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 10-11-13, 01:50
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How to: Conventional Fork Seal Replacement Without Splitting the Fork Leg....
....Sorry for the rather long title, couldnt think of what else to put
 So the new winter toy - my XTR has two blown fork seals. Easy enough on conventional forks me thinks. That was until i tried to split the fork legs that is. One damper bolt seized solid, the other one has the damper turning with it. I tried un-doing them before stripping the forks out so they had pressure on the damper but they weren't having any of it. So fast forward and both forks are out the bike. First off i checked to make sure they weren't bent. Easy enough, place said fork leg on flat surface...  Now the idea is to rotate the chrome part of the leg inside the lower outer part - if theres a bend in the leg then that top end will move up and down as you rotate it. To be more accurate you can place an object a millimetre or so beneath the leg - any movement will be obvious to the naked eye as you rotate...  So both legs are straight! Phew! So onto the seals, and more to the point, how to get them out. As you may or may not know, the done way is pull the two halves apart, and with it the seal will come. Problem been with the damper bolt in place you cannot do this. Two methods spring to mind for getting the seized bolt out, both ways have issues; Heat - spoil the finish and possibly the seals inside the leg. Drilling - would have to be very accurate, its time consuming too and theres a risk of damage to the leg. After a search online i discovered another way to replace the seals. I put the idea to the local bike shop, whom i had left one of the legs with to see what they could do (nothing it seems) ... who told me not in a month of Sundays would the idea work. Well this is the living proof that it did work. So what is this ingenious method of changing seals without splitting the legs apart. Well it involves a car, a wall, and a couple of bits of wood oh, and a car jack!  Firstly, remove the dust seal and spring clip from above the fork seal. Remove the fork cap and fork spring. Extend the fork as much as it will travel, and fill the fork to the top with oil. You can use any oil, though fork oil is preferred to stop contamination. I basically emptied one fork into the other (via a jug of course)....  Replace the fork cap. Park your car adjacent to a wall, and set your stall out like this....  Place the fork leg between the wall and the car, using the wood to prevent damage. You'll see in the next picture i used a towel to prevent scratching the alloy wheel too. Oh, and a different jack in the end aswell.....  Now the idea is that as you pump the jack out, this then compresses the fork leg, thus forcing the seal out as the oil has no where to go and finds the weakest point. Never in a month of Sundays they said ... it'll just weep past the seal they said...... POW!!!!  Bingo  It worked!!! Oh, the reason for bigger jack was just because the little one was struggling to pump, wrong orientation and all that....To be fair i got a little pressure on and the jack then fell over (it had already done it a few times as it is awkward on your own) - i cursed at my stupidness then realised it had fallen over because the seal had popped and there was no pressure to hold it up! Wow - chuffed to bits  So that was one leg sorted, the other fork leg would wait for the following day as i had places to be. The next day another idea was put into action. Now this turned out to be very easy, provided you know a joiner or access to large clamps...  So as you can see, i prepared the fork leg the same, filling it with oil, placed it in the clamp, then tightened the clamp, once again squeezing the leg together. The photo also shows the end result - the seal has popped out allowing oil to leak. To be fair you dont actually loose that much oil either, i wouldnt advise doing it on the dining room table mind  So there you have it - a bloody easy way to get fork seals out. I know some are harder then others, i think these were particularly easy to get out, but they are oem looking at them so who knows. First time i've done this, wont be the last i'm sure. Just going back to the original plan; using the car jack. I did struggle with both jacks drawing air as i tried to pump 'em out. I would suggest instead trying a wind out sccissor jack, or a purpose made hydraulic jack....  Cheers  |
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