XT600 Fork Seal Leak (New Seals)
 

Hey guys

I did a fork seal job on my 1990 XT600E, followed the package instructions, replacing only the seal & oil, making sure all of the surfaces were clean.

The issue I am having now is consistent leaking from both seals. Has anyone else had the same problem? If so what is the prescribed remedy?

Yes they can be difficult to replace because they are very easy to damage when fitting, a small scratch is enought for the oil pressure to make it leak. You can use heat on them before replacing and oil them.

Sure they're the correct size seals ??

How did you press the new seals in ???

I always put an some cling film over the fork tube when I slide the new seal over.


Newly fitted seals can appear to leak when they're not. It's residual oil from installation. Id advise cleaning it all off thoroughly and keep bouncing and cleaning .. over and over.

Slide the dust seals off to keep checking.

Ted

they are the correct seals

I slid them on no need to press

these leak...quite a bit. Probably damaged them while installing them knowing my backwards way of dealing with problems

My experience with seals that don't need to be pressed in is that they're either cheap crap that don't fit well enough or a component is worn/corroded.

If these are £5 seals off ebay then that's a good place to start..

Get some quality ones and try again..

Interesting....... £5.79 on Ebay. Looks like you could make one easily from any old scrap plastic though.


Worth a try as a quick fix. However, jamming that up behind the seal will stretch the seal lip. But if you were going to change them anyway, so what !!

I'm going to buy one and try it out on the leaky bikes that come into the workshop..


Ted

the seals were "leak free" brand ordered from the local cycle shop for $22something. The old ones were damaged as the dust cover didn't do its job and the previous (evil) owner removed the shock boots.

so a new fork seal job is in order and neoprene shock booties are on the way.

Sometimes it is just a case of the seals being not seated properly/lip on seal not seated properly, try popping the dust seals and if you have any old film negatives wrap it tightly round the leg and do the up/down motion thing , this should pop the seal/lip back in. Its an oldie but its got me out of trouble more than once.