| Author | Message | ||
     Nillaice |
a few thousand miles ago, the brake side fork leg started leaking. I rebuilt the forks and replaced all the seals and bushings. about 500 miles later, the brake side fork starts to weep oil, so I keep an eye on it and it gets worse. so I ordered another set of all-balls fork seals and disassembled that fork and inspect it more closely than I did initially. I found one longitudinal scratch. i couldn't feel it with my fingernail, but I could just barely it with gentle pressure and a 90° pick. assuming this was the culprit, I took some 2,000 grit paper to the fork leg and polished it out and re-assembled the fork with a new oil seal, but ..... THE LEAK CAME BACK !!! I referenced the manual and did all work step by step with a proper fork seal driver, so I don't doubt my workmanship. short of replacing the fork leg, I'm not sure what to do. should I have it re-built by a reputable company and then it's on the company to fix it again or should I get it DLC coated? can fork tubes be re-chromed? can the lower fork casting be fitted to a replacement tube? please advise | ||
| Hughlysses |
Nilla- I had a similar issue, but I managed to fix it on the second try. In my case, I found two VERY tiny pits in the tube. The perimeter of each pit was slightly raised and this would apparently nick the new seal, starting a leak. I took a flat file and lightly worked the two spots, "rolling" the file around the tube as I went. This knocked the edges off the pits without marring up the fork tube surface. I then took some paint and filled the pits (I think I used frame touchup paint that happened to be handy). I let that dry throughly and then sanded with ~1000 grit paper. No problems after that. I guess I'd inspect that fork leg again VERY carefully and make sure there are not some other defects in the surface that you missed. If you can't find anything, replacement may be your only option. | ||
| Nillaice |
the guy I spoke with at racetech said that their guys use 440 grit paper to cross-hatch the fork legs and this creates little pockets that hold fork oil and actually reduce friction, so 2,000 grit paper might have buffed it too smooth? he also brought up the possibility of the seal being installed backwards ....  ill report back with my findings if the fork leg is bent/dented/out of round; DLC coating would be a $700 investment and would not fix the problem. at 38,XXX miles I wouldn't think the forks are 'worn out' | ||
| Mark_weiss |
If the seal is upside down, the leaking should start almost immediately. The service manual states that the garter spring, 'open', side of the seal should face the dust cover, this is wrong. For almost any type of seal, the 'open' side of the seal should face the compartment being sealed. (Message edited by Mark_weiss on January 26, 2015) | ||
| Arry |
These seals are open, with a spring on both sides. The side with part numbers (small letters) goes to the outside. | ||
| Tootal |
After you get it fixed try some of these to keep it fixed! : http://www.motorcycle-superstore.com/22172/i/moose -racing-fork-skins | ||
| Panhead_dan |
I had a nick in the brake side tube that was giving me fits till I replaced the tube. | ||
| Mnrider |
I bent a tube on mine and bought a new tube kit from HD it was only like $155 at that time. | ||
| Nillaice |
how did you guys replace just the tube? ... or was it the bottom fork leg assy? do you guys have part #'s or item name descriptions ? | ||
| Panhead_dan |
Yup, the bottom part. Call Al. Order Line: 760-727-2333 www.americansportbike.com | ||
| Arcticktm |
I wouldn't worry that you polished it "too much". Don't see how that would ever cause the leak unless you went to an extreme and created a depressed area locally. I think Racetech guys are giving you an extreme performance tip that most of us woudln't appreciate, but shouldn't relate to your leak. Of course upside down seals would be a clear problem. If you have to replace seals again, maybe consider the higher end SKF seals that are now available. They were very well reviewed by many, including Motorcycle Consumer News. Don't know where All Balls gets their seals from. Mine were replaced with Moose seals via Parts Unlimited 2 years ago on my '06. I did seals only, no bushings, but have done regular fork oil changes at between 10k and 15k miles. 35k total miles. http://www.skf.com/group/products/seals/automotive -seals/suspension/fork-seals-for-motorcycles-and-b icycles/index.html |
