Easy as Fork

[davem222]

Hey guys,
I need to replace the fork seals on my 79 2F. I love Hugh's write up for rebuilding the forks, but if I need to only replace the seals and boots, etc, is there an easier way? Can I do it without separating the top and bottom forks? Thanks.

Dave

 

[plane_ben]

It could be done, but extreme care should be taken not to chinger the slider tube. If you do you will ruin seal after seal. Take them apart, clean them, and put in new oil is the best bet.

 

[strang]

I just did mine last week following Hugh's (fucking legend) thread. Pretty straight forward but quite messy. Was really worried about gettting the actual seals out but found using some pipe plyers kind of upside down - let me get the right purchase on the seals. The rubber on the handles of the grips protected the lower forks as well.
here's the style of plyers that I used:
http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?q=pi...02&start=44&ndsp=12&ved=1t:429,r:7,s:44,i:246
Wedging the upper jaw under the seal and pushing down on both handles on the opposing side of the lower fork - popped them out in 2 seconds and no damage or marks. I love a fluke tool choice : )

 

[davem222]

Awesome. Thanks guys I guess I'll just take em all apart lol.

Dave

 

[weekendrider]

http://en.650wiki.org/index.php/6.04._Front_Forks
The pics aren't there any more but the description is.
And you get a chuckle with Fred's telling on his self, trying this without taking the
retaining clips out first.

 

[weekendrider]

Stolen from here
http://www.xs650.org.au/xs650 tips.html#Fork Seals

Changing Fork Seals

Once you have the fork in your hand, take off cap and remove the spring. I don't think you have to remove the damper rod for this trick.
-fill fork tube completely with motor oil, replace cap.
- fix the bottom of the fork to something to hold it in place so it stands nearly vertical. do it near the garage wall
-take a long board to use as a lever to force the fork tube down into the slider. maybe drill a large but shallow hole near the end to go over the top of the fork tube. fix the other end to the wall
- when you push down on the lever, the oil hydraulically forces the old seal up and out of the tube. probably good to have a helper steady it.
-slide it all the way off, put the new one on then put the old one on top.
-use the old seal as a drift to seat the new one, then toss it.
-dump the oil, and refill it with the appropriate amount of 10wt or whatever. replace spring and so forth.

 

[5twins]

It's best to separate the forks. Seal replacement is easiest this way. It will also give you the opportunity to clean all the internal parts and maybe do the Minton Mods to the damper rods if you're so inclined. I really like the results after doing mine.

For some reason, fork seals can become really stuck in the sliders and can require quite a bit of force to extract them. I use a big old screwdriver with the tip filed round .....

To protect the slider top, I use a piece of aluminum angle with a "finger" cut and bent down. This holds the angle in place and you don't have to worry about it popping out as you pry .....

I work my way around the seal, prying it up a little in several spots. This works better than prying all in one spot.

 

[davem222]

Thanks 5twins, that's kind of brilliant. Yeah, I think I'll just tear em down completely. I SHOULD rebuild em, lol, I'm just being lazy. Plus it'll give me a chance to replace the steering stem bearings w/ roller bearings.

Dave