Fork oil leak?

Joe Nardy · Aug 11, 2009

I'm having a strange problem with my '04 FJR. Over the winter I noticed a few drops of clear fluid on the floor on the left side of the bike near the fork tube. The bike was on the side stand at the time. I looked around and the only clue I could find was some similar fluid on top of my fork brace above the fork seal. I put the bike on the center stand and didn't see any more drops on the floor. I've ridden the bike regularly over the summer and haven't seen any drops since until this weekend. Again, the bike was on the side stand and there was some similar fluid on top of the fork brace right above the fork seal. I don't see any oil on the fork tube or any spray on the fairings, etc. The clues certainly suggest a leaky seal but what doesn't make sense is that the fluid on the floor is completely clear. I've changed fork oil on quite a few bikes and have never seen clear used fork oil. The fork oil has about 10K miles on it so I can't believe it isn't black or dark gray. I've looked all over to see if I can figure out somewhere else the fluid might be coming from, possibly dripping down on the fork brace but don't see anything above that would carry fluid. The fluid seems to be oil. It doesn't have the feel or smell of brake fluid or coolant. My brakes and clutch master cylinders have good fluid levels and work fine. The coolant level is good as well.

Has anyone ever experienced this or have any ideas where this fluid may be coming from?

Thanks for any thoughts,

Joe

mdisher · Aug 11, 2009

No clue but interested in the responses you get.

On a recent trip, I lost my axle nut, and nearly lost my axle. What that did it turns out was let the wheel move just enough that my front brakes were ****, I had to pump them to get brakes, apparently the rotors were moving enough to push the calipers open thus giving me a squishy lever. But once pumped up was good for a little bit.

Where am I going with this?

When we stopped, first looking for WTF was wrong with my brakes we *thought* my reservoir was empty and began looking for leaks. I too had a clear liquid on top of my lower triple clamp. My buddy was sure it was brake fluid, I was not. Didn't smell like it to me. When we stopped to top off my reservoir it was FULL. So to this day I don't know what it was, and I haven't seen it since.

Never have seen anything like it in my garage, and I concur fork oil with 10k miles aint clear.

glory racing · Aug 11, 2009

Fork seal is probably leaking. The Oil on the floor can appear clear even though it is probably quite nasty in the bottom of your fork tubes. You can try the 35mm film trick or just go ahead and change the seal and service the forks.

mdisher · Aug 11, 2009

glory racing said:
Fork seal is probably leaking. The Oil on the floor can appear clear even though it is probably quite nasty in the bottom of your fork tubes. You can try the 35mm film trick or just go ahead and change the seal and service the forks.

Or just run a business card around the seal. Straightened out a fair share of dirt bike seals that way. (same idea as the film).

FJRBluesman · Aug 12, 2009

Best not be brake fluid or it could be real bad for you. Did it feel like light oil (fork oil)?

Was it drippin gdown the tube? Any fluid on calipers?

If fork oil, it'll get worse soon and leak really bad.

Fork seals can go for many reason. Fork tube coorsion, dirty build up, etc, or just plain blow and leak a huge amount of oil. Anything that can nick the seal and get it to start leaking.

Joe Nardy · Aug 13, 2009

FJRBluesman said:
Best not be brake fluid or it could be real bad for you. Did it feel like light oil (fork oil)?
Was it drippin gdown the tube? Any fluid on calipers?

If fork oil, it'll get worse soon and leak really bad.

Fork seals can go for many reason. Fork tube coorsion, dirty build up, etc, or just plain blow and leak a huge amount of oil. Anything that can nick the seal and get it to start leaking.

Yes, it feels like light oil. It doesn't have the 'sticky' feel or smell of brake fluid. I'm going to replace the seal this weekend (along with All Balls steering head bearings) as that seems to be the only possibility. The clear nature of the fluid just confuses me.....

Thanks,

Joe

ionbeam · Aug 13, 2009

Joe Nardy said:
...my '04 FJR...a few drops of clear fluid...fork brace...have any ideas where this fluid may be coming from?

If your '04 is an ABS model you may have a serious problem. The ABS models have a brake hose junction straight up from the front-center of the fork brace. If you have one of the early fork braces without a cut-out to accommodate this junction the fork brace can contact (smash) the hose junction causing it to leak and ultimately fail

Y'all give it a good look, and if this is the case, get 'er fixed PDQ. You will most likely see some damage to the top of the fork brace if there has been contact.

If you do not have an ABS model the hose junction is not present, and not a problem. In this case you are most likely looking at a fork seal problem. Wipe very clean the fork tubes and adjacent areas then ride for a while. Now take a tissue and wipe it along the fork tubes. If it is leaking you will plainly see oil.

Gramps · Aug 13, 2009

Joe I'm currently having the same problem. I first noticed mine leaking last march (had been put away for the winter & not been ridden at that point), was on the center stand. I know it was fork oil because the fork at the seal was slightly wet with oil. Thought it may have been a small piece of dirt lodged in there somewhere because after I started ridding it the leak went away. Now recently after not being ridden for a couple of weeks the small leak has returned & just as suddenly stopped. I figure that the seal must have a problem & I'm going to change them out after the ridding season, unless it turns worse.

Joe Nardy · Aug 13, 2009

ionbeam said:
If your '04 is an ABS model you may have a serious problem. The ABS models have a brake hose junction straight up from the front-center of the fork brace. If you have one of the early fork braces without a cut-out to accommodate this junction the fork brace can contact (smash) the hose junction causing it to leak and ultimately fail Y'all give it a good look, and if this is the case, get 'er fixed PDQ. You will most likely see some damage to the top of the fork brace if there has been contact.
If you do not have an ABS model the hose junction is not present, and not a problem. In this case you are most likely looking at a fork seal problem. Wipe very clean the fork tubes and adjacent areas then ride for a while. Now take a tissue and wipe it along the fork tubes. If it is leaking you will plainly see oil.

Ion,

THANKS A MILLION! My bike is an ABS model and I have a Superbrace I bought on a group buy here a couple years ago. I did not know there was a different brace for the ABS model. I checked the junction and it is indeed leaking. I still have a firm brake lever but it does push a bit of fluid if I pull it hard. I can also feel a ridge on the brace where it has hit the bolt on the junction. I think I have two problems as the fluid from the junction does not feel and smell the same as the fluid on the floor. Obviously the brake fluid leak is more serious than the possible fork seal leak but I'll be addressing both this weekend.

Thanks again, you may have saved me from serious injury or worse.

Joe

P.S. Is it possible to mod the Superbrace to work with the ABS model? I've asked this question in a separate thread here.

FJRAL · Aug 13, 2009

I have an '04ABS with the SBS Fork Brace, but it is not the "ABS" style fork brace.

On the brace, I never had the problem of brace and ABS junction getting too friendly.

On the fork leak. I had fork leaks three times on my right fork. Two times, two different wrenches, said all looked fine and dandy, didn't know why it leaked.

Third time, by the "2nd time wrench" I asked him to really take a look because something had to be wrong. Turned out the fork tube was the culprit. I had pits, and low spots, hardly noticable. WSe put a new fork tube in, no more leak. So check out your tubes very carefully.

On the first fork seal fix I went to stronger fork springs. MUCH better feel and less chance of brace and ABS parts getting too chummy.

Gramps · Aug 13, 2009

FJRAL said:
Third time, by the "2nd time wrench" I asked him to really take a look because something had to be wrong. Turned out the fork tube was the culprit. I had pits, and low spots, hardly noticable. WSe put a new fork tube in, no more leak. So check out your tubes very carefully.
On the first fork seal fix I went to stronger fork springs. MUCH better feel and less chance of brace and ABS parts getting too chummy.

Thanks for the info.

ionbeam · Aug 14, 2009

Joe Nardy said:
...I checked the junction and it is indeed leaking...Is it possible to mod the Superbrace to work with the ABS model?...

Very glad you found your ABS banjo bolt leak before it became a problem!

I pulled my non-ABS fork brace off and milled out a notch. I suppose it could be drilled or perhaps notched with a band saw. I'll never know if my milling worked or not because I upgraded my forks and fork springs and that took care of any possible issue.

When the Super Brace was new and during the first group buy nobody was aware of the ABS banjo bolt interference.

Here is the original Brace that you and I have:

This is how Super Brace solved the ABS problem, this part is good for all Gen I and Gen II forks:

Joe Nardy · Aug 15, 2009

It looks like the junction was the only leak. I cleaned it thoroughly and squeezed the brake lever to see where the leak was. It appeared to be coming from the banjo bolt/crush washers. I replaced the crush washers with Spiegler aluminum washers because I've had better luck with them than with copper washers like OEM. I torqued the bolt and checked for leaks and found none. The lever was pretty soft at this point so I wasn't getting full pressure. I bled the brakes to get a firm lever and tested again. The junction is completely dry. Obviously I'll be keeping an eye on this to be sure it stays sealed.

The fork seal seems good so hopefully this issue is closed.

I have sent an email to Superbrace to see if they can work out some kind of exchange for an ABS brace.

The bad news is that I now need a front fender. The brake fluid caused it to crack and it came off in several pieces. Oddly, the paint held up better than the plastic.

Thanks again to everyone for their replies and ideas. You have saved me from a very dangerous situation.

Joe

glory racing · Aug 17, 2009

My 07 front fender cracked on both sides where the visible bolts attach the fender. Yamaha replaced under warranty. Have your dealer submit a claim.

RadioHowie · Aug 17, 2009

Hope none of that brake fluid got on your fender. Brake fluid and paint = VBT

(Very Bad Thing)

Joe Nardy · Aug 17, 2009

RadioHowie said:
Hope none of that brake fluid got on your fender. Brake fluid and paint = VBT

(Very Bad Thing)

Joe Nardy said:
The bad news is that I now need a front fender. The brake fluid caused it to crack and it came off in several pieces. Oddly, the paint held up better than the plastic.

Fork oil leak?

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