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Author Topic: FIX FOR LEAKING FORK SEALS?  (Read 1535 times)

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Offline jamman718

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FIX FOR LEAKING FORK SEALS?
« on: July 05, 2012, 02:02:39 PM »
Just thinking about how AT fluid is one of the reccomended fluids to use in forks.  Wondering if Lucas makes a product for AT leaks as well and if that would work to swell the seals and stop the leaks?    http://www.lucasoil.com/products/display_products.sd?iid=29&catid=9&loc=show

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Offline my78k

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Re: FIX FOR LEAKING FORK SEALS?
« Reply #1 on: July 05, 2012, 02:08:21 PM »
hmmmm.....my gut says no. But worth a shot I suppose. I suspect at best it would slow a leak temporarily.

Dennis
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Offline Greggo

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Re: FIX FOR LEAKING FORK SEALS?
« Reply #2 on: July 05, 2012, 02:10:37 PM »
Making the seal swell won't fix the likely source of the problem: crud stuck between the seal, and the fork tube.  I've read of people cleaning and reusing the (under $20) seals, but they still had to be removed first.  If they're leaking badly, they'll need work, simple as that.
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Offline NewOldSchool

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Re: FIX FOR LEAKING FORK SEALS?
« Reply #3 on: July 05, 2012, 02:14:21 PM »
AT fluid is recommended because it has a similar viscosity and properties to stock fork oil.

 Forks need to be run at a specific volume of oil to function properly, adding or decreasing the amount of oil in the forks can make a significant difference to dampening and handling. Adding some random fluid that we don't know the viscosity of can and probably will cause unpredictable changes to the action of your forks.

Not to mention it is a band-aid and not a fix, plus it could swell internal o-rings and cause who knows what else.

Also, are you running AT fluid in the forks, or just squirting this in on top of whatever unknown oil is currently in your forks?

If it were me I'd spend the $25 bucks or so for new seals and do it right.
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Offline Tugboat

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Re: FIX FOR LEAKING FORK SEALS?
« Reply #4 on: July 05, 2012, 03:18:22 PM »
Tie a bandanna around it.
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Offline VTCBike750

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Re: FIX FOR LEAKING FORK SEALS?
« Reply #5 on: July 05, 2012, 07:02:16 PM »
Id go ahead and just change the fork seals. Its actually a lot easier than one would think. One of the first things I learned to do working on my bike. What bike is it?

I found this video useful.
CB550 Fork Seals

I built this to help hold the front end up:
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Offline jamman718

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Re: FIX FOR LEAKING FORK SEALS?
« Reply #6 on: July 07, 2012, 04:54:10 PM »
1977 cb750f ss
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Offline lostmykeys

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Re: FIX FOR LEAKING FORK SEALS?
« Reply #7 on: July 07, 2012, 05:02:46 PM »
 I found a tip on some other forum were you can use a feeler guage of a piece of plastic to go around the seal and remove the dirt.This is done while the forks are together and on the bike.
 I had a leak from one of my forks so I tried this and it worked.I then bled both forks and filled them.
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