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Renewing the fork seals on #3 KLR

30K views 20 replies 11 participants last post by  pdwestman 
#1 · (Edited by Moderator)
I had to replace both fork seals on this bike today
http://adventuresidecar.com/?p=355

I removed the fairing


I loosened the fork caps


and removed the brake


next I removed the axle and front wheel




removed one fork leg


cleaned off the spooge


& popped the clip out
 
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#2 · (Edited)
...I dropped the spring and spacer out and drained the oil


I replaced the cap and pumped in 70# of air. The seals didn't budge so I took a break. Eventually it popped out.


I removed the bushing and washer, pumped out the the remaining oil.


wiping the fork tube clean I re-installed the bushing & washer and tapped home the new seal and scraper using some 1 1/2" pvc for a driver.


I made a dipstick to measure the oil putting in just under 440 mL of BelRay 10w to bring the level to 18mm.




http://adventuresidecar.com/?p=367
 
#3 · (Edited)
http://adventuresidecar.com/?page_id=72

I replaced the spring and washer and made a 1" over(6 1/2") preload spacer from 3/4" schedule 40 pvc.






I installed the left leg in the triple tree and removed the right fork, repeating the process.
I torqued the pinch bolts to 18# working each pair, back and forth until the torque wrench clicked as soon as pressure was applied.


The rest was just buttoning things up: new brake pads replaced the oil fouled pads, mounting the front wheel and the fairing, tightening the fork caps down.
 
#4 ·
Great job and write up. Sidecar looks great. Puppy looks very interested in learning the process.
 
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#10 ·
Not sure how I didn't see this thread until now. I had leaking seals so I tried this technique. It didn't work because I forgot to remove the clips...doe.


Word to the wise, if you choose to rebuild like I did: I ended up paying $50 for the custom tools to remove the bolt way down there and rebuilt the whole thing. Word to the wise -- the custom tools do NOT work. I ended up jamming the tool into the rear axle nut and when I did that, it worked perfectly. Obviously this screwed the nut up, but I bought a new one for the axle. Rather than buying the $50 of tools, get a bunch of wratchet extenders (probably 2-3 feet of em, then figure a way to utilize a nut equal to the rear axle nut to break it.
 
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#11 ·
Super helpful post. THANKS!
QUICK QUESTION...
I kind of understand how the boot (or as you call it the "scraper") and the fork seal will pop out under air pressure. But what about the bushing and washer? Are they just under the fork seal after it comes out? No real fuss getting the washer and bushing out? Reinstall in same order?

Backstory on mine... I have a 2006 I recently bought. Only 2k miles on the bike when I bought it. I installed the Progressive Springs recently. I actually took the forks out of the triple and flushed the old ATF out and replaced with Maxima 10wt fork oil. Set the right oil level and air pressure. I noticed that oil in one of the forks was pinkish, but the oil in the other was closer to brown. That should have been my first clue that something was amiss. I buttoned everything back up. The job itself wasn't too very hard....just took time. But a month later and after my first 100 mile ride, one of the fork seals is leaking quite a bit. Couple drops of oil on the floor. Anywho....with this low of miles on the bike, I was hoping I could avoid replacing the bushing and just do the fork seal and dust boot (scraper).
I was also hoping I could avoid the headache of removing that crazy big hex bolt in the bottom of the fork leg. That's also why I was relieved to find this post. THANKS AGAIN!
 
#12 ·
When my seals were leaking, I opted to go the "big hex" route (a complete rebuild). That is in large part to me not being able to break the seal with air pressure (I forgot to remove the clip that holds it in place...duh...). I had it up to like 80 psi or something. So: don't forget to remove the clips first.

If I recall correctly (it has been several years), only the seal and dust cover should pop off. The Bushing and stuff around it will stay put. I don't think you have any reason to pull them out anways. And if you do, be careful with the bushing, as it is easily bent.

Also: If you ever do need to take er apart -- don't buy the Kawasaki tools. Waste of $50. The instructions say you are supposed to take this metal shaped wedge thing and jam it into a hole about 15-20 inches into the tube. I was never able to get the wedge thing to sit tightly enough so I could break the hex bolt. Ultimately I had to jam the wedge thing into the rear axle bolt, which subsequently fit in the (hex shaped) hole perfectly and was able to break it that way. All the Kawasaki tools did is cost me money, fustration, and marred the inside of the forks (which is merely cosmetic as I cleaned/deburred it when I rebuilt it).

Finally: I stuck the progressive front springs in during the rebuild. Money well spent.
 
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#13 ·
More advice: use PVC (or similar) for ramming the seal into place. The "universal" tool I bought wasn't big enough. I ended up using (of all things) a modified hole saw bit. So more wasted money.

Also be careful when putting the new seal onto the fork. You risk tearing the inside of the seal right when you put it on. The Clymer manual recomends using a plastic bag over the tubes.
 
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#14 ·
STEFERF...
Thanks for the very helpful info. Sorry for the late reply.
I went ahead and ordered the fork oil seals and the dust caps. I have those in hand now. But I took some 35mm film and tried cleaning / clearing the fork oil seals of debris first and I think that may have done the trick. Only 3k miles on the bike, so hopefully it was just some crud in there that I was able to clear with the film. We'll see.

As for the special tools for holding the damper rod in place....
I helped my buddy with his Triumph Thruxton this past weekend. He'd ordered Progressive Springs, but he also wanted to add a spring under the damper rod to lower the bike a bit. I used the handle from a garden weasel and whittled it down a bit. I had to tap it lightly with a rubber mallet to wedge it into the top of the damper rod since everything in there is oily. But....it worked!!!

THANKS for all the helpful tips!
 
#15 ·
On the topic of removing the rebound damper to replace the lower slider... I made a tool to hold the rebound damper using re-bar and a 24 mm nut as follows; Cut and weld ("L" shaped weld up) the re-bar to make a 'T' handle on one end (so you have about 2.5 ' of shaft... measure to fit). That way you can hold it of secure it in a vice. On the other end, weld up a 24 mm nut. The nut fits the top of the rebound damper perfectly. Then you can break the bottom bolt loose (and more importantly re torque it on reassembly) without pain or frustration. No. This was not an original idea - found the idea (or similar anyway) online.
 
#18 · (Edited)
I've just replaced my fork oil and dust seals on my 1988 KLR650.

I was somewhat daunted by the seal removal process reading through the official Kawasaki KLR manual, then I saw the YouTube video using compressed air to blow out the seals.
The left hand fork seals popped out with 80 PSI but the right hand fork demanded 120 PSI :grin2:

I used synthetic Dextron V1 instead of fork oil and the results are very good.

I would have liked to have posted up a photo of the bike with my unusual method of lifting the front end of the bike to remove the wheel and forks, but until I reach 15 posts, I can't!!

James.
 
#19 ·
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#20 ·
Thread Necromancy!

I'm in the process of replacing the fork seals on a 2006. The left set popped out and new ones went in with no issue. The right side however has been a cast iron bitch. I have had to dig and burn and dig and pour in solvent and dig even more to get the old seal out. And yet, I cannot get the new seal to seat properly. I have beaten it to death with the PVC pipe approach to no avail. Needless to say, the bushing has not budged a micron either. Suggestions?
 
#21 ·
Sorry to say, that it sounds like you are going to have to purchase the tools to properly dis-assemble the fork leg to extract the bushing and the seal. And hope that your futile attempts at cheating on the procedure hasn't rendered the lower leg unusable due to gouges in the seal area.
Sometimes we get lucky, sometimes we don't. And then we need to just follow the book!
 
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