Question - Fork Seal Replacement

[Big_Dave]

I've got a leaky left seal that needs some replacing.
Now I've been researching a fair bit

finding videos like this [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C9ICr-DOmdk] along with my service manual.

The question I have is "Is it possible to get the seal and washers in place without a fork seal driver ?"

I've heard that it's possible to use the old seal to do this but don't fully understand how everything can be pushed up enough. If anyone could explain it to me that'd be great.

Cheers
Dave.

[Marty MOOSE]

You can use the old seal and a punch or PVC pipe but its a bit on the rough side. Just make sure the bush is pushed in all the way before you try to get the seal seated.

MM

[Captain Starfish]

I've replaced a few seals on a few different bikes of mine, and never had the right sized bit of PVC or tool. I've always used a bit of metal rod or bolt about 2/3 the width of the seal thickness as a punch and just gone very lightly - tap one side in a half millimetre, then the other, back and forth all the way in, then go round the circle to finally seat it (remember even as you go around the circle, one tap one side, one tap the other side to keep it even).

Never had an issue doing it this way. Just have to be a little patient and take it easy.

[Big_Dave]

Thanks,

What about the compressing the spring when opening up the fork, is this going to be an issue, do you need a spring compressor tool ?

[Captain Starfish]

Depends on the bike. I've made a tool for the busa and gixxers which have a bit of a different setup. Usually though the spring isn't under that much tension and you can release it and get it started back in again by hand no dramas. The real hassle is loosening off the inner - suggest you compress the fork and get that allen head bolt out from up behind the axle before you remove the fork from the bike unless you have other fork compressing methods and a rattle gun.

[Big_Dave]

Do I have to remove the inner (I guessing this is the dampening rod assembly stuff).

I thought I could just remove the cap, outer tube, spring, washers and seals and leave the left intack. Is this not possible ?

[Captain Starfish]

Depends on the forks. Something stops the inners from falling out when you do a wheelie - it holds the two halves together. On the GSXRs it's a rod just under the caps. On most other bikes I've seen apart (by no means a comprehensive survey) it's the guts which are held in from the bottom. You do need to separate the two halves of the fork before you can get the old seal out.

[Big_Dave]

The fork in this site/thread is meant to be the same as mine, so it kinda seems possible. But once again I'm a little worried that I might need spring compression gear

[Marty MOOSE]

What bike is it ?? Ok read it R1 ??? If so then YES you need "spring compression gear " unless you have really strong hands

MM

[Big_Dave]

Okay, cheers Marty. Would have sucked to open it up then discover I needed.

Now to hunt for tools, or try to make some

[Big_Dave]

Anyone have a spring compressor and rod holder that i could borrow or use ?
would love to get it done Thursday because i finish work at 12(noon) and have the night off.

another query i had: do i need to change the oil in both forks or is there no drama in doing just one ?

[Captain Starfish]

Dave: pm me for addy etc, the tool there is pretty much the same as the one for the GSXRs - Marty MOOSE may know if they are different sizes or something, otherwise you're welcome to borrow mine. I'm just on the other side of the freeway from your place.

And dude - don't be horrible. Change the oil in both forks.

[Mockery]

Use electrical tape to drive the seal home, like this:
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[thro]

what starfish said about the forks.

Do the seals in BOTH of them, even if only one is currently busted.

You just know, that being the same age, the other fork seal will fail like, a week later, and its a bit of a pain in the arse job to do. While you've got the front end of the bike off, spend the extra $5 on the other fork's seals, and $10 on oil (or whatever it is).

The vast majority of the cost, (if you pay someone for it - your time otherwise), will be in the labour, which won't differ much between doing 1 or 2 forks.

[Big_Dave]

That's pretty much what I started to realise.

I think I was just concentrating on one fork because that's were the problem is and didn't think about the other till now , the thought of doing one also had me concerned about the difference having one fork with old and one with new oil, and possibly different oil levels. Luckily I bought 2 seals instead of one, just need a little more oil now.

Captin: PM has been sent

And as an additional, if anyones done this before and would like to help me out on Thursday that'd be good, otherwise I'll stumble through it with my manual. (I'm mechanically minded but haven't done a fork before)

[Big_Dave]

Crap, just when I was feeling confident and checking over all the things i'll need I hit another hick up and thus another question:

How important is a tourqe wrench for this job ? , the one I have can't go anywhere near low enough for the settings in the manual

• lower bracket pinch bolt - 23 Nm (2.3 m · kg, 17 ft · lb)
• cap bolt - 23 Nm (2.3 m · kg, 17 ft · lb)
• handlebar boss pinch bolt - 13 Nm (1.3 m · kg, 9.4 ft · lb)
• upper bracket pinch bolt - 26 Nm (2.6 m · kg, 19 ft · lb)

Would it be safe to go by hand ?

They seem rather soft to me, just looking at it I'm suprised the fork stays on the bike

Any comments on the subject would be great, thanks ....again

[Captain Starfish]

Safe to go by hand. You will be surprised by how loosely it's all held together and will discover it when you pull apart.

Half of them will be allen head bolts you can't get a wrench at anyway. Just keep an eye on how hard you have to pull on the wrench or key to get them loose and use that putting 'em back on.

Don't forget to keep the bits for the two sides separate. Don't mix and match left and right - the wear etc may leave you scratching your head wondering why one side is sloppy and the other isn't, especially if you're being tight like I usually am and not replacing the bushes.

[Marty MOOSE]

The tripple clamp bolts must be done up using a torque wrench or you run the rsik of stiction and bush wear.

[Captain Starfish]

How's that, MM? And where? In the forks, headstem or just the fork mounts in the triples?

Dave - if you can't get close enough (for your own peace of mind) to spec torque by feel, Repco or Malz on Armadale Rd will flog you a torque wrench for under a hundred bucks. You're still way ahead of what it would cost you for a mechanic after a purchase like that, you have the peace of mind that you have done it right, and you have that tool forever.

[Big_Dave]

It's all good, I already figured it was time for me to own my very own torque wrench so I picked one up on the way home from work today.

That's another obstacle tackled, hopefully smooth sailing from here on