What's this oil from? Aw, crap!

[superfuzz]

I was so stoked to get my RaceTech springs/oil change done at the Tech Day. Today, I was double-checking/torqueing fasteners when I noticed some excess oil on one of my sliders. It looks like now I have a leaking seal where there was none before. I don't want to have to replace bushings and seals (either myself or by paying a shop)if I don't really have too.

I'm hoping that some grit or dirt just got under the seal when we were working on them. An enduro-riding neighbor of mine recommended trying this:

Seal Mate

Has anyone used the Sealmate? Worth trying or shade-tree mechanic equivalent of snake oil?

 

[superfuzz]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nEzjdFQp6IM&context=C4a03fcbADvjVQa1PpcFMxPnMKfnq1nmEYkh4lKI6mrHTYEMbgIsY=

 

[juniorfjr]

IIRC, SkooterG reported in a recent thread that he'd had great success with this product. Good luck.

 

[SkooterG]

Has anyone used the Sealmate? Worth trying or shade-tree mechanic equivalent of snake oil?

I've used it twice on two different seals in the last two months and it took care of the leaks. Best $7 I ever spent.

 

[superfuzz]

Has anyone used the Sealmate? Worth trying or shade-tree mechanic equivalent of snake oil?

I've used it twice on two different seals in the last two months and it took care of the leaks. Best $7 I ever spent.

Excellent! Thanks for the replies. **fingers crossed** Hoping to avoid $$$ fork repair

 

[escapefjrtist]

Sorry to hear about the leak 'fuzz. Definitely give the Sealmate a try, cheaper than going ahead and changing the seals.

IIRC, your '06 has 55K+ miles. Remembering the oil we took out, it was pretty grimy...which means it's likely fork maintenance wasn't a high priority by the PO. Just for reference, my previous '06 developed a seal leak at roughly the same miles. When Adventure in Monroe changed the seals, the bushings were almost gone too.

We haven't made the tools to service forks yet. Maybe this is a good reason to get them made and add bushing / seal replacement for the next PNW Tech Day...

FWIW, Adventure charged me 2 hours labor + parts for both forks.

--G

 

[superfuzz]

Sorry to hear about the leak 'fuzz. Definitely give the Sealmate a try, cheaper than going ahead and changing the seals.

IIRC, your '06 has 55K+ miles. Remembering the oil we took out, it was pretty grimy...which means it's likely fork maintenance wasn't a high priority by the PO. Just for reference, my previous '06 developed a seal leak at roughly the same miles. When Adventure in Monroe changed the seals, the bushings were almost gone too.

We haven't made the tools to service forks yet. Maybe this is a good reason to get them made and add bushing / seal replacement for the next PNW Tech Day...

FWIW, Adventure charged me 2 hours labor + parts for both forks.

--G

I don't know, the PO actually remarked to me that it was important to stay on top of fork oil changes. **shrug**

It seems like too much of a coincidence that it just started leaking right after we did the service/spring install. I suspect that fully compressing the tubes is the cause, maybe forcing some grit under there. At least that's what I'm hoping and the Sealmate will do the trick.

I found them online, but does anyone local to Seattle area know if there is a shop here that stocks them?

 

[HotRodZilla]

I just had a fork seal leak on my '07 fixed. I wish I knew how to do ut, but since I don't, it went to the shop.

At 42k, my lower bushings were trashed, and the mid bushings were close. They had the lower bushings on hand, so they replaced them. Said the mids would be ok until the next fork oil change. He wait the bushings went out early, but will do that if the suspension gets worked.

He also said that the worn bushings will let the forks move around and cause leaks. My point is that leak could be due to a bad bushing. If that's the case, you're just putting a bandaid on a bullet wound.