Fork seal trick dont work

T

TechKid

Member

Apr 30, 2002

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• Jul 28, 2002

• #1

I tried that little 35mm film fork seal trick aND I cant get the film in between the seal.It doesn't want to go in.How can i get this piece of film in the seal.should i change the film at all?

 

T

TechKid

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Apr 30, 2002

110

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• Jul 28, 2002

• Thread starter
• #2

Can somebody help me?

 

J

Joepro9

Member

Feb 17, 2001

503

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• Jul 28, 2002

• #3

hmm why are you doing tjhis?

 

T

TechKid

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Apr 30, 2002

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• Jul 28, 2002

• Thread starter
• #4

because my fork seals are leaking

 

Ol'89r

LIFETIME SPONSOR

Jan 27, 2000

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• Jul 28, 2002

• #5

TechKid.

Did you remove the wiper seals? These are the top seals and they have to be removed before exposing the oil seals. If you still can't get the film strip between the seal and the fork leg, try a feeler gauge. I use a .010 feeler gauge blade. They are much stiffer than a piece of film strip, but you have to be careful not to cut the lip of the seal.

Just my $ .02

 

D

DEANSFASTWAY

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May 16, 2002

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• Jul 28, 2002

• #6

Business card?

 

P

premeir

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Jun 18, 2002

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• Jul 28, 2002

• #7

This may not be the best thing to do, but just to get through the weekend riding, I got some of that power streering stop leak and wiped it on the seals. Anyway, that was a couple of months ago, I just dab a little more on from time to time, until I quit being lazy and change them.

 

Y

YZDezertGuy

Member

Apr 18, 2001

139

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• Jul 28, 2002

• #8

Techkid, I have done this trick a couple times and had it work. First you need to remove the dust seal and expose the oil seal. After that, take the piece of film and spray a little WD-40 or some sort of a lubricant on it to help it slide under the seal. Be sure to fork leg is clean first! You don't want to push any other dirt into there.

 

J

Joepro9

Member

Feb 17, 2001

503

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• Jul 28, 2002

• #9

yes that was my point,there leaking, dont take offense, but change the #$*@ things and get it over with.

 

0

02'Cr Rider

~SPONSOR~

Nov 20, 2001

216

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• Jul 29, 2002

• #10

Just as YZ DEZERTGUY explained.I cut the flim down to 1/2" wide and spray wd-40 on it,slide one end first and go around fork leg.Sometimes its just dirt that makes them leak.

 

S

Steve47

Member

Nov 23, 2001

103

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• Jul 31, 2002

• #11

A fork seal cost 10$ and takes 20 min to install, why wasting your time on all this BS that won't fix the problem??

 

J

Joepro9

Member

Feb 17, 2001

503

0

• Jul 31, 2002

• #12

everytime mine leak I end up replacing them anyway because no matter what u put in there it still leaks. Its just esier to me to replace them then your good for the next couple months.

 

D

DEANSFASTWAY

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May 16, 2002

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• Jul 31, 2002

• #13

Just think if you change the seals you could change the oil in the forks too and it will probably work better. Sounds like it may be time to service them anyway . You gotta watch that you dont push dirt that is lodged in the seal upward into the bushings then it will scrapr the tude and wear out the bushings. A;so if the tubes are nicked or scratched youll probably never get them to stop leaking/weeping without disassembling them and replacing the seals and buffing the tubes smooth. Check it out , good luck DEAN

 

D

dell30rb

Uhhh...

Dec 2, 2001

1,510

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• Jul 31, 2002

• #14

Steve47, some people dont know how to change a seal. Like me! I am chicken to open up the suspension... its that fear of doing something that you have never done before..

Although, when the time comes, and one of my bikes blows a seal, I will get a book and learn how to do it.. I will not pay some dope at the shop $100 to do it.

 

Z

Zenith

Member

Jan 11, 2001

483

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• Jul 31, 2002

• #15

AND some people don't have the money to burn on changing seals when you can get an extra couple of months by cleaning them out. If the cleaning trick does stop the leak that indicates that the seal was being held open by a piece of dirt, the seal is probably perfect so there is no reason to replace it. dell, you should definitely give changing the seals a go next time, it's not too difficult with a manual, seal driver and of course trusty DRN...

 

J

Joepro9

Member

Feb 17, 2001

503

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• Jul 31, 2002

• #16

people can afford a bike, but yet no seals, I wor kat mcdonalds for crying out loud and still have enough for partd and play. Seals are cheap. If you cant maintain the bike, there no use in having it. and before i could be leagaly employed I busted my but mowing lawns and side work so I could maintain my bike. I sorry, but if you cant affor seals, what gonna happen when you need a top or botom end, or bend the handle bars, or need new chain and sprkets. I sorry, its no offense to anyone, but its my belief that if you cant take care of something, you shouldnt have it.

 

Last edited: Jul 31, 2002

T

TechKid

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Apr 30, 2002

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• Jul 31, 2002

• Thread starter
• #17

how do you properly remove nicks from the tubes?What do you do?

 

S

Solid State

Member

Mar 9, 2001

492

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• Aug 1, 2002

• #18

Techkid,

I have removed small nicks from hydraulic tubes by wet sanding with some really fine emory cloth. This stuff is so fine that it is used to polish electronic components to a mirror finish for visual examination under a microscope. I polish in very small circular motions around the nick'd area - kinda like trying to polish out small scratches from new paint.

Not sure if this is the best or 'proper' way to do it, but most nicks come out and no damage is done (ie. no leaking). If you attemp it, make sure you don't sand it like a woodshop project or you might remove the surface plating/finish or take the tube out-of-round.

Good luck.