Topic: easy fork seal removal

[76 cb550]

Go to biglots or the hardware store and buy a 2" c-clamp...I'll provide a pic if you don't know what they are.  Next get a thin but wide piece of wood 1/4"or biggerX2-3" should work.

Put the metal bit of the c-clamp behind the steel ring of the seal and put the wood between the seal and the bolt of the c-clamp.  Now turn the bolt on the c-clamp and even the most persistent seals should come out.

Cost clamps 2 3" and 2 2" for $5  wood had a piece laying around.

EDIT: anyone got a trick that is even easier than this? 

[Buber]

This sounds really intriguing, but I cannot picture it what does what, and how. Can you post some pics?

Thanks!

[76 cb550]

well I was going to take pics of the process while i removed the second seal but...the allen bolt on the other fork is stripped.  On top of that the bolts sticking out of the bottom of the forks make that bolt inacessible with the EZ-outs I have on hand...not sure what I'm gonna do.

I'll describe the process a little better.

The bolt on the c-clamp presses against the wood as you turn it.  Since the wood won't move it pulls on the c-clamp in the opposite direction thus pulling out the seal. 

[chessire77]

I am getting ready to change the seals on a new (1975) bike I have. the last time I had to use a hammer and chisel.  Can you give more specifics? what size clamp did you use? anything will help.

[alltherightpills]

I did this the other week.  I didn't quite understand what 76 cb550 was talking about either, until I had my fork apart and was looking at it.  I took a 2 inch metal c-clamp and a stir stick for a 5 gallon bucket of paint (I am a house painter, so I had a bunch of these laying around.)  The stick was 1/4 inch thick and maybe 1 1/2 inches wide and 2 feet long.  The length doesn't matter though.  Take the part of the c-clamp that doesn't move and isn't threaded and hook it under the fork seal.  Take the piece of wood and rest the 1/4 inch side on the edge of the fork so that you can tighten the clamp down on the narrow edge of the wood.  The goal is to use the wood as a sort of block so that when you are tightening the clamp, the threaded part of the clamp is not moving, but the other part is pulling up on the seal and thus removing it. 

Sorry if this doesn't help explain it any better, I didn't take pics when I did it, and it is pretty hard to describe what is going on.  It makes a lot more sense when you have the fork, the c-clamp and the piece of wood in your hands. 

[754]

I just lay a piece of wood on the top edge of the slider and pry with a screwdriver, gently and moving around the circle..

[750goes]

Are you talking about the seal or the dust cover ?

[scunny]

pot of boiling water, wd40 to taste, dunk fork leg seal down in pot, wait 5 minutes and that fork seal will pop out with a minimum of fuss

[diggz_82]

pot of boiling water, wd40 to taste, dunk fork leg seal down in pot, wait 5 minutes and that fork seal will pop out with a minimum of fuss

Do you spray the wd40 onto the seal then dunk, or directly into the water?

[manjisann]

Do you spray the wd40 onto the seal then dunk, or directly into the water?

I spray it directly into the flame    Actually I dunk the end with the seal in the boiling water till the seal pops out, then hose the caliper with the WD40 to remove the water.

Brandon

[Toxic]

all good tips, thanks

I will be tring the c-clamp method next week

[ridgeline61]

wd40 let sit for about a min, then hit it in the boiling water, works like a charm!

[donnyh]

I have a 2003 vtx 1800r that needs fork seals, any tips on how to and is it something I can do