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Fork Seals...how long to seat?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Anonymous
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Anonymous

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So I took the forks off my '85 GS 700E this winter and had a guy put new seals in. He put some new #10 oil in and I installed new dust boots (thanks to bikebandit.com) and re-installed them myself. The guy told me they would "weep" for a while after the install. Well I have put almost 400 miles on since I installed them and they are still weeping. I have been adjusting the air as per my suzuki service manualto find the best ride, but have not gotten anywhere near the max 35.5 psi that it states. Will it take longer for the seals to seat in....or am I getting the run around? They are not leaking like they were before, but I get that little nasty ring of oil that the dust likes to stick to and it is getting annoying seams how I paid good hard earned American money to have them fixed....any ideas?
 
Re: Fork Seals...how long to seat?

Reduce the air pressure in your forks to about 4psi and the problem will go away. 35psi is absurdly extreme. :-) I dont use any pressure in my 1150E forks.

Earl

dlsmith said:
So I took the forks off my '85 GS 700E this winter and had a guy put new seals in. He put some new #10 oil in and I installed new dust boots (thanks to bikebandit.com) and re-installed them myself. The guy told me they would "weep" for a while after the install. Well I have put almost 400 miles on since I installed them and they are still weeping. I have been adjusting the air as per my suzuki service manualto find the best ride, but have not gotten anywhere near the max 35.5 psi that it states. Will it take longer for the seals to seat in....or am I getting the run around? They are not leaking like they were before, but I get that little nasty ring of oil that the dust likes to stick to and it is getting annoying seams how I paid good hard earned American money to have them fixed....any ideas?
Click to expand...
 
That is the thing I don't have 35 psi in them, or have I gotten that close. i think I might have 15 psi ...is that still too much?
 
If you're talking about just a bit of an oil "film", I'd say you're fine anything more is NOT. Also, I can't imagine that your forks should have anywhere near 35 #'s of air! ????????? I've had 3 different bikes with air forks and offhand I'd say the maximum was something like maybe 15 #'s. Every one of them suffered from problems with fork seals until I stopped using the air by replacing the springs and or preloading them with a bit of a "spacer"--an inch or so of PVC pipe.
Good luck!
ED
 
If you find the front end too soft, don't use air, get some progressive springs.

You shouldn't see any oil other than a miniscule amount. I've never heard of fork seals seating. The ones I've replaced didn't leak a drop from day one. Did you polish out any nicks or scratches in the tubes? If not, that's why they are leaking.
 
Sorry, I guess I read your post too quickly. :-) I was thinking sheesh! 35psi, the forks would be rigid. LOL

Instead of the air, I would try some PVC spacers on top of the springs or as Swanny suggested if they are way soft, progressive springs. Thicker oil will also help to slow the compression rate.

Earl

dlsmith said:
That is the thing I don't have 35 psi in them, or have I gotten that close. i think I might have 15 psi ...is that still too much?
Click to expand...
 
so are you guys saying that using the 1in of PVC piping above the spring, has the same effect as the air pressure? or just that you don't need/shouldn't run any air pressure with the spacers. and if there is a significant difference between air and spacers, what are the pros and cons of each? I've got the same bike, '85 700
 
Personally, I think the air compensation idea they had was a bad one. Take a look at how many modern bikes use this method. Hmmm, very few if any. That should tell you something.
 
luc8421 said:
so are you guys saying that using the 1in of PVC piping above the spring, has the same effect as the air pressure? or just that you don't need/shouldn't run any air pressure with the spacers. and if there is a significant difference between air and spacers, what are the pros and cons of each? I've got the same bike, '85 700
Click to expand...
On our older bikes, and even newer ones, the forks should compress about 1" when sitting on the bike. Most people agree this is a good compromise.
The correct length pre-load spacer achieves this. I use Progressive springs with a 1/2" pvc spacer. I run about 8 psi too. ('79 GS1000E.)
dlsmith...
The seals should have sealed immediately. I think your bike normally requires about 12 psi? Any chance you put in too much fork oil? You have to put in the exact amount required. 10 wt is pretty thin, but they still should have sealed.
 
My new seals didn't weep, they sealed immediately. I don't get any film on my sliders. I run around ten pounds of air, I like my forks pretty stiff. I put air in the spring and besides checking it before a long drive, don't add. In the fall I let it all out and store the bike. Air compresses progressively so I think it is better than a spacer.
 
Well, I didn't actually put the seals in....I had a locqal shop do it for me. I usually do my own work, but I was running short on time and just took the forks to the shop. I let the air out and dropped them down to 5 psi. I think I might just bleed all the air off and start from the begining.

I did check the manual again and it says that the maximum air pressure was 35 psi. I believe that is way too hard as well....anyway, I'll see how it goes. I bet I'll have to take them apart myself and start over and do it right. That is waht happens when you let others do the work :?
 
Yes. Live and learn. Personally, I think anything over 15 psi is just harder on the seals. Don't use high pressure to fill the forks either. They'll fill so quickly, the seals can fail. Maybe that's what the shop did? Who knows what they did wrong? :?
 
robinjo said:
How's the chrome on the inner forks?
Click to expand...


Take aclose look, any "mirror" finish or look, means bushings need to
be done also.......I went thru 2 sets of seals in the left fork
before I realized it wasn't seals, the bushing was done......
 
The chrome looks good....and there doesn't look like there is any abnormal wear on the inner fork tubes. Maybe they knicked them...The funny thing is though both sides weep exactly the same. You wouldn't think that wear would be exactly the same on both sides (ie the bike rests on the left side when on the side stand). I don't know...I'm just frustrated....i'm going to try to take it to the shop and show those guys. I don't think i'll let them touch it...but it will make me feel better when I show them shabby work.
 
oh-yeah, I almost forgot....when i picked the forks up I asked about the bushings and they said they looked fine.
 
dlsmith said:
Well, I didn't actually put the seals in....I had a locqal shop do it for me. I usually do my own work, but I was running short on time and just took the forks to the shop. That is waht happens when you let others do the work :?
Click to expand...

Now I'm scared man. I took my bike in to have the fork seals and steering bearings replaced.

:(
Dm of mD
 
Good Luck Detman. Now to top it all off....it appears that "local reputable shop" has gone out of business. nice.......... :(
 
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