Fork seal replacement.

New XJ owner (miss my XS)
So, I blew a fork seal on my 81 650 Maxim.
OK, never replaced fork seals before, but after all of the quality input from this site, I am confident. 8)
......Well, that was short lived.
Removing the Cap Bolts is a puzzle.
I had little trouble removing the "circlip" but how does the cap bolt come out. It's not like there is a bolt head to get on with a socket. I got no give in them at all when I tried to compress with a clamp as in the "How too".
Turns out I didn't need to compress them to get to the clip.
Everyplace I have found states "remove cap bolt" like there is nothing to it.
There were no cap covers over the cap bolts and it was a little dirty and rusty, but not teribly bad. The air valves are not difficult to remove.
Any Ideas?

 

I in the same boat with the fork seals. I just got the carbs done and it runs so well I need to do something about all the fork oil on the front brakes. I'll be watching this thread.

Sorry I can't offer any help right now it's dark here and I have to work in the yard, so it will be tomorrow before I look at mine.

 

It is just a plug in the top under the circlip try giving it a few taps with a drift and a hammer. Just be careful when they break loose they may go flying across the room. When you go to reassemble it put the air valves in before you put the plugs in or the whole thing will spin and you won't be able to tighten the air valves.

 

Before replacing your fork seals, get the "sealmate" and give it a shot. Its worth the $5 purchase. I was in the EXACT same position as you and the sealmate worked great for me. No more leaking fork seals and after several rides, the forks show no sign of leaking.

 

This http://www.kanolabs.com/google/ will break them loose when nothing else works.

Be careful about tapping them down into the tubes any further than necessary to cleaar the clips; the tubes are tapered on the inside and you can get them wedged.

You might also want to loosen your upper triple clamp bolts and relieve any potential bind on the top of the tube.

I'm dead serious about the Kroil; I fought with my first set for eight months until I applied Kroil.

 

I think they may have been wedged to start with. They did not make contact with the clips.
The clamp bolt is loose.
Overnight soaking with WD-40 and tapping did nothing for me.
Several good smacks with a 16oz framing hammer still had no effect.
An all out whack with a 2 1/2 lb hammer still made no movement at all.
(There has been no downward movement, so I don't think I made them worse.)

I'm off to find my next attempt with the penetrating oil.
Can Kroil be found local?
If I find it that will be what I get.

 

Okay, here is how I ended up getting mine out and they were really rusted in there good. Once I got the clips out I turned them upside down and smacked them as hard as I could over and over again against a 2x4. This drove them boogers out of there. It took some doing and you want to hit them straight down so that you don't bend anything but it does work. Did both of mine this way. Keep spraying the wd and or carb cleaner and pound those babies into the 2x4. You will start to see them move all of a sudden, that is when you turn them the other way and pound with the spring in etc., just cover end with a rag so they don't go shooting out.
You'll get them!

 

Well, no Kroil around local. I did get a new penatrating oil that may be better than WD-40.
I'll give it overnight to work it's majic.
If not, I'm liking the 2x4 trick. I sounds fun and effective.

 

It worked for me with both forks.

 

WD-40 is a water disperser, not a penetrant.

Kroil, PB Blaster, Liquid Wrench - in order of preference.

Wally World carries PB and Liquid Wrench

 

You best tell them that.

 

The PB Blaster is not working.
I think it is time to start looking for replacement forks.

 

You said in your first post that the rust didn't look so bad. By the look of mine I never would have thought they would come out. They were rusted in there solid. You just need to put some muscle into it and pound them upside down on a 2x4 that is on concrete. Just hit it like you are trying to put a hole threw the 2x4. They will come!

 

The problem with buying bikes with unknown history.
I pulled the left fork to see if I would have any better luck.
Found bluing around the top end and it appears to be bent.
I'll be hitting the salvage yard on the way home from work tomorrow.

 

I would just like to point out that list was given by the WD-40 Fan Club, of which I am most definitely not a member.

The company that produces WD-40 doesn't make those claims.

Just sayin'.

 

First thing I do when i get an old bike, is to spray WD40 on all the nut, bolts & screws, works for me & does no harm to anything. Wiz....

 

Ya, I think it is a great lube. Has helped me loosen many a bolt. I would have to agree with the 2000 uses. Sure there may be better products out there but WD does work.

 

You sure about that?

 

DOes any body knows where is the thread of all the proces to replace the fork seals with pics?

I cant find it.

carvall

 

trying to remove the circlip. but there's no holes on either end of the gap to put my circlip pliers to use. how do you remove a circlip just pinned inside? i've spent 30 minutes trying anything from a flat screwdriver to exacto knives

PLEASE HELP!

btw: I'm on step 10 of this tutorial Web Page Name

 

I used 2 small picks. Like dental picks. If you don't have one you can buy them cheap. Your local walmart probably has them.

 

and you were able to use them while a clamp was compressing the top? not much working room to even get a utility knife in the groove

 

What? No, not sure what you are doing. Bang the fork on a 2x4 a few times to push that plug down a bit away from the clip then use the picks to dig them out.

 

I'm stuck on this step. the fork cap has an air nipple since its air adjustable fork so I put a socket over it like the picture shows and when I compress the fork, the cap barely goes down if at all. therefore I can't easily access the circlip pin. is this a problem for any other folks?

sorry for the confusion. my brother was last signed in on the website and I posted using his username. moellear and aamoeller are brothers although you prolly don't care

 

A 1981 XJ650 Maxim should NOT have a air nipple in the top cap bolt....they are not air-assisted forks.

Penetrating oil is your friend for theis type of situation.

 

you are correct Len. my fault once again for not explaining myself once again. the forks I'm trying to disassemble are off the spare '82 I got from a craigslist steal which have good seals. I plan to change the oil and use them for my '81 since my current forks leak at the wiper seal.

Kroil has been shot in it a few times but perhaps they are just so bad? what baffles me is that I can turn the cap however it won't go down much farther. maybe some picture time would show you the condition they are in

 

Did not do mine that way at all.
I took the forks off the bike, drained the fluid, took apart the halves, then you can bang the top half on a 2x4 several times to drive down the plug. Then you can get to the clips. You should clean everything out and to do this right you will need to take the forks off anyway so just do that now and it will make it easier. At least I think so.

 

Forks are off the bike.

When I clamp the fork, the fork compresses but cap with the air nipple does not budge down to remove the circlip. All the clamp does is compress the spring(s) so I'm not getting anywhere. Was it a mistake to remove the air pressure and oil beforehand?

Oldbikerdude: how do you take apart the halves? I'm afraid to use any pipe wrenches on the nice aluminum forks. I've looked at the parts fiche (diagram) of these forks and I guess I'm at a loss at what is holding these together. is it the allen bolt down at the bottom?

pardon my stupidity on this: some of you may think I'm overthinkin or not mechanically inclined but I've never took apart forks before. there's a first for everything

 

When sheer force is insufficient, a shock is in order.

Use a hammer....lightly at first and just to loosen it up. Put a socket over the valve of course, don't hit the valve with the hammer. (You'd be surprised.)

When I did mine the forks were still on the bike. The upper fork must remain stationary for the plug to move inside of it. You should be able to accomplish this in either of two ways: hold the upper tube (padded vice or put back on triple trees) or compress it all together until the spring is completely compressed.

Which is easier is up to your set of tools, but you won't be able to add shock if your cap is covered by a clamp.

The bolt on the bottom is what holds the upper and lowers together. But you would be lucky to be able to turn the bolt without holding both sides of it. That worked with one of my sides, but not both.

Originally, you just had to press in the cap, pull out the clip; the spring would push out and the bolt is accessed with a special tool on the inside and a hex key on the outside. If clean, you have the tools, and you have a bit of help, it's a 5 minute ordeal to get them completely apart.

But why are you trying to take them apart to change the oil?

 

planning to change the oil since I don't know what kind of oil is them and I want to check the interior condition of these spare forks. my current forks on the bike leak because of the wiper seal. since my spares are in better exterior condition and don't leak (when positioned upside-down for days) they will go on the bike if I ever get them apart and change the oil

I'll give it a shot day7. thakns

 

got 'em. with Kroil just soaking away around that circlip for several days I put them in the clamp and then gave it a jerk upwords and the cap was forced down. the jerk was strong enough to free the crappy rust stuff inside and now the cleaning begins