Oopsy

Posted: Tue Jul 23, 2019 4:30 am

So, on my rebuild, one of the first issues I had was that my newly rebuilt forks leaked oil. I've just been ignoring it for a while while I worked on tuning the carbs, and generally getting it in running shape. Everytime I take it out for a test spin it dribbles oil out and I wipe it up when I'm done. I finally decided to fix it and because the seals I put on originally were an All Balls kit, I bought OEM seals from David Silver Spares (great guys that bend over backwards to help me sometimes). I pulled the tubes today and immediately saw my problem: I put the seals in upside down Embarassed

As long as I didn't ruin the seals by taking them off and flipping them around, everything should be golden now.

Posted: Tue Jul 23, 2019 4:41 am

I've done that before, on an old dirtbike. No biggie in the end. Getting the old ones out is always the hardest part anyways and you already got that👍

Posted: Tue Jul 23, 2019 2:14 pm

I put in All Balls in my Suzuki, and one fork leaked after about a month. The seal was put in correctly. I just got OEM and hopefully, that corrects it.

Posted: Tue Jul 23, 2019 8:23 pm

BullittDave wrote:

I put in All Balls in my Suzuki, and one fork leaked after about a month. The seal was put in correctly. I just got OEM and hopefully, that corrects it.

I had a similar experience (and the OEM seals did correct it).

Posted: Wed Jul 24, 2019 12:04 pm

After a couple of "come backs" on fork seal replacement with aftermarket seals a few years ago (including Balls), I now always use Honda OEM seals and wipers.

Additionally, I always replace the upper and lower "bush" and "sleeve" regardless of the wear shown. This insures a nice tight fit between the fork tube and lower case eliminating any slop at the seal.

All of these parts are still available from your prefered Honda parts source since they are used on many Honda models.

Posted: Wed Jul 24, 2019 1:34 pm

CBX-tras wrote:

After a couple of "come backs" on fork seal replacement with aftermarket seals a few years ago (including Balls), I now always use Honda OEM seals and wipers.

Additionally, I always replace the upper and lower "bush" and "sleeve" regardless of the wear shown. This insures a nice tight fit between the fork tube and lower case eliminating any slop at the seal.

All of these parts are still available from your prefered Honda parts source since they are used on many Honda models.

+1 on everything that J.R. said. In the two instances where I used aftermarket seals,(early on in my naïve restoration days) they started seeping within a short time. Luckily they were on my own bikes and not a customer's. The Honda seals have never let me down. I always replace the bushes and sleeves as part of the rebuild. They're cheap insurance considering that I won't have to go back in there for a long time.

Spend the money, save some time later.

Posted: Thu Jul 25, 2019 4:17 am

Typically, fork seals will be fine unless the bushings are worn out. Before you put the seals in, check the fork to slider fit. Simply wiggle the tube inside the slider. You really shouldn't feel much, if anything.

When the bushings are worn out, the seal has to chase the tube around. If the seals are old and hard, they give up pronto. A brand new set of seals will chase the tube around a bit, for a while, but they'll get tired quicker than you'd think.

The problem becomes when you put a set of bushings in and the fork slider (lower tube) is worn out inside.

If there are nicks in the fork tubes, file them off GENTLY. Polish the area and fill the low spots with epoxy. You can save a fork tube that way. Ive done it on dirt bikes dozens of times. And the fix holds. Personally, I use JB weld on the tubes. If there's a dent (like mine, I took a piece of rebar off the back of a truck on the freeway) you need to lower the raised edges around the dent with a file, then fill the dent, and finish and polish the repaired area.

Posted: Thu Jul 25, 2019 5:41 am

This thread is garnering some good tricks for anyone looking to do this. I never would have tried putting much work into a nicked/dented tube, but apparently it can be done! Very neat.