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new fork seals leaking

  • Thread starter Thread starter Anonymous
  • Start date Start date
A

Anonymous

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i am at a loss,
i just changed my fork seals and did everything by the numbers but all of a sudden i got leakage on both forks. what could have went wrong? did i put too much air in(10psi). what do i do now? do i have to go through the process again?
 
Could be you accidentally stuck them in upside down :oops: , that's what my buddy did. Leaked worse than the fubar old seals. :roll: pull the dust caps and take a look. Could be too much air. Reduce it to 7lbs and see if they still leak.
 
lhanscom said:
I think the air is supposed to be fine up to 30psi
Click to expand...

I think thats what they say is the max that should ever be put in them, but they shouldn't be run like that.


Katt68,
Are you sure they are the right seals? Is it possible the inside diameter is too big? Should have been a pretty tight fit between the fork tube and the seal.

Slip up the dust boots and see if they are leaking at the fork tube or on the outside edge of the seal. It's possible that some of the rubber on the outside edge was damaged during install.
 
Leaking fork seals

Leaking fork seals

I'd say lose the air all together and run Progressive or Works springs. If you have a preload adjuster on top of the fork leg with the appropriate pvc pipe spacer underneath the cap, the ride quality is much improved without any air. I've had good luck with 15w fork oil on my Kat and number three indent on the preload.

Also any bug splatter on the sliding portion will kill fork seals.

Recently I had a slightly weaping fork seal and a local wrench said to try slipping a photo negative around the fork tube. Pry up the dust cap before sliding the negative around. I didn't think it would do anything, but I no longer have a weap.

Air gauges don't work accurately at such a low psi, so you may have put substantially more air than the gauge indicates, blowing the fork seals.

Carter Turk
 
When I did my 400s fork seals I went 1mm smaller for the inside diameter. I did this because Even-mm sizes are more common than odd-mm. Did you oil the seals when you put them in?

Steve
 
If your tubes were pitted at all the seals will go bad quickly but I think they might just be in upside down. My service manual recomends 4 to 6 pounds of air
 
My fork seals were replace last year by the previous owner (a mechanic), but recently one of them stared leaking lightly. Don't laugh, but I placed a strip of foam weather stripping inside the dust cap of leaking seal and the problem has been solved for know. Exposed forks pick up all kinds of crap off the road, and the foam pre-cleans the fork tube before the seal has to deal with it. I ride with 20 pounds of air and don't have a problem.
 
I have found some bikes WILL NOT work with aftermarket seals. My GS and my V65 Magna required factory seals. I know people will disagree, but that has been my experience. I've put many fork seals in many bikes, but on those two bikes, I had to go with the OEM stuff. It does seem odd that BOTH would puke though. I usually only had one new one leak. :?
 
PJ-1 fork oil used to have an additive they called seal-swell in the formula. When I rebuilt my stock front end years ago and installed Progressive springs one of the legs leaked slightly. I used the PJ-1 fork oil and in a short amount of time the leak stopped.
 
air pressure

air pressure

My factory manual has 2.8 psi as the spec. for the forks for an '83 gs750e.
 
I feel bad because I sent katt68 my "surefire" installation guide. Since both seals are leaking, I suspect an installation or seal size problem. I agree that the first suspect is possibly installing the seals upside-down. Another might be a fork oil level way to high.......the fork legs were fully compressed before measuring the oil level, right? A reasonable level of air pressure should not cause a leak problem with a new seal, although I would never use a pressure above 15 psi on the '83 GS750E. I guess another problem could be if the seals have shifted out of position. I seem to remember that the seal is held in position by a backup ring and circlip. Lifting the dust seal should allow you to check this visually.
 
air pressure

air pressure

My factory manual has 2.8 psi as the spec. for the forks for an '83 gs750e.
 
Re: air pressure

Re: air pressure

silverhorse47 said:
My factory manual has 2.8 psi as the spec. for the forks for an '83 gs750e.
Click to expand...

You are right, silverhorse47. However, they list the max pressure as 35.5 psi (which in my opinion is way too high and will probably result in premature seal failure). I run my '83 GS750ES with Progressive Suspension springs and 0 psi....works great with 15W fork oil.. Before installing the "Progressives" I used to use 7 to 10 psi for my 200 lb rider weight.
 
I run 12 psi normally, with the same seals in place since...hmm...the 80s. A new set of springs would be good...but it works as is..and I have a spare set of standard forks!
 
thanks guys

thanks guys

my tubes are great , not pitted. the seals are in the right way etc. i suspect i may have blown them with too much air......$@$@% oh well, live and learn. and simon, your procedure was great...not blaming you on anything.....thanks for the help everyone on this site.
katt
 
katt,
10psi shouldn't have hurt anything. If PJ-1 still has the formula with seal-swell give it a shot. Between it and just giving the seals a chance to work themselves in the seepage may stop on its own.
 
Shouldn't be affected by air pressure. Maybe they are upside down like someone else said, or a slight nick on the sealing lip. Or maybe the wrong seal was sold to you and no one noticed. :?
 
I need to replace the front fork seals on my 1980 GS850GT also.

So Simon, would you mind sending me your guide as well - or anyone else that has it.

I don't understand the springs instead of air pressure, so if you could explain that to me as well I'd appreciate it.

Thanks.

--Dwight
 
dwigbrad said:
I need to replace the front fork seals on my 1980 GS850GT also.
So Simon, would you mind sending me your guide as well - or anyone else that has it.
I don't understand the springs instead of air pressure, so if you could explain that to me as well I'd appreciate it.
Thanks.
--Dwight
Click to expand...

Dwight, I will e-mail you the guide today. You should really have a manual for your bike as well, though. The pictures in the manual really help you understand the disassembly and reassembly of the forks. Unless you hit an unpredicted problem (like I did with a seized bolt) the whole procedure isn't that difficult with pictures as a guide. The main thing is to allow yourself enough time to work unhurredly and methodically. Also, time should be taken to inspect the chromed sliders for defects and remedy them, if necessary.

As for springs vs. air pressure: I think of the air pressure as acting as an adjustable spring. If the actual springs are suited for the bike and rider, you really shouldn't need it. On my 83 GS750ES, the OE springs are dual rate (i.e. although the spring is a single continuous metal spiral, the pitch has a different "wind rate" for the lower and upper parts). The OE "soft" rate is too soft leading to excessive initial dive on braking. The temptation then is to increase the air pressure to "stiffen" the front end. The Progressive Suspension springs I installed are also dual rate but have a higher rate than standard for the "soft" part of the spring. I have found that with these springs, and 15W fork oil (thicker than the 10W standard), I no longer need to resort to using air pressure. This is all a matter of taste but for my type of riding I find my "upgraded" setup a distinct improvement over stock in terms of corner entry stability and predictability.

BTW, a number of people on this site gave me very useful advice on fork seal installation, for which I am still very grateful. Billy Ricks also gave me the benefit of his experience on changing the springs, fabricating spacers, etc.....life is so much easier when others have gone before and pass on the lessons learned. :D
 
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