Blown Fork seals
#1
12-31-2007, 06:46 PM
Blown Fork seals
Hey guys and gals. Looks like both of my fork seals are blown. I have 1100 miles on my bike. With only maybe a 100 of that being on the street.
I have tried the feeler gauge/film negative tricks they worked for awhile but still leaking.
What I am getting at is does anyone have any recommendations on seals? And how hard is this to do yourself? I know I am going to have to buy some tools to make it possible. I just figured I have at least 4-5 more moths of winter so I may as well tear into it myself.
Any tips would be welcome, and thanks in advance everyone.
Anyone in the WY/CO area have any interest in doing a KLX tech day, I'm also thinking of tearing my motor apart to send it off to Bill Blue for some work
Cheers
Ben
I have tried the feeler gauge/film negative tricks they worked for awhile but still leaking.
What I am getting at is does anyone have any recommendations on seals? And how hard is this to do yourself? I know I am going to have to buy some tools to make it possible. I just figured I have at least 4-5 more moths of winter so I may as well tear into it myself.
Any tips would be welcome, and thanks in advance everyone.
Anyone in the WY/CO area have any interest in doing a KLX tech day, I'm also thinking of tearing my motor apart to send it off to Bill Blue for some work
Cheers
Ben
#2
12-31-2007, 07:36 PM
RE: Blown Fork seals
try going to klxplanet. there is an article there about replacing the fork seals. i couldn't get it to come up but you might be able to. a shop manual is a must i would think. i just got one on e-bay for $10.
#3
01-01-2008, 10:02 PM
RE: Blown Fork seals
How easy it is to do will depend on what it is that's causing your seals to leak.
If your seals are just dirty, then don't worry. It's easy as HELL to do yourself. You really don't even need the manual, just go to the kawi website and find the KLX fork diagrams, and use those as a guide.
Here, i'll cut and paste a step by step I was given by some guy on Thumpertalk.com. That and the fork diagrams are all I used, and I managed it just fine by myself.
Using his help, it took me a fair weekend to do it myself. Now that I know my way around the forks themselves though, I don't doubt that I could do it in 1 or 2 hours.
If the stanchion tube itself is ****ed over, as in is scratched or something, it'll take a bit more effort, but I doubt much more. Should be just a matter of sanding down the scratch, and then polishing up the tube.
If your seals are just dirty, then don't worry. It's easy as HELL to do yourself. You really don't even need the manual, just go to the kawi website and find the KLX fork diagrams, and use those as a guide.
Here, i'll cut and paste a step by step I was given by some guy on Thumpertalk.com. That and the fork diagrams are all I used, and I managed it just fine by myself.
If you can turn a wrench, lift 10 lbs over your head, run a remote and drink coffee at the same time....changing your own seals will not be a problem. As you said...if you don't di it yourself...you'll never learn...
Anyhow, the job is simple...
1. remove front wheel/axle..be sure to account for the spacer on the left side of wheel...when reassembling, be sure to not overtighten axle clamp nuts...snug them...not crank on them...top first, then bottoms
2. remove front brake caliper from left fork leg
3. loosen TOP triple clamp bolts, and then loosen fork cap nuts...loosen..not remove...when reassembling be sure to snug lower triple clamp bolts, then tighten fork caps (you can't tighten fork caps if the top triple clamp bolts are tight...binds on fork cap thread)
4. loosen lower triple clamp bolts...be sure to be holding the fork leg with spare hand as fork leg has potential do drop thru clamps and smack floor (rarely happens, but possible)...remove fork legs..when reassembling be sure to not overtighten clamp bolts 14-16 ft lbs
5. One fork leg at a time, remove fork cap, fork spring washer & spring and dump out old oil....while holding upside down, pump dampening rod a bunch of times to purge out all oil...maybe let them sit upside down for 10-15 minutes to drain
6. pull down dust seal, remove fork seal retainer clip (do not forget to do this), grab top half of fork leg with one hand...the lower half with the other hand...then with small, abrupt opposing yanks, seperate the two halves of the fork. remove inner & outer bushing & washer (do not scar teflon coating on bushings...however inspect them for wear, metal specs in teflon, etc...).
7. clean lower fork leg...especially around bushing groove...then put Scotch tape over the bushing depression (top & bottom of depression)...this is the spot where you can rip a new seal when installing, or when removing the old seal to clean and re-install.
8. clean all parts...upper leg insides, lower legs again, damper rod, seals, dust seals, etc...
9. put on dust seal, clip, then fork seal....then remove Scotch tape
10. put on lower bushing, then washer, then upper bushing (wide one)
11. make seal driver....take 2" dia PVC pipe 3" long...cut down length of pipe..make second cut 1/4"-3/8" away from original cut...now you have a 3" tube with a slot down the length...clean all shavings, burrs, etc..get a 2"-2 1/2" hose clamp...6-10" length of 1"x1" hard wood & a hammer
12. with fork leg upside down resting on a block of hard wood, lift up the lower leg....while holding lower leg up (about halfway through stroke), lift dust cap & clip up (towards bottom of leg), then push that seal driver on fork tube. Place hose clamp around PVC and tighten till it is the size of the fork seal O.D. then grab 1"x1" piece of wood & hammer...place seal in position (be sure you have the seal with the correct side down/up...remember from removal, or look at packaging on new seal), slide driver against seal. With small taps with hammer against wood..go around the driver...front, back, side, side…keep moving the wood around the driver so the seal goes in evenly. You will know when the seal is in place when you look down at seal, you will notice the recess groove for the seal. If you see this, stop banging and insert retainer clip into its position…if it doesn’t go in…keep banging until clip will go in. spray some silicon on to lower fork leg, then push in dust seal.
13. turn fork right side up and begin to add oil…5w Spectro (any brand should work). When you can see oil inside fork leg approx. 4-6†from top of compressed fork leg, grab the damper rod with other hand and slowly pull up and push down rod all the way through it’s stroke until you don’t hear any gurgling, or see any air bubbles (probably have to stroke rod 20 times).
14. get ruler, or other measuring device and mark 3 ¾â€-4â€â€¦with upper fork tube all the way down, add oil until it gets to you desired mark.
15. pull dampening rod up…hold in place, then slide fork spring into position…put washer on top of spring, then screw on fork cap (be sure not to loosen nut on top of dampening rod). Slide upper tube up and screw cap into upper tube. All done. Reinstall fork leg.
The first time took me about 4 hours…just being sure that all was clean, and I was re-assembling properly. I can do this job with these forks in about 30-45 minutes now. Good luck.
Anyhow, the job is simple...
1. remove front wheel/axle..be sure to account for the spacer on the left side of wheel...when reassembling, be sure to not overtighten axle clamp nuts...snug them...not crank on them...top first, then bottoms
2. remove front brake caliper from left fork leg
3. loosen TOP triple clamp bolts, and then loosen fork cap nuts...loosen..not remove...when reassembling be sure to snug lower triple clamp bolts, then tighten fork caps (you can't tighten fork caps if the top triple clamp bolts are tight...binds on fork cap thread)
4. loosen lower triple clamp bolts...be sure to be holding the fork leg with spare hand as fork leg has potential do drop thru clamps and smack floor (rarely happens, but possible)...remove fork legs..when reassembling be sure to not overtighten clamp bolts 14-16 ft lbs
5. One fork leg at a time, remove fork cap, fork spring washer & spring and dump out old oil....while holding upside down, pump dampening rod a bunch of times to purge out all oil...maybe let them sit upside down for 10-15 minutes to drain
6. pull down dust seal, remove fork seal retainer clip (do not forget to do this), grab top half of fork leg with one hand...the lower half with the other hand...then with small, abrupt opposing yanks, seperate the two halves of the fork. remove inner & outer bushing & washer (do not scar teflon coating on bushings...however inspect them for wear, metal specs in teflon, etc...).
7. clean lower fork leg...especially around bushing groove...then put Scotch tape over the bushing depression (top & bottom of depression)...this is the spot where you can rip a new seal when installing, or when removing the old seal to clean and re-install.
8. clean all parts...upper leg insides, lower legs again, damper rod, seals, dust seals, etc...
9. put on dust seal, clip, then fork seal....then remove Scotch tape
10. put on lower bushing, then washer, then upper bushing (wide one)
11. make seal driver....take 2" dia PVC pipe 3" long...cut down length of pipe..make second cut 1/4"-3/8" away from original cut...now you have a 3" tube with a slot down the length...clean all shavings, burrs, etc..get a 2"-2 1/2" hose clamp...6-10" length of 1"x1" hard wood & a hammer
12. with fork leg upside down resting on a block of hard wood, lift up the lower leg....while holding lower leg up (about halfway through stroke), lift dust cap & clip up (towards bottom of leg), then push that seal driver on fork tube. Place hose clamp around PVC and tighten till it is the size of the fork seal O.D. then grab 1"x1" piece of wood & hammer...place seal in position (be sure you have the seal with the correct side down/up...remember from removal, or look at packaging on new seal), slide driver against seal. With small taps with hammer against wood..go around the driver...front, back, side, side…keep moving the wood around the driver so the seal goes in evenly. You will know when the seal is in place when you look down at seal, you will notice the recess groove for the seal. If you see this, stop banging and insert retainer clip into its position…if it doesn’t go in…keep banging until clip will go in. spray some silicon on to lower fork leg, then push in dust seal.
13. turn fork right side up and begin to add oil…5w Spectro (any brand should work). When you can see oil inside fork leg approx. 4-6†from top of compressed fork leg, grab the damper rod with other hand and slowly pull up and push down rod all the way through it’s stroke until you don’t hear any gurgling, or see any air bubbles (probably have to stroke rod 20 times).
14. get ruler, or other measuring device and mark 3 ¾â€-4â€â€¦with upper fork tube all the way down, add oil until it gets to you desired mark.
15. pull dampening rod up…hold in place, then slide fork spring into position…put washer on top of spring, then screw on fork cap (be sure not to loosen nut on top of dampening rod). Slide upper tube up and screw cap into upper tube. All done. Reinstall fork leg.
The first time took me about 4 hours…just being sure that all was clean, and I was re-assembling properly. I can do this job with these forks in about 30-45 minutes now. Good luck.
If the stanchion tube itself is ****ed over, as in is scratched or something, it'll take a bit more effort, but I doubt much more. Should be just a matter of sanding down the scratch, and then polishing up the tube.
#4
01-02-2008, 12:06 AM
RE: Blown Fork seals
After the seal and bushing removal, inspect the tubes for any rough spots that may have caused the issue. As mentioned above. I tend to follow the tube/seal areas with a stone if I cannot feel it with my hand.
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