Oil leak on the fork

[stioc]

I noticed some clean, oil on the shiny part of the right front fork, I wiped it off, grabbed the front brake lever and bounced the front end a bit and sure enough some more oil. I take it the forks need new seals and probably due for oil replacement too? Second I'm wondering how big of a job it is fixing the leak and if it's something I can tackle myself? I've swapped clutches, differentials and engines on cars so I'm ok turning wrenches but I'm fairly new to the M/C world.

 

[user 17287]

Before you get too carried away pop off the rubber part by the seal. then take a piece of old 35 film negatives and slip it down in the seal to try to "clean" out any debris (just slide it down along side of the chrome). I cut a slight hook or J shape to the film. my bike sat for about 2 months and I had the same issue as you did and this worked for me...at least it hasnt leaked for 3 months now. wouldnt hurt to give it a try.

 

[hppants]

If wiping/cleaning the seal doesn't work, replacing the seals is not a hard job. I just did it myself. I had some self-induced challenges, but once I figured a couple of mistakes out, everything went very smoothly.

Check out this thread for more information:

https://www.fjrforum.com/forum//index.php?showtopic=140923&st=0

 

[ahchiu]

Try this.

https://sealmate.net/instructions.html

 

[stioc]

Thanks guys. I'll try the sealmate fix, just not sure how long it's been like this and how much oil is left :blink:

 

[TomInPA]

I cut out some thin plastic in the shape of the Sealmate tool and was able to stop a leak in my right fork. I'm going to be doing some fork maintenance, but this lets me scale that back to just changing oil. I'll install new o-rings and oil seal while I'm there. Very inexpensive.

 

[stioc]

Tom, any pics of the plastic cut-outs? The sealmate tool is pretty inexpensive but it's the whole place-the-order-and-wait deal I don't like.

Also do you not have to disassemble the forks to change or refill the oil? I've never taken them apart myself.

 

[escapefjrtist]

Also do you not have to disassemble the forks to change or refill the oil? I've never taken them apart myself.

Short answer, yes. To do the proper flushing and refilling, the forks need to come off the bike. You'll also need to measure the oil height on reassembly. There's several threads floating around on fork maintenance....sounds like you'll be fine with it.

Have fun!

--G

 

[Zorlac]

Tom, any pics of the plastic cut-outs? The sealmate tool is pretty inexpensive but it's the whole place-the-order-and-wait deal I don't like.

Also do you not have to disassemble the forks to change or refill the oil? I've never taken them apart myself.

https://www.fjrforum.com/forum//index.php?showtopic=130090&view=findpost&p=759146

 

[Fred W]

Tom, any pics of the plastic cut-outs? The sealmate tool is pretty inexpensive but it's the whole place-the-order-and-wait deal I don't like.

Also do you not have to disassemble the forks to change or refill the oil? I've never taken them apart myself.

Here's a picture of mine

I cut that shape out from an old milk jug. Due to the softness of the plastic it is a bit on the floppy side, but was easy enough to slip under the seal and work the hooked end around the seal. When I then slid it out it brought along a good amount of black ****. Did it a second time for good measure. The seal seated back up perfectly. Tested it by exercising the fork in normal and inverted orientations.

Yeah, depending on how much oil you think that you lost, you probably should just remove the front fork so you can pull off the cap and pull out the spring. Then you have to fully compress the inner and outer tubes to measure the oil level. My seal was actually dripping oil all down the one side, over the brake caliper and onto the wheel rim. When I measured the oil level it had dropped 30mm from where I had set it a few months earlier. I just topped mine up and called it good for a while. I'll drain, flush (with ATF) and refill with new fork oil when it's due.

 

[Candyman]

I did mine at 16K miles. One seal wzs leaking a good bit. I found the bushings had wear onthem as well, so I replaced them too. I changed fork oil to a slightly heavier weight while I was in there. Not a big job, Took about 3 hours.

 

[Blue Crab]

Same thing happened to me. Bought my used '07 back in May. Got it home and both forks were leaking. Made my own "sealmate" using a piece of plastic and that completely fixed the problem. Not a drop of fork oil seen after riding the bike all summer long.