Fork oil seals
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3rd Gear
Joined: Jul 2017
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From: Williams
Fork oil seals
Just rebuilt my front forks on my 2008 dyna superglide and it started to leak on the same side that it was originally leaking from. What are some reasons my fork seal would be wearing out after just 200 miles of ridding.
Road Captain
Joined: May 2014
Posts: 610
Likes: 62
From: White Bear Lake, MN
I've seen them leak quickly after replacement for a couple of different reasons:
Usually a damaged seal will leak instantly upon re-assembly, the damaged fork tube might hold for quite a while before leaking again.
When I've got a set of forks apart for service, the sliding area of the inner tubes get a thorough going-over. For visible marks that can't be felt with a fingernail, some metal polish (like Flitz) does a nice job of cleaning it up. For visible marks that you can feel with a fingernail, some careful work with either some emery paper, steel wool, or in some cases, a fine file all can do a nice job of treating the surface before using a good metal polish.
Forks live a much-abused life, but they are pretty sturdy, and respond well to surface treatments prior to installing new seals and oil.
All that said, it's possible that your fork took a hit from a rock or something, right above the sealing area...
All the best,
Shane
- Seal was damaged during installation
- Fork tube retained slight un-addressed damage during re-assembly
Usually a damaged seal will leak instantly upon re-assembly, the damaged fork tube might hold for quite a while before leaking again.
When I've got a set of forks apart for service, the sliding area of the inner tubes get a thorough going-over. For visible marks that can't be felt with a fingernail, some metal polish (like Flitz) does a nice job of cleaning it up. For visible marks that you can feel with a fingernail, some careful work with either some emery paper, steel wool, or in some cases, a fine file all can do a nice job of treating the surface before using a good metal polish.
Forks live a much-abused life, but they are pretty sturdy, and respond well to surface treatments prior to installing new seals and oil.
All that said, it's possible that your fork took a hit from a rock or something, right above the sealing area...
All the best,
Shane
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