Fork seal question

I have new fork seals and they are leaking from the outside betwee nthe seal and the fork tube.

The manual says they need to be "tapped home"... I placed a new new set in and I have the fork tube and everything out on the bench. I went and tapped them in a little and it doesnt seem to do anything. Is there supposed to be a taper or something to get these to tightly fit against the fork tube? I think these things are going to leak if I dont get a tight fit between the seal and the fork tube.

I can simply fit the seal in there and push it down with my hand and a spacer.

If anyone has an idea as to what is going on with that bit please let me know.

Thanks,

iceteanolemon said:

I have new fork seals and they are leaking from the outside betwee nthe seal and the fork tube.

The manual says they need to be "tapped home"... I placed a new new set in and I have the fork tube and everything out on the bench. I went and tapped them in a little and it doesnt seem to do anything. Is there supposed to be a taper or something to get these to tightly fit against the fork tube? I think these things are going to leak if I dont get a tight fit between the seal and the fork tube.

I can simply fit the seal in there and push it down with my hand and a spacer.

If anyone has an idea as to what is going on with that bit please let me know.

Thanks,

Click to expand...

When you say fork tube, do you mean slider?
With the tube in the slider, the seal should fit snugly over the upper taper of the tube and slide down to the slider. I use the slider coller to push it down. I would get it down far enough with a dowel and a bit of tapping to where I could ger the coller started. With a little lube on the outer surface of the seal and on top of the seal, I would simply thread the coller down pushing the seal into place. Job Done.

Unless you have the wrong seal, this job should be as straight forward as any.

pvisseriii said:

iceteanolemon said:

I have new fork seals and they are leaking from the outside betwee nthe seal and the fork tube.

The manual says they need to be "tapped home"... I placed a new new set in and I have the fork tube and everything out on the bench. I went and tapped them in a little and it doesnt seem to do anything. Is there supposed to be a taper or something to get these to tightly fit against the fork tube? I think these things are going to leak if I dont get a tight fit between the seal and the fork tube.

I can simply fit the seal in there and push it down with my hand and a spacer.

If anyone has an idea as to what is going on with that bit please let me know.

Thanks,

Click to expand...

When you say fork tube, do you mean slider?
With the tube in the slider, the seal should fit snugly over the upper taper of the tube and slide down to the slider. I use the slider coller to push it down. I would get it down far enough with a dowel and a bit of tapping to where I could ger the coller started. With a little lube on the outer surface of the seal and on top of the seal, I would simply thread the coller down pushing the seal into place. Job Done.

Unless you have the wrong seal, this job should be as straight forward as any.

Click to expand...

Actually I didn't mean the fork tube but what the axle goes into. Stantion? Well if all I need to do is screw in the tops and once that's done I should be good then I must have got the wrong seals. I bought them from old britts though and its 71 forks. I don't think it should be rocket science but I seem to be cursed with the simple stuff. Ill get this set in and tighten the collars down and see how that works.

I'm going with 20wt oil btw.

I'm about ready to get this damn thing on the road but my tinkering keeps me messing with it.

Thanks for the reply, as always I appreciate it!

I take a set of old fork bushings set one upside down on top of seal and the next right side up on top of that bushing, then drive the seal down by sliding a block of wood along the tube and rapping on the right side up bushing.
These old bushings are a perfect fit and won't damage the tubes, nor will the wood block.
(don't forget a light skip of oil on the new seal and tube)
Of course once you get the proper size of seals.

Cheers... 8)

iceteanolemon said:

...I can simply fit the seal in there and push it down with my hand and a spacer.
...

Click to expand...

Mine fit about the same. I don't think you need to worry much about it - there isn't all that much oil that finds its way to the top of the bronze bushings anyway. The seal mostly just wipes down any oil getting past the bronze vice being a "real" seal such as one finds on the end of a crankshaft. I think it more critical to ensure the fork tubes themselves are free of deep scratches, rust pockets, etc.

I don't know if Old Britts sells the "LeakProof" brand of seals or not, but if that is what you're installing, keep in mind they also have an outer seal lip and need to have a thin plastic wrap put around them as they are pushed down into the slider (to keep the threads from cutting into the outer seal material).

staticmoves said:

I take a set of old fork bushings set one upside down on top of seal and the next right side up on top of that bushing, then drive the seal down by sliding a block of wood along the tube and rapping on the right side up bushing.
These old bushings are a perfect fit and won't damage the tubes, nor will the wood block.
(don't forget a light skip of oil on the new seal and tube)
Of course once you get the proper size of seals.

Cheers... 8)

Click to expand...

Just for good measure I did the same. I have a set of old ones and I butted them together and went around a bit with a block of wood. I have it all buttoned up right now except the fender and the oil. I am going to add the oil now and see what happens!

150cc or 170cc?