Can fork seals be replaced without disassembling the sliders?
I just picked up a used front end and want to change the seals but I really don't want to tear the whole thing apart if I don't have to.
Fork seals
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mtnspan
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57pan
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Re: Fork seals
I think it would be VERY difficult. In the process of trying to pry the old seal out and pound the new one in you run a high risk of buggering up the fork tube which will then just render the new seal useless.
Just take it apart - I think you will save time in the long run. You don't even have to remove the forks from the triple tree. Just jack it up high enough and remove the nut on the bottom (the one that you can't get to unless you remove the axle) then the slider will come off the tube. That will give you a chance to clean it out real good and get all the old gunk out of there.
But removing the forks from the triple tree makes it a whole lot easier to refill with fresh fork oil. Just lay the fork tube assy on it's side and refill thru the drain plug.
Just take it apart - I think you will save time in the long run. You don't even have to remove the forks from the triple tree. Just jack it up high enough and remove the nut on the bottom (the one that you can't get to unless you remove the axle) then the slider will come off the tube. That will give you a chance to clean it out real good and get all the old gunk out of there.
But removing the forks from the triple tree makes it a whole lot easier to refill with fresh fork oil. Just lay the fork tube assy on it's side and refill thru the drain plug.
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Skip
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Re: Fork seals
Take it loose from the trees!!!...loosen the caps at the top...then...loosen the pinch blots and slide out the whole assembly....take loose the allen bolt at the bottom of the lower leg...slide the upper out...CAREFULLY pry out the old seal...get you a piece of PVC pipe 2 inches in diameter and split it (keep for future use)...slide the upper leg back in...slide the seal down to where it seats in...I slide the PVC over the upper and pound the seal into place with a rubber mallet...PVC will not scratch your uppers...It would be much easier I would think to refill at the top once it was put back in the trees and supported by the pinch bolt...at least that is how I do it and it takes about 25 minutes to do both and reassemble...be sure to replace the upper seals also.....Skip
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mtnspan
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Re: Fork seals
Good points. I've disassembled my old forks and had a tough time sealing the dampner. Thought I might be able to cheat and not remove the tubes from the sliders. Sounds like wishful thinking. Think I'll go ahead and take them apart, that way I can clean everything up good. Thanks for the comments.