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i think i blew a fork seal today any tricks for getting one more ride had one planned friday. i was thinking of just adding oil and riding it. any thoughts or suggs? im hoping i just got some dirt under the seal.

Did you try the credit card trick?
Actually a piece of plastic milk carton works better to get between the forks and seal and clean out any dirt between them....

These are 1991 KX500 forks, right? You could try to run something under it. Pull down the dust seal, then try. I have read others say they had success with a 35mm film negative. You could take off an air bleeder screw and pour in a little oil.

I hope this helps.

89kdx200rdr wrote:i think i blew a fork seal today

OOOOOOO Did it taste fishy ?? Jus' kiddin' !!

I have also used film negative with good results.

Replace the oil with ATF. ATF will cause the seals to swell and should stop the leak. I've done this plenty of times as a temporary hold until I can change the seals proper.

Good tip Ski...

Do you run seal savers on your forks?

Seems kind'a imperative to me on a USD fork used in the woods.

Yeah...we get in alot more muck!

Okay, note to self, use Seal Savers... now, back to your regularly scheduled programming...

Yep, I have used film before with mucho success.

thanks for info. i used a piece from a 2 liter coke bottle. man was there alot of mud under my seals. i had thought about the sealsavers but didnt see how i could use them with the fork guard guides located where they are.

I don't know that seal savers fit well or poorly with the fork guard guides. They are supposed to. Seal savers aren't put on in place of the guards as far as I know.

Maybe they fit under the fork guard? Don't know. They come with zip ties according to RMtn.

I just ordered a set. Gotta keep those forks clean while they sit in my front room!!

i was looking again, they do go under the fork guard but there is no way they will go under the fork guard guides. not on my forks anyway. also noticed that even if i didnt have the guides to worry about it looks like the forks would have to be split when you put the savers on. they wont go over the bottom and going over the top tube doesnt look possible either. i took an old seal saver from old forks and cut it up the side. i thought i would sew in some velcro but it didnt fit. i may just get some and try to make them work. gotta do something. let me know how you get yours on. i will try to put some pics in the gallery to show what i'm talking about with the guides.

Yeah...I wondered about that. Figure I'll find out when mine come in.

I wondered if they would stretch over the caliper mount arms, for one. I don't know how stretchy they are.

Surely they would fit over the tops. They would have to stretch that much as they fit over the top tube when installed.

They advertise that they have no effect on 'stiction'. They look like just a piece of elastic material. Seems they'd stick some.

I'll find out when they get here. I'm sure there is a DVD included with complete video instructions!!

Mine velcro around the fork legs. Is basically a square piece of neoprene with velcrod edgesthat you wrap around the leg.

skipro3 wrote:Replace the oil with ATF. ATF will cause the seals to swell and should stop the leak. I've done this plenty of times as a temporary hold until I can change the seals proper.

Speaking of ATF and in the interest of hijacking this thread....

How does the ATF perform? Did you notice any difference in the performance when they got hot? Was it too thin? did it act like 5 wt, 2.5 wt or 10 wt? I need a report!

atf i bet this stuff can be used to oil the air filter and be used as premix also.

Ha! You made milk come out my nose 89!!

I've heard the ATF is about 5 wt, maybe just a tad more. Since several guys use it in their gearbox, I don't see how heat would affect it in forks. I have no idea on it's foaming or other characteristics, but I've used it in my street bikes for several years without problems. Not in my Kawasaki Voyager though. Manual for that says to use 15wt oil (Not easy to find)

Jeremy Wilkey (MX-Tech) recommends using Mobil-1 ATF for homespun fork service. Well...he used to, anyway. Last time I asked him about it. It's been a couple of years.

KayDee: Re...velcro

Yours are 'Seal Savers' by name? Others make a similar product...commonly call them seal savers, but they aren't Seal Savers (brand name...like Kleenex). Note that 89s pieces are one-piece. Well. That is an assumption on my part.

Now..wouldn't it be odd to take the forks out of the clamps to fuss with putting the seal savers over the tops only to have someone point out later..'You know..you could just split them at the Velcro seam.'

Don't forget the use of ATF as a chain lube, too!

sorry ski.

the 44-50mm sealsavers may slide on over the top. largest part of outer fork tube was 61 mm (the part were the guide bolts on). if i remember correctly i almost split the seem putting them on my old kdx forks but they did stretch some. i think i'll try the short ones zip tied under the fork guard guides.

skipro3 wrote: Since several guys use it in their gearbox, I don't see how heat would affect it in forks.

Last I recall... forks and gearboxes do different things... a gearbox is vented and your forks aren't... right? so the effect of heat can cause expansion and a gearbox wouldn't know the difference... but your forks would I think.