oil leaking from fork

[007brendan]

So, this morning, I stopped to get a bagel on my way to work and noticed this.  It looks like little bits of oil have slowly leaked out from around my fork seals.



I normally check my tire pressure and oil level each morning, but not my forks, so I don't know how long it has been like this.  The fork seals don't looked cracked or anything.  Do they just need to be replaced?

[pandymai]

the seals are under those dust boots. if anything you should first just clean the area really well and see if it continues to leak out.
if you find it IS leaking, it's best to change both at the same time. there are how-to's on how to easily swap out the fork oil seals

[Homer]

Shop will do it for about $100, before the oil ruins your brake pads.  Then you die in a firey, pokey, gooey mass of firey fire. 

[Deros514]

I just put replaced the seals on my forks. Like pandymai said, what you see on the outside are the dust seals. They keep grime from getting into the fork. The oil seal is underneath it. It's pretty easy to do if you have the tools to do so. The write-ups may seem confusing but its really simple when you got everything apart. I replaced both the oil and dust seals with Suzuki parts. Although you might be able to get away with the cheaper after market ones but your mileage may vary. It's also a great time to do something about the weak suspension. I just upgraded to Racetech .85kg springs and 15wt oil and couldn't be happier with the way it handles now.

[007brendan]

I just put replaced the seals on my forks. Like pandymai said, what you see on the outside are the dust seals. They keep grime from getting into the fork. The oil seal is underneath it. It's pretty easy to do if you have the tools to do so. The write-ups may seem confusing but its really simple when you got everything apart. I replaced both the oil and dust seals with Suzuki parts. Although you might be able to get away with the cheaper after market ones but your mileage may vary. It's also a great time to do something about the weak suspension. I just upgraded to Racetech .85kg springs and 15wt oil and couldn't be happier with the way it handles now.

About how much did that all cost you?

[Deros514]

I got oil seals, dust seals, springs, and a liter of fork oil for about $170 shipped from bike bandit. Took me an afternoon to do, since it was my first time. It is a really quick job, make sure you've got lots of rags/shop towels, and a bucket or oil pan. Brake cleaner works really well to get rid ofthe old sludgy oil. Just keep it away from rubber and plastic parts just in case. Oh and like other threads say you'll need about a foot and a half of 1.5inch sch40 PVC pipe to seat new oil seals and you'll need to make a tool to remove the damping rod at the bottom.

[Paulcet]

Shop will do it for about $100, before the oil ruins your brake pads.  Then you die in a firey, pokey, gooey mass of firey fire.  Sigh.  Pause.  And everybody died.