[mprentice]

I finally got around to looking into this fork seal issue that keeps repeating itself on my sons old bike.

I just installed these fork seals two months ago, and ones previous maybe three months before that. So I'm getting to be a pro on the process, but have better things to do.

I took the forks off tonight, and my new garage light exposed these tiny surface scratches on the fork tubes. these things are so fine, that I can't even feel them with my finger nail. But they are there. You can see the scratches go right down to the spot were we get max travel.

I'm thinking this may be the source of my short seal life. Someone once told me you could lightly wet sand these tubes with a super-super-fine grit sand paper.

Any ideas how I can polish these things up? Just the sound of sand paper on these things runs a chill up my spine

This is the last thing I need to do to sell it with a clear mind. Any input is appreciated!

[dirtae]

I would not wet sand it. I think its fine. If you can't catch you're nail on it then I wouldn't worry about it. But thats just me. 3 months of aggressive riding doesn't seem too bad to change seals/oil. It could be the terrain you ride in that shortens the seal life too.

[staffy24]

wow my 09s get thrashed and only this week have i had a seal fail on the r the x is still on its first set and i ride every week suppose i better order 2 sets and rebuild them both at once lol

[dirtae]

Those scratches do look superficial, but I could be wrong. I'm relatively new to motocross, so I could also be wrong about how often you should be doing seals lol. Even still, I don't think I would wet sand it.

I'm due for seals myself right now, one fork leaks just enough to leave an oil ring. I just hope I don't run into any problems with cartridge seals or anything like that

[lightflight]

These shouldn't cause the fork seals to leak. I have seen much worse. if your finger nail isn't catching it shouldn't be an issue.

don't wet sand. you could hit it with a buffer but these are so minor I don't think its necessary

[mappsterr]

mprentice -- does your son ride that bike in a lot of mud? If so, that is the most likely reason. Also, do you slide the dust covers down and clean the seals out regularly? This helps to keep the dirt out and the seal working properly.

[124]

3 months is too soon to be "needing" to replace seals. Especially if it's repetitive.

No wet sanding. Buffing and polishing the tubes fixed my repetitive seal leaks on my 05.

[mprentice]

mprentice -- does your son ride that bike in a lot of mud? If so, that is the most likely reason. Also, do you slide the dust covers down and clean the seals out regularly? This helps to keep the dirt out and the seal working properly.

We're in Florida, so we get alot of everything.....sand, mud, and sometimes clay.

We've had the bike for 3 years and not until the last 6 months have I had any issues with these things. the first year we had it, I think we went a full season before needing to replace.

I guess I will just buff them up good, and install the new seals. I might do that foam trick someone mentioned in another post

Thanks for the support!

[mappsterr]

I like the foam idea too but have not tried it yet. The idea makes sense . . .

[dirtae]

Yea I caught that thread about the foam too. Will try it myself when I rebuild mine.

[mprentice]

well just to update...I took the forks apart, seals replaced. However, I found something interesting. When I drained the left fork outer chamber, 400cc came out! Last time I did the forks I put 330cc. So it appears the cartridge dumped oil into the outer chamber. I'm thinking that the seal leaking was caused by excess oil in the chamber blowing past the seal.

I tested the cartridge and not only does it not fully extend on it's own, it drips oil when compressed.

The right side was also leaking when tested, but not as bad.

So....here we go again...more money

[dirtae]

Thats great observation. Now that you mention it I believe I had that same problem with my previous set of Showas, the cartridge leaked oil and would not fully extend after bleeding it. I never thought to make the connection of the leaking oil in the cartridge putting excess oil in the outer chamber causing the seals to leak.

I really hope I don't run into this doing my seals again. But there seems to be a couple how to's so shouldn't be too bad.