Leaking fork seals

[Kozin]

Hi

 

My fork seals are sweating

 

I ride offroad bikes as well and we would use a feeler gauge to clean fork seals on a dirt bike.

 

What can I do on my fox forks?

 

Thanks

[Daxiet]

Clean around the dust wiper and the entire stanchion. Place a piece of insulation tape around the stanchion a couple cm's above the dust wiper. Unseat the dust wiper with the bike in a normal upright position. Slide it over the insulation tape. wipe dirt off the tape, push it back down over the tape... repeat until you believe all dirt is gone. Lube the stanchion with some fresh oil below the wiper. Push back in and seat the wiper. Ensure you don't drop dirt into the leg during the process.

 

Remember on a motorbike fork, you have the dust wiper then just above it (upside down fork) the oil seal. On bike forks it's just the dust wiper and a little sponge below it that catches dirt.

 

If you have to, a simple dust wiper and oil change is very simple, like falling out a tree, not nearly as busy and lengthy a process as on a motorbike.

[Kozin]

Thank you for your response, appreciatted

[deanmor]

Hi

 

My fork seals are sweating

 

I ride offroad bikes as well and we would use a feeler gauge to clean fork seals on a dirt bike.

 

What can I do on my fox forks?

 

Thanks

 

Hi Kozin,

 

Try fitting enduro fork seals: http://www.enduroforkseals.com/

 

I had a Maverick DUC and the std seals leaked constantly. Once replaced with Enduro fork seals all leaking disappeared. With enduro's, you'll have no leaking and/or sweating problems. Are you not over filling the stanchions?

 

Regards

 

Dean

[ichnusa]

The seals you see are just dust seals and keep the oil in and dust out. Often, leaking grey-black oil (grinding paste consistency) is a symptom of another more serious problem. The actual wear takes place at the bushing deep inside between the lower and stanction. The wear creates the grey-black oil which leaks out. So simply putting new seals on does not always solve the problem.

 

Enduro seals seem great because they keep the oil/paste inside because they fit tighter than specified seals around the stanctions. It comes at a price though. The tighter fit may cause the anodizing to wear out prematurely at the seal and the additional friction may hamper the fork's performance - esp small bump compliance...

Edited August 20, 2011 by ichnusa