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fork leeks

Posted: 10:37 am Aug 11 2009
by pinitwot
my left side fork seel i noticed that on the boot it is getting oily my seel is leeking. so do i have to replace the seals?

cuz my buddy had that problem but his was way worse and he said you have to have some special tool that is like 60 bucks so he ended up having the dealer do it for 50 bucks a fork.

but in dirt bike magazine they had an artical about sliding some seal saver thing (it looked like a sticker) down in there. i did not realy understand the artical very well. anyone ever used one of these seal savers?

Posted: 11:17 am Aug 11 2009
by KarlP
A lot of the time you can get the seal working again if you clean it out.

I've used brake cleaner to clean up the fork leg and then slid a very thin feeler gauge (.003"?) between the seal and the fork tube to try and get any grit out of the seal. It usually works, at least for a while. You can also use a piece of 35 mm film or something like what was pictured in the article you read.

$50 a fork leg is not a bad price for seals replaced and fork oil changed, IMO. I think I've paid more....

Re: fork leeks

Posted: 12:07 pm Aug 11 2009
by canyncarvr
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pinitwot wrote:my left side fork seel i noticed that on the boot it is getting oily my seel is leeking. so do i have to replace the seals?

cuz my buddy had that problem but his was way worse and he said you have to have some special tool that is like 60 bucks so he ended up having the dealer do it for 50 bucks a fork.

but in dirt bike magazine they had an artical about sliding some seal saver thing (it looked like a sticker) down in there. i did not realy understand the artical very well. anyone ever used one of these seal savers?
Try cleaning it as already suggested.

Something Wibby told me about recently he'd read..use some fine wet-n-dry (I think he said 320). Cut a piece that will wrap around the inside tube without overlap (**edit** I was guessing. Check the link Wibby posted. ...without overlap makes more sense to me, but I haven't tried it..so never mind) with the corners cut.

He has an easily removeable dust seal on his V-Strom..the KDX dust seal isn't so easy to get to. Removing the dust seal obviously makes access to the OIL seal easier.

Something else to try in the 'wipe it out' category anyway.



The tool? He's talking about a seal driver I suppose. Yeah..not cheap..but they make the job easy..and if you get the tool you will have it the NEXT time you need to replace your seals.

Posted: 01:41 pm Aug 11 2009
by Mr. Wibbens

Posted: 01:56 pm Aug 11 2009
by Colorado Mike
The tusk seal driver is $40 at rockymountainmc.com . I have changed fork seals on USD forks without it though. I never did it to the RSUs.

I'm no english major but I don't think your supposed to start a sentence with a preposition. Starting a danged paragraph that way is even worser.

No wonder people don't like all this outsourcing of jobs to Indiana.

Posted: 02:10 pm Aug 11 2009
by Mr. Wibbens
Piece of pvc pipe always works for me

And use the old seals to help drive in the new ones

Posted: 02:57 pm Aug 11 2009
by lemmy
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I just dont see how it is possible to get a kdx dust seal out without taking the forks apart.

Posted: 03:14 pm Aug 11 2009
by Mr. Wibbens
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lemmy wrote:>|<>QBB<
I just dont see how it is possible to get a kdx dust seal out without taking the forks apart.
In that case why not leave it in?

Sand paper goes in oil seal very easy. I did it on my Vstrom, with a twisting motion

Posted: 03:27 pm Aug 11 2009
by Julien D
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lemmy wrote:>|<>QBB<
I just dont see how it is possible to get a kdx dust seal out without taking the forks apart.
Pretty easy. You just take it out...

Posted: 09:15 pm Aug 11 2009
by lemmy
dust seals that are on top and have a lip you can get a screwdriver under is easy. the kdx seals are submerged down inside the bottom part of the fork. i could no easier get the dust seal out without taking the fork apart than I could get the oil seal out with out taking the fork apart.

Posted: 08:09 am Aug 12 2009
by JoKDX220r
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"I think this might work with all shafts that leak. Like shift shafts and maybe kick starter shafts."

Anyone already try it for the shift shafts ?

Posted: 08:27 am Aug 12 2009
by KarlP
I'm curious about the dust seal as well.
I don't have RSU forks at the moment, but I never took that dust seal out when I did. I thought it was the oil seal, I guess. I cleaned that "seal" several times with the feeler gauge method with mixed results.

I recall that it had a clip on top. I don't see how, having removed the clip, one could get the dust seal out.

Take the clip out, grab some front brake and pump the forks?

Posted: 08:53 am Aug 12 2009
by Indawoods
A dental type pick is what I used...

Posted: 10:06 am Aug 12 2009
by lemmy
Doesn't that destroy or poke a hole in the dust seal?

Posted: 10:52 am Aug 12 2009
by Indawoods
Not if you are careful.... and if it does... there is always silicone.

I mean... you are already trying to cheat a seal replacement...

Posted: 11:05 am Aug 12 2009
by canyncarvr
A hole in an oil seal would ruin it..a hole in a dust seal..not so much.

Besides...'pick' at it at the seal circumference, not the wiper.

How 'bout trying the 'wipe' fix with the dust seal in there before fussing about what happens if you try to take it out using an less than spec'd approach?

Posted: 03:07 pm Aug 12 2009
by dirtrider14
when i have a leaking fork i get that film u get after taking in ur camera and slide in around the seal to clean it out that always works for me :grin:

Posted: 03:44 pm Aug 12 2009
by canyncarvr
Huh?

What?


'Taking in' your camera? For what? Take it to where? I don't take mine to Shutterfly (or any place else) to print pics. I either print my own or just email the things 'in' to them to get printed.

:hmm:

'Take in' my camera......


I don't get it.



:roll:

Posted: 04:09 pm Aug 12 2009
by dirtrider14
when u have a camera that uses film after u take it in they give u film back like in those strands if u take the film and slide it in between the fork and the seal it cleans it and stops the leaking

Posted: 04:29 pm Aug 12 2009
by Mr. Wibbens
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dirtrider14 wrote:when u have a camera that uses film after u take it in they give u film back like in those strands if u take the film and slide it in between the fork and the seal it cleans it and stops the leaking
You mean like negatives?

What part of Hickville do you live in? :mrgreen: