On returning from a weekend in the woods on my SF, I noticed significant amounts of fork oil running down the right fork tube. I initially ascribed this to a combination of Thai build quality and the submerged stump I hit while ploughing through a bog. In any respect I was dreading the hours of ‘zen’ it was going to take to replace what I thought was a blown seal.

On Monday while chatting with a colleague, I was informed of a simple repair many of you may already know of, but even if it saves one unnecessary fork seal replacement, this post will have served its purpose.

I was told that the problem may not be a blown seal, but that dirt may have worked past the seal and become trapped between the seal and the fork tub; remove this dirt with a piece of 35 mm film and the leak should disappear. Having no film, I used a plastic collar-stay instead. I slipped it past the seal and worked it around the fork tube. I was surprised how much crap came out of there. After several passes, the collar-stay came out clean and I went for a test ride.

I can report that the fix worked, and I’d encourage anyone else with a leaking fork seal to try this simple technique first before embarking on a seal replacement job.

 

I have done that too, you can use a milk bottle, i cut it up to make it look like a hook so i can push it up and in then pull it back out hopefully with the dirt.

 

Or did you just run out of oil?

Did you replace the lost oil? I have heard a business card works too. Funny how 35mm film has become so obsolete.

 

You're right it is a fairly well known, but I guarantee that someone will read this post that didn't already know the trick. Well worth the post. Glad it was a simple fix for you.
Dan