Forks baby forks!

Bryce R

Bryce R

Hey guys I have a seal leaking and I want to replace it myself. What do I need? Are the tools universal? Also I was told god himself needs to be there to line up the forks? I guess what I want to know is how you go about it? What things do I need to look at? What are they talking about when they refer to lining up the forks?

Okay next question is I can get it done for $60 should I even bother with it or Pay someone else to do it?
 
cleonard

cleonard

At $60 the difference is if you think you will be doing it again. The only special tool absolutely required is a seal driver. These are sized to the fork tube so they are not universal. A Motion Pro one is a good part of that $60. I'm too cheap for that though. I have a PVC pipe fitting that I modified as a seal driver for my XR.

For how to do it. Look at your manual. You do have one of those, right?
 
Rock Monster

Rock Monster

The manual usually sucks and does not give enough info. Go to youtube and type "How to change fork seals" and some of the best tutorials will come up. Depending on what bike, you might need a piece of pipe with a nut welded to the end and the pvc works great for seal drivers. It's a pretty easy task to do especially after you have done it once.

As far as lining them up strait that is simple and someone gave you some weird info about it god himself needing to be there. Basically before you remove your forks, draw a ring with a sharpie on the under side of the top triple clamp. That way you will get it right back where it was. Then tighten top before bottom. If you have any questions through the process let me know. I have done several recently. Oh, and if you can find someone that will do it for $60 parts and labor, jump all over it. You would be lucky to have it done for less than $150.
 
Bryce R

Bryce R

Rock Monster:
The manual usually sucks and does not give enough info. Go to youtube and type "How to change fork seals" and some of the best tutorials will come up. Depending on what bike, you might need a piece of pipe with a nut welded to the end and the pvc works great for seal drivers. It's a pretty easy task to do especially after you have done it once.

As far as lining them up strait that is simple and someone gave you some weird info about it god himself needing to be there. Basically before you remove your forks, draw a ring with a sharpie on the under side of the top triple clamp. That way you will get it right back where it was. Then tighten top before bottom. If you have any questions through the process let me know. I have done several recently. Oh, and if you can find someone that will do it for $60 parts and labor, jump all over it. You would be lucky to have it done for less than $150.
Click to expand...

Yeah if I bring in the forks its $60 plus the seals.
 
SRAD97750

SRAD97750

Moderator
Staff member
KEEP IN MIND, I work on pre-1996 dirt cycles.

Oil seals and dust seals are cheap on eBay.
I use the OLD seal to drive the new one. Which means every bike has the tools already installed!
Impact gun for the bottom bolts.
CLEAN EVERYTHING.

The first time I did forks, it took a few hours.
Last week it took me 22 minutes to complete the job. Both forks.

You WILL be doing this job again, I suggest breaking down and doing it yourself. I couldn't imagine a seal change that cost me more than $20 with oil.
-BIG DAN:thumb:

EDIT - If you get stuck, post a pic... I'll get you :ride: 'n again.:thumb:
 
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