Fork pressure question

[willie]

We've been told that over pressurizing the front forks will blow the seals. My question is how. I hate to sound dumb but I don't see why the excess pressure won't simply escape and leave the seal undamaged. I could understand it blowing the whole seal outa the fork leg but only if not secured with a clip or something. Otherwise, I don't see it causing any damage.
Thoughts?
Willie

[hikermikem]

Excessive fork air pressure will push fork oil past the seals... it may or may not damage the seals proper.

However, it has been my experience that once the seals have leaked oil, they usually continue to do so.

[BassCliff]

Hi,

I've used excess air pressure (175+ psi) to completely blow out my fork seals when changing them. But this shouldn't happen if the clip is still in place.



Before I installed Progressive springs I would run about 15 psi in my forks. The manual says normally it should be about 7 or 8 psi. The manual also says 35 psi is the maximum but that would make your front end WAY too harsh. Excess pressure could push the oil right past the seals and make a mess. Improper amounts of fork oil would then degrade the handling.


Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff