Can you change fork seals "on the bike"?

[J_C]

Hey folks. I am going to do my fork spring swap soon. I know that I can do that on the bike no problem. I suspect I also have a leaking fork seal based on the amount of grime around the area when I first bought the bike. Has anyone successfully changed the fork seals without removing the forks from the frame?

[koolaid_kid]

Not sure how you would change the seal on the bike, since they slide up the inner tube to remove and down the tube to install.

[Billyboy]

Oh, heck yeah!
Just take off the wheel
drain the oil
pop off the top cap
pull out the spring
unbolt the fork leg
pop off leg
replace seals
put 'er back together.

I don't know WHY anyone wouldn't just loosen off a few bolts and slide the fork tubes off the bike, but it can be done!

[Road_Clam]

Hey folks. I am going to do my fork spring swap soon. I know that I can do that on the bike no problem. I suspect I also have a leaking fork seal based on the amount of grime around the area when I first bought the bike. Has anyone successfully changed the fork seals without removing the forks from the frame?

No. You need to remove the complete fork. There is a specific method to extrude the inner seal from the tube. It's easiest to bring the fork to a dealer and have them extract, and re-seat the new seal. You will fight with a fork seal for days, most likely causing fork tube damage from prying, and hammering. A dealer will have the seal cleanly out in about 5 min.

[J_C]

I see, thanks for all the answers guys. Did you take it to a suzi dealer, and what did they charge you?

I don't have the tool to get the forks apart so I'd much rather do this if it'll be cheap.


The reason why I didn't want to take them out is because I don't want to drop the headers again, and it's hard to get them in and out of the triple clamps (I think powdercoating is to blame here.)

[gsbill]

Try cleaning inside between your fork seals with a feeler gauge. Just run a real thin one up and down the fork leg between the seal and the upper fork leg. KInd of push in and pull upwards at a slight angle to pull the dirt out. Only takes a few seconds and may solve your problem. Sometimes its just dirt that get trapped and causes leaks. Old dirt bikers trick.

[Steve]

Need a tool to disassemble the forks? Make one.

I used a piece of 5/8" all-thread rod, 24 inches long and 4 nuts to fit. Install 2 nuts on one end so there is about 1" of thread sticking out, and jam the 2 nuts together as solidly as you can. If the flats line up, it is an added bonus, but not necessary. Do the same thing at the other end, but only leave a few threads showing. Now you have something that will reach down the tube and have something to wrench on that is sticking out the top of the tube.

The nuts measure 15/16" across, and that is VERY close to the 24mm needed. This worked on my Kawasaki 1300, my son's Yamaha Venture Royale, and my wife's '82 GS850GL. I am sure there are other sized forks that might need different sizes, but use this as a model. For example, if you only need 22 or 23mm, you might be able to use these parts and grind a bit off the nuts on one end. If you need less than that, drop to 9/16" or 1/2" all-thread.


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[rgierer]

I made one of those tubes the last time I changed fork seals when I out them back together. I will be doing fork seals and progressive springs on my GS700 soon and hope it will work this time.

If not it was 5.00 a piece at the dealer to have the fork disassembled

[fgh]

Hey folks. I am going to do my fork spring swap soon. I know that I can do that on the bike no problem. I suspect I also have a leaking fork seal based on the amount of grime around the area when I first bought the bike. Has anyone successfully changed the fork seals without removing the forks from the frame?

Well you can do it but it's a little ackward. If you've got an '83 Aspencade with a fairing and bunch of other stuff that it takes an hour plus to get off it'll save some time. If you've got something like an '83 GS750ES that take 15 minutes to strip down to the clamps then maybe it's not worth it.

To do it put bike on center stand and block the front wheel off the ground enough to get the rear tire to just touch the floor. Then just follow the steps in the manual. The one thing you obviously can't do is pull stuff off the top of the tube. You just rearrange the procedures so that it all comes off and goes on the bottom. The nice thing about it is you don't slide the seal all the way down the fork tube and risk damaging it on some overlooked burrs or other rough spots.

AND YES I'VE DONE IT ON THE GS AND ASPY.

[J_C]

Cool thanks

[GS750GUY]

Fork Seals

I'm just finishing up replacing my fork seals today on my 78 GS750EC. It's a lot easier I would think to do oil seal work by pulling the forks. Mine were absolutely filthy from a prior owners years of neglect and I had mine off the bike in minutes. It's nice to be able to clamp the lower halves in a padded vice held by the brake mounts when pulling the seals. Some very helpful GS members gave me a tip that sent me to my local auto parts store to purchase a simple seal puller. Just under $10.00 and I had the first seal out in five minutes. Prior to asking the experts on the GS site I spent probably an hour trying to remove it with a hammer and various kinds of shop tools. When it came time to seat my new seals I just used a large 1-5/16" socket and a rubber mallet to tap and seat the seal into place. You could use any cylindrical item that almost fits the diameter of the seal to tap it home and a good solid hold in a vice really helps. I couldn't imagine doing this with the forks on the bike. Like everything else these days if you take it to a cycle shop they are going to charge you an arm and a leg to replace those seals. To me the satisfaction is in doing it yourself and saving a bunch of money for other things for your bike.
GS750GUY (Harold)

[J_C]

Oh believe me... I do my own work lol. If you could only see the before and after pictures from when I bought it to now \\/ I just mostly didn't want to mess with removing the forks and building a tool to separate them. I think for now I'll just change out the springs and if it continues to seep after using a feeler gauge to remove the dirt then I'll consider my next steps.

Thanks guys

[steve-lloyd]

Here in the UK there used to be a product available called "Swell Seal"
You added the stuff to your fork oil and it swelled the seal slightly to stop it leaking!
I don't know if this stuff was safe to use, or if it's still around.
I think their industrial versions, for use on heavy engineering machinery, is still available.
Can any of you guys shed any light on this stuff?8-[

[Road_Clam]

Here in the UK there used to be a product available called "Swell Seal"
You added the stuff to your fork oil and it swelled the seal slightly to stop it leaking!
I don't know if this stuff was safe to use, or if it's still around.
I think their industrial versions, for use on heavy engineering machinery, is still available.
Can any of you guys shed any light on this stuff?8-[

We have that stuff here in the states too, it's called brake fluid ! LOL

[koolaid_kid]

Go ahead and change the fork oil while you are at it. You will be shocked at what comes out. I did that on my KZ when I installed the springs, and the weeping seal stopped weeping.