First GS job: Leaky fork seal

[Erich Z]

Some of you may know I just bought an 82 GS 450L for my first bike. Well, I came home today to check on it and oddly enough there was a small puddle under the front wheel on the left side. A little inspection revealed it to be coming from the left fork, so I believe I have a leaky fork oil seal, sound about right?

I'm prepared to try this myself - I have a Clymer's manual and I've repaired my old Civic and Volvo many times. Any tips? Where should I look for a new seal, and should I just replace the one side? Any special tools I may need, or other parts to replace while I'm in there?

[jimcor]

Some of you may know I just bought an 82 GS 450L for my first bike. Well, I came home today to check on it and oddly enough there was a small puddle under the front wheel on the left side. A little inspection revealed it to be coming from the left fork, so I believe I have a leaky fork oil seal, sound about right?

I'm prepared to try this myself - I have a Clymer's manual and I've repaired my old Civic and Volvo many times. Any tips? Where should I look for a new seal, and should I just replace the one side? Any special tools I may need, or other parts to replace while I'm in there?

OK. But take this one step at a time. First, can you trace the leak to the tube above the slider? If not take a look at the little drain screw plug at the bottom of the fork. Is the O ring there? Has the PO buggered the threads? Try unscrewing the plugs and changing the fork oil on both tubes using cheap motor oil or transmission fluid. Use one of those high mileage oils that have seal sweller or one of those transmision fluids with stop leak (sealsweller). Put a wind of teflon tape around the plug screw. If it still leaks after a week then go ahead and replace the seals. Might as well do 'em both.

[txironhead]

Are the fork tubes pitted? If the pitting is too bad, the new seals will fail quickly.

[Erich Z]

Yeah I should really go back later and double check, but the top of the left side was quite wet, with drips coming from the dust seal.

I noticed this when I went to look at the bike but the PO said he had just oiled the forks, that it was nothing. Yeah right, hope he wasn't lying about anything else...

[Sunburn]

The key to a good fork seal job is the right tool to beat the new seals in place without jacking them up. You can buy a tool, they can be expensive. I made one out of pvc once. You need a nice even push around the whole seal.

[Mysuzyq]

The key to a good fork seal job is the right tool to beat the new seals in place without jacking them up. You can buy a tool, they can be expensive. I made one out of pvc once. You need a nice even push around the whole seal.

OR....look for a brand named 'Leak Proof' seals....they are an easy slide/press fit (two fingers). Apparently guaranteed against leakage for the life of your bike....its only been two weeks since mine were installed, so we shall see.....they do install a little differently, designed to allow the seals to 'float' a little (perhaps thats why they last)....though the material used is also superior (less stiction) than OEM they claim.

Tony.

[Sunburn]

Never installed that type before. Sounds wild to me

I'm used to heavy hand. I did mine not to long ago on my GS.

I've done them on every bike I have ever had except my KLX650. I sold it at 12,000 so i dodged the bullet.

[Mysuzyq]

Worth a try I think... even if they last ten yrs, I'm a happy camper . Did some research before buying them...in some cases they leaked, especially on the Magna's for some reason...I think though in most cases they appeared to fail due to damaged/pitted fork tubes or wrong installation.

http://www.motohaus.co.uk/html/seals/leakproof%20intro.htm

Tony.

[Erich Z]

Mine only had about 5k miles on it, but the rubber could have worn from age. The fork itself looked smooth and shiny.

[bwringer]

OR....look for a brand named 'Leak Proof' seals....they are an easy slide/press fit (two fingers). Apparently guaranteed against leakage for the life of your bike....its only been two weeks since mine were installed, so we shall see.....they do install a little differently, designed to allow the seals to 'float' a little (perhaps thats why they last)....though the material used is also superior (less stiction) than OEM they claim.

Tony.

I installed a set of these on my GS850 a few weeks ago, and so far they are working great.

For a couple of days, there was a verrrry slight film oil that escaped and left a ring on the fork tube. This quickly lessened and stopped -- I guess they need to break in a bit.

Installation is dead easy -- just push the seal in with your fingers with the fork tube disassembled, then lube everything lightly and install the fork tube through the seal. Easy as pie, no beating anything.

A full review will be posted following the WV rally... but so far, I'm a big fan of the Leak Proof Pro Moly seals. The easy, foolproof installation is a big plus, IMHO.

Of course, the original seals lasted 81,000 miles, so you can't go wrong there, but installation can be a pain.