fork seals Q

PittSpeed Automotive
1

ok, i just picked up my new beater bike( i say beater as in just to putz around on when it gets warmer) and it does need a little work. after takin it for a test drive, when i got back there was fluid starting to come from the fork’s dust seals. heres my question, how do i know if its just the dust seals that are failing, or if its a combo of those and the oil seals themself? is this something i can do myself? never had to replace them before. oh and its a 85 honda shadow 700

2

if there is oil coming out, yes its the oil seals. dust seals in fact just hold dust out from the actual oil seals. Im not familiar with the bike but they are just regualr forks? Not like upside cartridge forks. If they are just regular, and youre a handy man its quite possible.

The hardest part is taking the springs out. you need a good vise some wood and 2 people at least. A good honda repair manual should work you through it. The other hard part is to get the fluid level right when you are all done.

Another thing to think of is forks usually have some sort of bushing that when it wears also contributes to leaking. Its a good thing to replace when youre there since usually they are only a couple dollars.

First Id go look at a repair manual so you can judge youreself if youre up to it. I used to have to replace my old rm80 fork seals alot back in the day since they were prone to blowing when rode moderately hard.

3

well i’m looking thru the repair manual now. heres a brief run down of what the repair manual says

  1. remove the front wheel
  2. loosen the bolt at the base of the slider
  3. remove the air cap valve and bleed off air
  4. remove front fender
  5. etc etc to remove the forks

then it goes into disassembly

  1. clamp the slider in a vise
  2. loosen allen bolt and gasket from base of slider
  3. hold upper fork tube in a vise and loosen fork cap bolt
  4. remove fork tube spacer, springs seat, and fork spring
  5. remover fork from vise and pour out theoil etc.
  6. remove the stopper rings
  7. remove fork from the slider
  8. slide of oil seal backup ring, and slider bushing

assembly: it says coat everything with dexron tranny fluid, and it says you wil need a special tool to install the oil seal, or you could use a 2in galvanized pipe can be used as a tool. it seems to have a good break down of how to do it. is there a good place online i can order like a rebuild kit so i can get all the pieces i need for this job?

4

You can try this link : http://www.powersportspro.com/

I ordered a ton of parts for my 81 IT465. They were very good, fast, and pretty cheap too.

There is, of course, the local parts counter at your closest Honda dealer.

5

i use PVC pipe to intstall fork seals. won’t risk scrathcing the tubes

6

Same here. I had to take a grinder and thin the end out for it to fit perfect.

7

One of the things that I did when I changed my dirtbike forks was to drain the oil into a measured container. I would even let them sit for a few days to try to get as much oil from them as possible.

There is alot less mess that way.