Fork Seal Replacement Question

Quick question on removing the fork seal... I have the forks off and everything is just dandy so far. The damping rod is the only thing left in there... I have been following the walkthrough that masonv45 put on this site, it never mentions needing to remove that rod. Is it necessary to take that rod out in order to change the seals? Or should I be able to do the seal replacement with the damping rod in the fork?

 

If you can remove the old seal without removing the rod, then you're ok. But we normally pull it using the fork tube and must first free it by removing the damping rod bolt at the bottom.

 

Is there an easy way to remove the seal with the damping rod still in there? Or would it just be easier to get an impact wrench and take that rod out?

 

I suppose you could try pulling the oil seal out by drilling holes in it. Unless you have one of those stupid leak-proof seals, it should have a metal frame inside the seal (if it's just pure rubber, no frame, you could cut/grind the rubber out till you could get a grip and pull it out).

There's a gap between the metal layer in the seal and the bottom of the seal, and there should be a thick metal washer directly below the seal, so the drill bit would punch through the metal in the seal and then hit the washer. Drill a few holes and use a hooked tool to work it out, or drive some screws into the holes and slowly push the seal out (if the screws threaded into the seal they would bottom out against the washer and force the seal out).

Unless I had a good reason not to, I'd just try to get the bolt out of the bottom of the fork. AFAIK, the cartridge doesn't spin as much if the fork cap is still on. Just be careful not to strip the bolt, because removing it could be a real pain in the ass.

 

Just pull the rod. It is just a single bolt that holds it in.

 

Thanks for the advice, I will take it to a dealership today and see if they will remove the bolt for me. I didn't have any luck trying to get it out last night with a normal hex key.