Fork seal question

Hey guys,
Newbie question for you: I'm thinking about doing the fork seals, and I'm trying to determine if it's worth taking them to a mechanic. I've never done them myself before, and I'd love to learn how, but I also realize the suspension is something that keeps me on the road and probably not something a newbie should be messing with without help from someone who knows what he's doing.

Additionally, I don't have a lift to pull the front end off the ground far enough to get the forks off. I've been hearing about tools that let you redo the seals without taking off the forks, which seems almost too good to be true.

So my question is, should someone who's still new to the whole mechanic thing try the forks on his own, or should I play it safe and get the seals replaced for the cost of a new set of tires?

I've done some searching here and haven't found anything by way of a walkthrough, so I'm probably going to wait for the CD to show up before I try to make a more educated guess of what I can do on my own, but I thought I'd ask you guys for an opinion first.

Thanks!

 

My opinion is that if you are not confident doing the work and will question your work when riding down the road, then you should save yourself the grey hair and take it to a mechanic.

It is also my opinion that fork seals aren't that difficult but I have a lot of faith in my mechanical ability. To each his own on this one.

 

Well, I'm confident in what work I've done before. I'm mostly concerned about running into a situation where I don't have a proper tool, or there's a ton of small parts I won't be able to identify by sight, if that makes any sense.

At any rate, I want to learn how to do it. It's just a matter of how much experience working with motorized stuff I might need. Like, on a scale of 1 to 10, 1 being oil changes and 10 being engine rebuilds, I'd put myself at about a 3.5. If the seals are anything less than a 6, I'd like to at least try on my own. Where might you put that on a scale like that?

 

Probably rate it a 4 or 5 on difficulty level based on your scale. Reason is you need to make yourself a fork holding tool. The rest is gravy.

 

Forget about any of us typing the "How To Do IT"

If you're serious about doing your own Fork Seals. ... (Maybe a 4.5 ~ 5.0 on a scale with Oil Change being 1.0) ... GET A BOOK!

Read the Pages.
Become familiar with the procedure and the Tools needed.
Examine the Schematic / Exploded View of the Assembly.

Follow the procedure and use this Forum for any questions not covered in the BOOK!

You're serious about doing this job when you have read the material and then Post your Questions about what you may not understand fully.

The book has a Pictorial "Play-by-play"
Get your Inline Fours Manual ... TODAY!

 

Hah, OK Rick, I'll wait until the CD comes before asking anything else.

Thanks to both of you for the input!

 

Not the CD Set ...

BOOK.

You become a Do-it-yourself XJ-Man when your fingerprints are all over the pages and there's circles on the pages from coffee cups or canned beverages.

CD's are what you listen too, while the coffee cup holds your place.

 

I printed the service manual from the CD set, three-hole punched the whole thing, stuck it in a binder, and got oily fingerprints all over it.

No rings from cans, but a few rings from cold bottles of beer.

What's more DIY: making a service manual, or buying one? :wink:

 

Yeah, thats kewl I made mine to losifer.............. Amitlu go for it..

I never seen the inside of a fork tube in my life last year, and I rebuild mine on my 700xj.

Its really not as hard as it seem, Read this very carefully 3or4 timz you ll see you can do itYou sound confident enough.

Member to keep thing organized and laid out how they go back together.

This link is from finnogangela I know I spelled it wrong but I want to give her props for this great post! definetly save it to your favs..

You dont have to go as deep as they did to do the seals, but it gives you good direction!

Hope this helps ...Ridz


Edit:7-25-07 yes and definetly get a book or the cds, Thats a must I purchased mine waited for them...
Then I started...



http://roadstarclinic.com/content/view/143/128

 

P.S Make sure you have a good torque wrench available..

I have been riding my bike for awhile now with the new suspension,and im luvn it.


Oh yea Take alot of pics,,maybe even post em ifn your having a prob. good luck and may the wizard be with you :wink:

 

Just into my first fork rebuild, didn't find it too bad on the left (bought a book, Rick) Now I've got the air plug stuck in the right. I've tried heat, hammers and cussin'. No good so far. Any ideas anyone?

 

I'll suggest Rick's approach, get a book. Additional information is priceless as are photos from different angles. More books and sources = more photos = more information = you get the "picture".
I would recommend you try to replace the seals yourself. Don't worry about getting the bike up high enough, a small scissor jack out of mom's car will work just fine for all the height you need. Just position it as far forward on the oil pan between a block of wood and the saddle and you'll be fine. Just don't lift it up so high as to take it off of the center stand.
This is not a terribly complicated proceedure and a couple of runs through the book (the Haynes is my personal favorite, others will disagree) will help eliminate most of your concern. Any problems and you give us a shout, we will do our utmost to get you through this proceedure, I promise. Good luck!