Oil seal replacement
 

I need to change the oil seal in the front forks.

I 've already replaced the oil but as I didn't change the oil seals, most of it must have leaked.

Springs are within specifications.

I remember that I couldn't remove the oil seal. I also couldn't unscrew the bottom part of the fork, because It needed a rod handler and a Tbar.

I 'm thinking that I dont have to use this tool, and that I could just remove the oil seal by cutting it. (taking care not to damage the forks)

Does anybody know if this method is ok? I should also place the new oil seal by softly hammering them with a tool that could do the work. I don't have the special tool needed for the placement of the seals.

Use a air gun to undo the bottom fork bolt, you then do not need to hold the inner rod with a special tool.

And then the oil seal will come out easily?

thx for your reply

The chrome fork tube will pull out, there will be a circlip holding in the fork seal in, remove the clip then the fork seal.

Nice to know that...:-)

An alternative tool to the airgun? Or if you know where I can buy the rod handler in a reasonable price.

Hello!
I am facing the same problem(leaky oil seals)
I have a question for Kev.
That air gun,is it a special tool?
Thank's!

This is what it looks like, you will also need a air compressor to run this gun.

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/NEW-1-2-REVER...1%7C240%3A1318

Είναι το αερόκλειδο Νίκο... Δε νομίζο να θες το αγοράσεις για να αλάξεις τα λάδια στα καλάμια μόνο. Υπ 'όψη ότι θες και αεροσυμπιεστή.

Ohhh,that's the one!
Thank's Kev!I have one(Bormann)
The question is,shouldn't there be the long Tbar to hold the nut so that the air gun can unscrew the screw and vice versa?
Γεια σου Γιωργη!
Εχω αεροκλειδο αλλα δεν ηξερα οτι στα ξενα λεγετε air gun/αεροβολο!!!

No bar needed, the air gun can spin the Allen key bolt off.

Remove fork & drain oil, refit spring & end cap, air gun Allen key bolt off, strip forks. Fit new seal assemble fork with spring & end cap (with no oil) tighten Allen key bolt.

If the Allen key bolt starts to turn with out tightening up, turn the fork upside down & push down on the bottom fork leg compressing the spring, this will preload the dampening rod & should stop it from turning, allowing you to tighten the Allen key bolt.

Once tight remove end cap & spring, set oil height. :Speedy_Superhero_Q3

Thank's Kev!
That was really helpfull!

You might find these useful.

http://bultaco.proboards.com/index.c...=forksealtools

Thankyou for the links. I 've always liked homemade tools.

Your welcome theof. every time I check prices on Mac or Snap On I like homemade tools even more !

I tried Kev's air gun method but it did not work. The damper cartridge just spins inside the fork tube even with the spring compressed. Looks like the holding tool is needed after all. I would make my own if new the dimensions.

Gee that must be a tight one, I have never had it not work for me.

I've been replacing my fork seals on my '09 R and had some trouble getting the damper rod out. I do not have an air gun so that was out and it just span with the socket alone.

After a bit of research I found a Germn forum (which I can't find again - doh!!) but they suggested using a broom handle - the idea being that the friction of the wood against the inner tube of the damper is enough to be able to undo the bolt. I should add that the fork cap, spring and oil need to be removed first.

I experimented a bit and came up with this special tool (top of the damper rod that it goes into shown as well and spark plug to get an idea of size).
https://bay174.mail.live.com/att/Get...UvanBlZw_3d_3d
You will need to whittle the broom hamdle down a bit so it's tapered and so half an inch or so of it will go into the tube - you can feel this when you put it down the tube. Then just stand the fork upright on something soft (I did it on some carpet) and whack it in with a hammer. Experiment a bit here because I gave mine a fair belting and then had a ****** of a time getting it out of the damper tube once it was removed. The amount of grip that you get doing this is quite surprising!

Next challenge was how to keep the broomhandle from turning as well. Put the fork in a vice between a couple of bits of wood so as not to damage it. I ended up using a pipe wrench (subtle eh?) as it tends to grip into the wood if you put it on the right way around (unlike this photo - not sure how that happened but you get the idea).
https://bay174.mail.live.com/att/Get...UvanBlZw_3d_3d
After doing this both fork legs came out like having a -well you know what I mean.

The first picture shows the broom handle after it was used - you'll notice that there's a lip there - I whittled this down before using it again.

Just a tip - when re-assembling don't try to shortcut by putting the top bush (the one under the seal) in before the inner tube. The tube then won't go in and the only way to get it out is to destroy it - so off to my friendly Yam dealer this morning - dic%$ead!!

Although I haven't got to that point yet, reassembly should work just as well using this method.

BTW, just in case anyone is complaining about the price of spares in the Northern Hemisphere, I got a price for the dust seals here in Melbourne, Oz yesterday - 90AUD EACH!! Looks like another package coming from Off The Road!

Hope this helps!

Cheers!

I am doing my XTRs forks at the moment... I got quoted $67NZ per dust seal..and all yamaha parts here come from Austraila...
$22NZ each for the oil seal...

Question.... How much oil do the forks have in them ?

I had a incident with a ford at about 80kph on the DB1K... brake caliper dented the MM pipe / tyre took a bit of the rear
guard out....
http://imageshack.us/a/img843/7241/ssa42032.jpg
http://imageshack.us/a/img594/6892/ssa42034.jpg
http://imageshack.us/a/img705/7062/ssa42033.jpg

[quote=Petenz;183488]I am doing my XTRs forks at the moment... I got quoted $67NZ per dust seal..and all yamaha parts here come from Austraila...
$22NZ each for the oil seal...

Question.... How much oil do the forks have in them ?

Someones doing some price gouging here I reckon. A quick look on OTR in Germany or WeMoto in UK has this sort of stuff at a quarter the price. Like a lot of the stuff out here they charge what the market will bear.

I've got Hyperpro progressive springs in mine and they only use 500ml per leg as they use a heavier spring rate resulting in less displacement - I use 15w oil as well. This is great because fork oil only comes in 1L bottles and most off-road fork legs take just a bit more so you have to buy 2 :sad2:.

I've got a Haymes manual though for the 04-11 models and it recommends 640cc of 10W oil in each leg (600 in XTX - not sure why?) and 125 mm fork oil level.

Update on the top bush - OEM 125AUD for one! But dealer can get aftermarket - 2 for 42AUD - a bit more like it!

Still trying to work out how you did that damage??

I had to edit all my post because i had my front fork serviced.
To lift the bike at service they used car jack with 380 max height. Some answers can be found also here.
Now the most interesting part is the damper rod (XT660R 2008) that doesn't have one end to be blocked with a 27 mm hexagonal bolt M18. I'm glad i didn't start to service the fork by myself. To unscrew it you must use a compressor gun.

Hey guys, any ideas how to fit new seal without special tools ? :sign13:

Job done :eusa_dance:
(thanks to youtube)