SuzukiSavage.com - Replace/renew fork seals, post pics

Gyrobob Serious Thumper Offline Posers ain't motorcyclists Posts: 2571 Newnan, GA Gender:	Re: Replace/renew fork seals, post pics Reply #15 - 03/28/11 at 20:24:19 I'll show you mine if you'll show me yours. jk (I really WOULD like a hint, though, about how to get the bushing back in the lower tube) Anyway, the pics show how a simple 2' length of PVC will slip over the stanchion to seat the seal. Now if I could figure out how to get the bushing back in,... $2.97 at Lowe's
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MotoBuddha

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Re: Replace/renew fork seals, post pics
Reply #16 - 04/02/11 at 09:33:19

I took one of my fork legs apart to see if I could get a better answer to Gyrobob's problem. So, to review, here are the various parts we're talking about:

A - bushing
B - washer
C- seal

Here is the inside of the fork bottom. The arrow is pointing to the groove the bushing is supposed to seat into.

Here's the fork slid into the fork bottom and bushing part way into the groove.

This is about as far as it wants to go without some persuading. Notice there's a split in the bushing. That means the bushing is slightly larger than the groove in the fork bottom and is designed to hold itself in place with spring tension. The split will close up when the bushing is in place.

Now take whatever you're using for a seal installation tool -- a piece of PVC or something fancy -- and use it to tap the bushing into the groove. You can have the seal and washer completely off the fork or, if you like, you can have the washer on top of the bushing to spread the load from the tool. The bushing looks like this when it's in place.

When the bushing is fully seated, the seal goes in with just a little pressure and the retaining clip pops right in. If you have to pound the seal in, the bushing isn't fully seated.

And don't forget the little cap that goes in the end of the fork.

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BrettKeiselsbeard Full Member Offline 2007 S-40, 2003 GZ250 Posts: 146 Sebastian Fl Gender:	Re: Replace/renew fork seals, post pics Reply #17 - 04/03/11 at 07:45:05 Very nice pics and explanation of an complicated but do-able job. Hats off to Motorbudda for breaking this down. I was going to replace the seals in my 250gz but found a set of forks on ebay with good seals for 10$. I did much research on how to do this and none of them broke it down to the basics. +1
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Gyrobob Serious Thumper Offline Posers ain't motorcyclists Posts: 2571 Newnan, GA Gender:	Re: Replace/renew fork seals, post pics Reply #18 - 04/03/11 at 18:35:56 Motobuddha, I'll try it. How do you like the $3 fork seal tool? Besides it being so stinkin' cheap, you don't even have to cut or shape it in anyway. Maybe in the PVC rack at Lowe's the label should say something like, "PVC 1.5" diameter plumbing pipe and fork seal install tool."
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MotoBuddha Serious Thumper Offline Let's roll! Posts: 1416 Charlotte, NC	Re: Replace/renew fork seals, post pics Reply #19 - 04/03/11 at 19:33:50 What you might want to do with the PVC is chamfer the inside diameter a bit to allow room for the lip on the inside of the seal. You don't want to crush it. Chamfer one end and leave the other end as is to use on the bushing.
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Gyrobob

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Re: Replace/renew fork seals, post pics
Reply #20 - 04/04/11 at 02:11:55

Great minds think alike!! I had already done that. I happened to notice the pipe was made very precisely. It had an exactly perpendicular end that had nice sharp edges on the inside and outside edges. I rounded off the inside edge (approx 1/16" chamfer) of one end so as not to damage the seal. I was "fixin" to post something about this,... you beat me to it.

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Re: Replace/renew fork seals, post pics
Reply #21 - 04/16/11 at 07:12:21

The PVC fork seal tool works perfectly. I just did all four fork tubes on the two LS650s. Actually tapping in the bushings and seals takes less than a minute each, and the close fit of the cheapo PVC tool keeps the seal or bushing in proper alignment.

Be gentle. I used a candy hammer. Not much force required at all. When tapping them in, grab the top of the fork and the PVC pipe with one hand so you can feel the slight movement of the tool pressing the bushing or seal in with each tap.

Leave one end of the PVC tool with crisp edges inside and out. This end works well on seating the bushing.

Chamfer one inside edge about 1/8" at the other end of the PVC pipe. Use this end to seat the seal. If you leave the edge sharp on the inside, it might damage the seal.

Another couple of tips: 1. The Clymer book could be misinterpreted in the way it explains how to orient the seal when you put it back on the tube. Just make sure you orient the seal as shown in the pics here, which should be the same way the seal was oriented when you disassembled the fork tube. 2. Clean off the spring clip (that holds in the seal) really well. On my Buddy’s forks, the clips were so mucky they probably wouldn’t have seated in the groove. If the spring clip is at all rusty, replace it. Also, clean out the spring clip groove well – both of ours had muck in the groove which would have bothered the proper seating of the clip as well. Not surprising on decade old bikes.

Wish the RYCA stuff would arrive!

Now, on with the other stuff up here -- brake bleeding, wheel truing, rotor deglazing, etc. It's amazing the stuff you discover you need to do when you start trying to build something using an old donor bike!

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Digger

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Re: Replace/renew fork seals, post pics
Reply #22 - 08/03/11 at 19:27:48

MotoBuddha wrote on 04/02/11 at 09:33:19:

.....Notice there's a split in the bushing. That means the bushing is slightly larger than the groove in the fork bottom and is designed to hold itself in place with spring tension. The split will close up when the bushing is in place.

Now take whatever you're using for a seal installation tool -- a piece of PVC or something fancy -- and use it to tap the bushing into the groove. You can have the seal and washer completely off the fork or, if you like, you can have the washer on top of the bushing to spread the load from the tool.......

Here is another way to drive that bushing back into its groove (I posted this on my Gold Wing forum a few years back):

"The last time I cleaned up the forks, I made a drift out of 1/4" aluminum rod to assist in seating the upper fork bushing:

I filed that flat spot on the end of the rod so that the end of the rod would fit down into the space the bushing is driven into. I bent the end of the rod so that I would not strike the fork tube while I was tapping on the end of the rod."

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« Last Edit: 07/10/12 at 19:05:28 by Digger »

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Re: Replace/renew fork seals, post pics
Reply #23 - 07/28/14 at 13:37:22

Serowbot wrote on 07/26/14 at 23:45:14:

Try cleaning the seals first... most seals aren't actually blown...
They just have grit under the seal...
There is a cheap tool for this, or you can make one from a pop bottle in 1 minute...

I just had a really bad gusher... and fixed it in 1 minute with a sliver of a soda bottle...
... or, if you aren't into cutting soda bottles... buy these guys plastic tool...

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