Howdy.

Got another small question for all you "Use the damn search button" Nazi's out there.
I have spent a good amount of time trying to find a how-to on changing fork parts. My inner tube,  part number 502694-001 has been a little tweaked for a little while now, and I am (finally) prepared to spend the money on getting a replacement.

A full all out how-to would be great, but at the very least some tips and required tools would be appreciated as well. I kinda want to see if spending the money on the tools will be more cost effective than just bringing the fork tube into the shop for them to do.

FYI - If I do this myself, I will also be installing 15w fork oil, and also putting in Progressives (Thanks Pablo for the how-to on your page! :mrgreen:)

Thank you much

If you fork is "tweaked" and you don't want to pop the money for a new one, you can send it to FORKING BY FRANK.

Here's the web site:

http://www.frankmain.qpg.com/

I have sent a few forks to him with great success. Don't ask me how much, I don't remember.

I just went thru the hell of redoing my fork seals. if u dont have air tools or a good shop (much like I) you may just want to take it to a shop. Everyone will tell you, oh its not bad less then a hour. but those folks all have the right tools and a nice place to work. just some hard earned advice. But if you choose to do it anyway shoot me a text I took mine appart and back to square one several times now (like i said its a pain in the butt) on AIM everlastingash nd i'll be glad 2 tell you all you need.

-ash

you read this threa right?
http://gstwins.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=16318
adn then read the linked one at the bottom for the pics?

hello all
i just went through the experience of changing my fork seals also, but apparently i didn't do it right, because now there is fluid coming from both forks, where as before only one was leaking.
so going back through trying to diagnose what i did wrong, one thing in particular comes to mind.

when installing the new seals, what direction are they installed?  the manual says to install them by positioning the seals with the lip facing up then slide the seal down over the tube.

just for clarification, if the fork is in a vice, vertical, what direction should the reservoir in the seal be facing? by reservoir, i mean the recession that has the small spring down inside of it.  i took the book's description of "lip" to be this reservoir and installed the seals by sliding them down over the vertical fork tubes, with the reservoir facing upward.
should the spring side be facing down into the slider?

thanks for any suggestions
oldskool

the lil spring part should not be seen and should be facing down.

-ash

well that would probably explain why they both are leaking now.

could there be any damage to the parts becasue of this? the bike was only rode for about 20 miles after this before the leaking became apparent.
what i mean is, can i just take them back apart and reinstall the seals the way they should be?
could the seals be damaged from this and would/should i buy new seals or should i wait and see if they leak after i fix my mistake?

thanks for the help

oldskool

If it was me, I would put on new seals and be done with it. If you just turn those seals around, reistall everything just to find them leaking again, now you have to do it all over again.(unless you want the practice?). Just my two cents worth..

If you don't have the tools/time/inclination, DragonLovers seals on her '98 were about $80 (seals, oil, labor) off the bike.  Getting off and on was easy enough.  So, though you may not like it the shop might not be a bad option.

Olskool, I had the same problem as you have. What manual do you have? I have the Clymer and did eveything acording to the instructions only to find the forks leaking worst than before. After this frustrating process I decided to take them to the shop. The first thing they asked me when I told them I had tried changind them myself was: "What manual do you have? The Clymer has the instructions backwards... the spring should be facing down..."

camilocano, i have the clymer manual also, and i will agree with you, after following their instructions, they leaked worse.  thanks for the tip on it being wrong.
hopefully your info will help someone else out that plans on changing their seals in the future.

thanks for the info
oldskool

Duh! Guys...

QuoteBut if you choose to do it anyway shoot me a text I took mine appart and back to square one several times now (like i said its a pain in the butt) on AIM everlastingash nd i'll be glad 2 tell you all you need.

Before you put it back together w/ a doubt in your mind. That is why we are here!

-ash

Quote from: camilocanoThe first thing they asked me when I told them I had tried changind them myself was: "What manual do you have? The Clymer has the instructions backwards... the spring should be facing down..."

Good info! I'll correct the manual as well.
I enjoy doing things on my own, and I found very useful to take pictures of the various steps, so I remember exactly how things were positioned. The manual I have does not cover the 2003 model, so pics are more updated!  

Most of todays forks seals (USD forks may differ) are Spose to work both ways, some have one spring, these aim spring down, others have 2 spings. these generaly dont matter what side is up. always check the packaging to make sure.

there is a write up in the FAQ section on changingseals, and some addon pix and links. these should help explain and show the innerworkings to theforks.