Awesome Quality national oil seals
 Exquisite Craftsmanship.Leaking fork seals are more than a messy 
eyesore. Let them go long enough and the oil can ruin brake pads and, 
when the fluid’s gone, the fork’s internals will begin a nice 60-grit 
dance. You don’t want any of that.
Fortunately, fork-seal replacement is generally uncomplicated. As 
always, the task is easier if you get your tools and supplies ready. 
You’ll need whatever tools are necessary to remove the fork tubes from 
the bike, plus a hex socket to fit the socket-head bolt securing damping
 rod or cartridge. (Most Japanese sportbikes use a 6mm or 8mm hex.) It’s
 important that the hex portion of the tool is long enough to reach 
through the axle casting without fouling the access hole underneath. 
Have two fork seals at hand; you never know when you’ll ruin one during 
the install or, more likely, decide the job is so much fun you can’t 
resist doing the other seal at the same time. Have a sufficient quantity
 of fresh fork oil at the ready, too.Awesome Quality national oil seals Exquisite Craftsmanship.
Start by getting the fork leg off the bike–did you remember to crack the
 fork cap while the lower triple clamp bolts were still tight?–and 
giving it a thorough bath with a parts washer or contact
 cleaner. With the fork cap still in place, take your hex driver and 
insert it into the damping-cartridge hole; give it three or four good 
whacks with a hammer (1) to help unseat any thread-locking compound. 
Loosen but don’t remove the bolt just yet. Go to the other end of the 
leg and remove the fork cap (2). Drain the fork oil through the top, and
 take careful note of the orientation of the spring, washers and 
spacers. Remove the fork cap from the damping rod, then remove the 
spring, spacers and washers and set them aside. Next, remove the 
cartridge bolt (3), make sure you account for the brass washer under its
 head.Awesome Quality national oil seals Exquisite Craftsmanship.
The next sequence will remove the old seal. First pry the dust seal from
 the top of the fork leg (4), being careful not to gouge the soft 
aluminum. Underneath this cap you’ll see the fork seal proper, secured 
by an expanding clip set inside a small groove (5). Carefully pry this 
clip out. Squirt some contact
 cleaner into the recess to flush out any gunk.What comes next sounds 
positively barbaric, but it works. Grasp the fork tube in one hand and 
the stanchion in the other (6). Rapidly, and with moderate force, 
attempt to hyperextend the fork tube. Did you hear the clank? Good. Keep
 going until the fork seal begins to move out of the cavity; once it 
gets going it doesn’t take a lot of extra effort to set it free.Awesome 
Quality national oil seals Exquisite Craftsmanship.
Take a moment to examine the bushing (7), looking for cracks or a 
speckled appearance that indicates grime and metal shavings have been 
worked into the surface. Clean the exposed parts again.
Now you’re ready to install the new seal. Wrap the top of the stanchion 
with electrical tape (8) and lightly lubricate the inside of the new 
seal. Pay attention to which end is supposed to go up. (Hint: It’ll be 
the closed end. The side that is supposed to face down will have a small
 tensioning spring visible.) Carefully slip the seal over the stanchion.
 Take your time and, if you experience trouble getting the seal to fit, 
warm it under a lamp before trying again.
To set the seal, you can use any of a number of special tools called 
seal drivers (Race Tech at 909/279-6655 or www.racetech.com sells 
drivers for $69.99) or you can improvise. Whatever you use to drive the 
seal must fit the seal perfectly, with the outer diameter of the tube 
(or pipe or whatever) just small enough to fit into the slider cavity. 
If the driver is too small you’ll damage the seal. Also, the face of the
 driver must be perfectly flat and smooth. Ready? Take your tool (9) and
 use it to gently tap the seal into the recess; keep going until it 
seats firmly. Inspect it to be sure it’s straight in the bore and that 
the retaining-clip groove is exposed (10). Reinstall the clip and dust 
seal, followed by the damping rod or cartridge, refill with oil (be sure
 to measure the level with the spring out and the fork leg fully 
compressed) and you’re just about done.Awesome Quality national oil seals Exquisite Craftsmanship.
 
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