Fork seal leak again! WTF

[jerome burley]

Had my forks rebuilt almost 2 years ago. After 9k, the same side is seeping/leaking again.

I am a conservative rider, no wheelies, no big hits.

Is this an indication of something wrong with the fork. No leak until now.

Is this a coincidence? Faulty work? The work was done by the only certified Yamaha shop in the area. (Hailey, Id.)

Just thought I would put it out here to see if anyone has had similar experience or any ideas what may be up.

As always, thanks in advance for any feedback.

Jerome

 

[vandy]

You could be in the same boat as me.

60k miles and second seal leaking.

The shop told me that I have a little pitting in the area and have the choice of big buck fork repair or just ride it untill I have to replace the seal again.. much cheaper.

 

[SkooterG]

Could be coincidence. A random bug hit, dirt, debris, or something else causing the issue. However, with so little miles since the last time it went bad, I would suspect a burr from a rock or something else on your fork tube causing the issue. Happened to me once on an old Kawi C10.

Try the Sealmate (do a search - a few threads on the subject around here) and if that doesn't stop the leak, I would suspect an issue with your fork tube.

 

[petey]

Do you have a fork brace installed on your bike?

 

[Queensland Ken]

I had forks refurbished, new bushes and seals and not that long after, 12k kms, had a bad weep again

Turned out that there was fine scratches on the fork tubes.

I bought new seals and changed them out myself.

I'm sure the company that did it the first time didn't install new dust seals.

There was a heap of debris in the lip of the seal scratching the fork tubes.

Managed to polish out the scratches with Autosol and replaced the seals, perfect.

 

[jerome burley]

Do you have a fork brace installed on your bike?

No I do not.

 

[jerome burley]

[

.

I'm sure the company that did it the fist time didn't install new dust seals.

I did have the dust seals replaced....

 

[jerome burley]

Could be coincidence. A random bug hit, dirt, debris, or something else causing the issue. However, with so little miles since the last time it went bad, I would suspect a burr from a rock or something else on your fork tube causing the issue. Happened to me once on an old Kawi C10.

Try the Sealmate (do a search - a few threads on the subject around here) and if that doesn't stop the leak, I would suspect an issue with your fork tube.

Thanks for the infor, I will try this first, and if this does not fix it, it is time to inspect the inner works myself!

 

[HotRodZilla]

How many miles on your bike? And how old are the bushings? When I had my seals really done a while back, my tech replaced my lower bushings because they were worn. He said that once they are worn, the allow movement in the fork that leads to premature leaks.

So, it could be a bad fork surface, something stupid like dirt or rocks, or maybe its time to do a slight overhaul and replace bushings and stuff. Then again, maybe nothing's wrong and you just have crappy luck.

 

[Mihalis fjr]

 

[Mihalis fjr]

Have a look at these posts:

https://www.fjrforum.com/forum//index.php?showtopic=146202&st=0&p=971284&hl=+fork%20+seals&fromsearch=1entry971284

 

[RPrice]

Could be coincidence. A random bug hit, dirt, debris, or something else causing the issue. However, with so little miles since the last time it went bad, I would suspect a burr from a rock or something else on your fork tube causing the issue. Happened to me once on an old Kawi C10.

Try the Sealmate (do a search - a few threads on the subject around here) and if that doesn't stop the leak, I would suspect an issue with your fork tube.

Thanks for the infor, I will try this first, and if this does not fix it, it is time to inspect the inner works myself!

If Seal Mate doesn't work, the DIY seal change is not that hard. I followed the directions on forum, bought a seal driver and fabricated a bushing driver as per forum directions. If you need to borrow any of these tools, let me know and I'll meet you in Stanley or something. The Gen I has only two bushings compared to 3 for the Gen II. When I did mine I just did a complete service including bushing and fork oil replacement. I ordered all OEM parts from Bike Bandit.

Good Luck!

 

[jerome burley]

Could be coincidence. A random bug hit, dirt, debris, or something else causing the issue. However, with so little miles since the last time it went bad, I would suspect a burr from a rock or something else on your fork tube causing the issue. Happened to me once on an old Kawi C10.

Try the Sealmate (do a search - a few threads on the subject around here) and if that doesn't stop the leak, I would suspect an issue with your fork tube.

Thanks for the infor, I will try this first, and if this does not fix it, it is time to inspect the inner works myself!

If Seal Mate doesn't work, the DIY seal change is not that hard. I followed the directions on forum, bought a seal driver and fabricated a bushing driver as per forum directions. If you need to borrow any of these tools, let me know and I'll meet you in Stanley or something. The Gen I has only two bushings compared to 3 for the Gen II. When I did mine I just did a complete service including bushing and fork oil replacement. I ordered all OEM parts from Bike Bandit.

Good Luck!

Thanks Bob! A kind offer indeed. Well worth a ride to Stanley. I will definately be up your way this season and will let you know when. e-mail me if your down this way.

Thanks again,

Jerome

 

[jerome burley]

Have a look at these posts:

https://www.fjrforum.com/forum//index.php?showtopic=146202&st=0&p=971284&hl=+fork%20+seals&fromsearch=1entry971284

Thanks Mihalis, I have ordered a sealmate and will post results. Hopefully I am one of the lucky ones!!

 

[RPrice]

Could be coincidence. A random bug hit, dirt, debris, or something else causing the issue. However, with so little miles since the last time it went bad, I would suspect a burr from a rock or something else on your fork tube causing the issue. Happened to me once on an old Kawi C10.

Try the Sealmate (do a search - a few threads on the subject around here) and if that doesn't stop the leak, I would suspect an issue with your fork tube.

Thanks for the infor, I will try this first, and if this does not fix it, it is time to inspect the inner works myself!

If Seal Mate doesn't work, the DIY seal change is not that hard. I followed the directions on forum, bought a seal driver and fabricated a bushing driver as per forum directions. If you need to borrow any of these tools, let me know and I'll meet you in Stanley or something. The Gen I has only two bushings compared to 3 for the Gen II. When I did mine I just did a complete service including bushing and fork oil replacement. I ordered all OEM parts from Bike Bandit.

Good Luck!

Thanks Bob! A kind offer indeed. Well worth a ride to Stanley. I will definately be up your way this season and will let you know when. e-mail me if your down this way.

Thanks again,

Jerome

Jerome,

Sounds good! I'll let you know if I'm down your way, and you do the same. Again, let me know if you need the tools, and BTW after the end of this month I'll have all of my tools and a new house/shop, and we could do your "fork job" here, in 4 hours or less. I hope the Seal mate "trick" works, but if it doesn't let me know.

Take care,

Bob

 

[Mihalis fjr]

Have a look at these posts:

https://www.fjrforum.com/forum//index.php?showtopic=146202&st=0&p=971284&hl=+fork%20+seals&fromsearch=1entry971284

Thanks Mihalis, I have ordered a sealmate and will post results. Hopefully I am one of the lucky ones!!

I hope sealmate can help you to fix your problem..!!In my bike sealmate solved my problem about one year ago and no leaking oil until now...

 

[jerome burley]

Okay, received a seal mate, watched the how to video, and seem to have positive results. I will put it to the test today, and if it leaks again, I will repost.

Anyway, thanks to all for the great suggestions! I had no idea this fix existed. This forum is worth it's weight in gold.

A Happy Independence Day to All!!! :yahoo:

Jerome

 

[Mihalis fjr]

Okay, received a seal mate, watched the how to video, and seem to have positive results. I will put it to the test today, and if it leaks again, I will repost.

Anyway, thanks to all for the great suggestions! I had no idea this fix existed. This forum is worth it's weight in gold.

A Happy Independence Day to All!!! :yahoo:

Jerome

:good:

 

[RPrice]

Okay, received a seal mate, watched the how to video, and seem to have positive results. I will put it to the test today, and if it leaks again, I will repost.

Anyway, thanks to all for the great suggestions! I had no idea this fix existed. This forum is worth it's weight in gold.

A Happy Independence Day to All!!! :yahoo:

Jerome

Excellent news!! Just keep that Sealmate w/you on your bike, and you can usually fix any future problem on the road side.