found one fork oil to be better than another so the Honda stuff is just fine to use, or whatever your shop stocks will work.

 

[Rijack]

Try a seal saver to see how it goes, you may be surprised. You might then be able to do seals at a more convenient time.

I replace oil, seals and dust wipers and only do bushings as needed. Keep in mind they will show some wear, after all they have 35,000 miles on them. But you decide if you want to let them go until next seal replacement or do them right away. Most of the time you can do seals at least once without doing bushings but it sort of depends on how much they are worn out which you won't know until you get in there. If you want to be 100% ready and do it once, yeah, get them, they are not stupid expensive and easy enough to do.

I have not found one fork oil to be better than another so the Honda stuff is just fine to use, or whatever your shop stocks will work.

Thanks for the info and quick reply! I’ll give it a go - fingers crossed.

Perhaps on the bushings front I’ll just go ahead and do do it (if seal saver doesn’t work) so at least it’s all done together then. As you say it will show some wear anyway due to the mileage.

When in Rome and all that…

 

[JRinKtown]

Just remember to slide the dust seal down first, then with a rag and some kerosine clean in the recess of the seal before you insert the seal mate cleaning strip. Give the seal mate several good turns, wipe the fork tube down with your rag, then pump the forks vigorously several times, wipe again and check for leaks. I have used that method to solve dozens of leaks on bikes I have ridden off road a lot. Never had a leak I could not solve in that manner.

 

[Rijack]

Just remember to slide the dust seal down first, then with a rag and some kerosine clean in the recess of the seal before you insert the seal mate cleaning strip. Give the seal mate several good turns, wipe the fork tube down with your rag, then pump the forks vigorously several times, wipe again and check for leaks. I have used that method to solve dozens of leaks on bikes I have ridden off road a lot. Never had a leak I could solve in that manner.

Noted! Thank you. I think the seal mate arrives tomorrow so will try that tomorrow if it’s still light when I’m home. Worst case scenario is I’m buying the bits for a replacement job on Friday when I get paid.

 

[Rijack]

Well, colour me impressed. I used the seal mate (hoping correctly), twisted it round a couple of times, pumped the forks up and down several times quite vigorously as was suggested.

Either my leak is much smaller / slower than I thought, or it seems to have worked.

I wiped the stanchion again, pumped again, checked it, pumped again.

I think there might have been a tiny tiny bit of surface residue which I assume is relatively normal as the oil lubes the stanchions but no noticeable oil like there was before I used the seal mate.

Will monitor over the next few days and see how we go!

 

[JRinKtown]

Well, colour me impressed. I used the seal mate (hoping correctly), twisted it round a couple of times, pumped the forks up and down several times quite vigorously as was suggested.

Either my leak is much smaller / slower than I thought, or it seems to have worked.

I wiped the stanchion again, pumped again, checked it, pumped again.

I think there might have been a tiny tiny bit of surface residue which I assume is relatively normal as the oil lubes the stanchions but no noticeable oil like there was before I used the seal mate.

Will monitor over the next few days and see how we go!

That's good to hear. Usually there is no oil residue on the tubes after cleaning the seal and pumping, other than the residue left from wiping the oil off after cleaning the seal that is. If it begins to leak a bit again, try the seal mate again, but make sure when you pull the seal mate out from the seal to do it in one move while twisting it around, instead of stopping the twist then pulling it out. It gets more of the grunge out that way.