Fork seal Leaking

[denny]

I noticed the other day that one of the fork seals was leaking. She's due for a service soon so i'd rather wait for them to be changed then. Would it be a problem to keep riding in the meantime.....or do they urgently need to be changed?

Cheers
D

 

[ahutcheon]

Took me less than half an hour to change a fork seal using the instructions in the Font of All Wisdom, and I was by no means hurrying. That said, the oil only lubricates (damping is in the front shock) and you'll see a big mess before the best part of half a litre has leaked out so it's probably safe to ignore if it's just a small leak.

 

[denny]

It does appear to be a straightforward job however I don't have seal remover or a socket that big to tap the new seal in. I guess I could use a screwdriver to prise the old seal out but not sure what to use tap in the new one. Also, is the oil suppose to be topped up?

 

[Comfy Old Boots]

It does appear to be a straightforward job however I don't have seal remover or a socket that big to tap the new seal in. I guess I could use a screwdriver to prise the old seal out but not sure what to use tap in the new one. Also, is the oil suppose to be topped up?

Top up the oil to the same level as the ok fork. I used a screw driver to pry the old one out. I had a socket big enough but it was suggested that you can use the old seal to protect the new seal while it's being inserted with the help of a blunt object.

 

[(RIP) DitchWater]

I'm sure you could find some adhoc tools to acheive this job: You could make your own seal extractor and drift (22mm soil pipe?).

Also, you could replace the oil because it is likely to be oxidised although I can't see it helping with performance. Drain the fork leg, wash out with brake cleaner and refill with 0.47L of either 5W or 10W fork oil (you decide).

 

[ahutcheon]

It does appear to be a straightforward job however I don't have seal remover or a socket that big to tap the new seal in. I guess I could use a screwdriver to prise the old seal out but not sure what to use tap in the new one. Also, is the oil suppose to be topped up?

I used the old seal as a drift and worked round it with the biggest socket I had on the end of an extension bar. Seemed to seat fine in stages. I did treat myself to a seal puller, it was less than 10 quid from Motorworks so I added it to the order for the seals. A screwdriver might be a bit awkward in the space available around the front of the bike (or it might be dead easy, I didn't try). My fork oil looked nice and clean, and it definitely hadn't lost much, so I just left what was in there.