Weeping Fork Seals

being the lazy sob that i am, before i change the seals, i do a clean of the dust boot, then while it is up, take a toothpick (usta use pieces of 35mm film before digital), and run it carefully around the seal while blasting the opening with wd40. if it still leaks, change it.

ned
actually, after i reread the post, i realized he said "after washing the bike". so i guess my advice might not apply since i never wash my bike.

Weepy seals are leaky seals. How old are they? Using a feeler guage or poking anything down into the seal only pushes the grit inside the fork where it will work as an abrasive or lodge within your valving or your bushes. Just get them serviced and have new seals fitted at the same time.
After washing your bike be sure to dry the water of the fork legs. Water contains minerals that dry on your fork legs and are quite sharp. They will wear your seals. Dry them and then go over your fork legs with a little motor oil on a rag.
Forks should be serviced every 30-50 hours, more often if you race or ride in mud, less often if you just tootle around in cleanish conditions. Seals should be replaced once a year. I like and use Synergy Seals.

Hey Ross,
Try undoing the air bleeders and releasing any air pressure that may have built up, it may give you a little more time before you have to change the seals

I'll add to Danger's comments that I now remove the fork guards when washing the bike. That way you can properly clean the lower part of the tube so you aren't jamming dirt in the seals when you bottom the fork.

Try the feeler guage trick, and then get some seal guards that are made out of wet-suit type material and attach with velcro. They cost around 20 bucks and make sure you remove and wash them each time after a ride.

Here is some cool info.
The film trick works fine to get the dirt out and push it inside...and this will happen over and over again.

Now, the NEW Synergy Seals with the Pre-Wiper will change the industry forever. This new design allows nothing past the Pre-Wiper into the seal area.
Also, our forks seal lubricate the fork tube so the seals work smoothly and less mud and water deposits stick to the fork.

All this for $45

This is what you do not need:
Neoprene sleeves
3 lip seals
new wiper

KaBooM

ned37 said:

being the lazy sob that i am, before i change the seals, i do a clean of the dust boot, then while it is up, take a toothpick (usta use pieces of 35mm film before digital), and run it carefully around the seal while blasting the opening with wd40. if it still leaks, change it.

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being the lazy and cheap sob that i am, i'm happy to spend 90 minutes dismantling the fork, cleaning the seals, tightening the springs on the seals (and dust wipers) and reinstalling the forks. most of the time in my experience there's no real reason to replace the seals. they just need cleaning, which doesn't take very long. it's probably time to change the fork oil anyway.

if you do decide to replace them, definitely get the synergy seals from kaboom tho.

i personally think the neoprene "seal savers" should be renamed "fork tube destroyers" since they trap dirt and grit and sand away at your forks while you ride.

The only way the film or thin piece of plastic trick works is with upside down forks and is a temporary fix.

The USD forks: First, remove the dust wiper very carefully indeed or you will distort the metal contained within the rubber. Second,remove the tensioner spring very carefully. When you slide your little piece of film (motion pro makes one calle a seal mate) between the tube and the seal, gently lift up on it to allow some fork oil to leak past thuse carrying away any debris that might be in there. Slide the seal mate around the tube letting a small amount of oil seep out as you go. So, you will be scraping a crap that has gotten logded in there away from the seal and the oil will carry it away.

This can be accomplised with your conventionals by turning them updside down.

I have used this trick on my USD forks a couple of times to get me through a riding/race session. But, your seals need to be replaced.

Don't shoot water directly onto the seal area when you are washing your bike, this will only shove the grit in further. If there is a build up of crud on the wiper, gently wipe it off with a rag. If you can pull the wiper up to clean it without destoying it do so. While you are doing this wrap a clean rag tightly around the tube so none of the crap gets onto the oil seal. After cleaning the wiper, gently I might add, shoot a bit of silicone spray on the outside of the wiper so that it will go back into the tube easier.

I agree with Velo that the neoprene seal savers are not the best idea. It looks good, but eventually the grit you are keeping out will get into the seal savers and will then be sliding up and down your tubes with the grit inside, destroying your tubes. The euro chrome plating is not all that great in the first place.

If anything, try and find some of the old school boots to protect your tubes and seal. Pull the boots up often and clean under neath if that's the route you take. These are okay if you don't get roosted by rocks all the time.

Another thing that you, and everyone else that doesn't already do it needs to do is this. Examine your fork tubes carefully after each ride by sliding your hand alond the tube to check for nicks caused by rocks. If you find a nick you need to remove it before it finishes cutting your seal. DO NOT USE A DREMEL TOOL OR ANY OTHER POWERED GRINDING TOOL. ANY SUSUPENSION SHOP THAT LEAVES A HUGE FEATHERED AREA ARE KNUCKLE DRAGGERS, STAY AWAY FROM THEM. I HAD A WELL KNOWN SHOP DO THIS TO MY TUBES AND ALMOST DESTROY THEM. You can use a jewelers file to file down the high point, every so gently. Then use crocus cloth or some other EXTREMELY fine emery type paper to gently fiinish removing the nick or high spot by wrapping said paper around the tube and pull it back and forth. There should be no marks left behind by the paper you are using, it's more like polishing. DO NOT ATTEMPT TO FILE OR SAND AWAY THE DIVIT OR CAVITY CAUSED BY THE ROCK. IT WILL BE THERE FOREVER, GET USED TO IT. JUST TAKE OFF THE HIGH SPOT.

If you attempt to file or sand it away you will more than likely grind/sand through the chrome and get into the the tin, not good. And you will be left with a lovely low spot that will carry dirt past the seal.

(DO NOT USE A DREMEL TOOL OR ANY OTHER POWERED GRINDING TOOL. ANY SUSUPENSION SHOP THAT LEAVES A HUGE FEATHERED AREA ARE KNUCKLE DRAGGERS, STAY AWAY FROM THEM. I HAD A WELL KNOWN SHOP DO THIS TO MY TUBES AND ALMOST DESTROY THEM.)

Thats is sooo true and funny because I recently read an article for "fork seal" changes in one of the magazines from a top suspension shop that said to use a dremel....hmmmmm

I too use a diamond file...works great!

KaBooM

Ross,
the feeler blade does work, as stated in most posts, it can push grit into the oil instead of picking it out .But, as you have demonstrated the feeler blade trick is just fending off the enevatable of needing new fork seals! did you try fitting any of the seals/wipers advised by the other posts ? Are those synergy seals available in UK.

DaleEO said:

I have used this trick on my USD forks a couple of times to get me through a riding/race session. But, your seals need to be replaced.

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why is everyone so convinced that replacing a seal is so necessary? if you take the fork apart, you can often see the dirt that has been trapped in between the seal lips, preventing the seal from actually sealing. guess what, take that dirt out, and most of the time the seal will seal again just fine.

can someone tell me what part of having a little dirt in the seal actually renders it useless? cuz i've done this trick on several bikes, and the same old seals are still going strong after thousands of miles on at least 3 different bikes.

velosapiens said:

DaleEO said:

I have used this trick on my USD forks a couple of times to get me through a riding/race session. But, your seals need to be replaced.

Click to expand...

why is everyone so convinced that replacing a seal is so necessary? if you take the fork apart, you can often see the dirt that has been trapped in between the seal lips, preventing the seal from actually sealing. guess what, take that dirt out, and most of the time the seal will seal again just fine.

can someone tell me what part of having a little dirt in the seal actually renders it useless? cuz i've done this trick on several bikes, and the same old seals are still going strong after thousands of miles on at least 3 different bikes.

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I stand corrected, with one exception. If the seal is cut by a ding in the tube then it's toast.

However, in the not too distant past, I had a bit of trouble with the seals that came with my 04 550. They didn't hold up very well, but, the new seals that KTM came out with late last year have held up great. In fact, when I did a suspension service this last time I did not replace them.

Otherwise I agree with Velo, they can last a long time.

DaleEO said:

I stand corrected, with one exception. If the seal is cut by a ding in the tube then it's toast.

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werd dat bruthah. found that out the hard way on tresa's bike this spring, so i had to take the seal out again and replace it with a synergy seal. i think we saved the fork oil and reused it tho since it had only been in there a day or 2, so i was only out the 30 mins of work.

The WP 50 mm conventials come apart easy enough. Don't forget the circlip between the dust seal and the oil seal. Yoy may need a rattle gun to get the 10 mm bolt out of the bottom of the fork to remove the damper and separate the inner and outer. You may also need to have the spring in and fork assembled so you can get some compression on it when removing the bolt, so best to loosen it first before removing the fork cap.

Good luck
Steve