Any Tips for Removing a Stubborn Oil Seal?

I finally got the forks apart on my XJ650J after dealing with an incredibly stubborn hex bolt. I'm now having a struggle getting the old oil seal out and was wondering if there are any special techniques or tips I can use to avoid marring anything. I've been going at it with my picks and needle nose pliers but can only manage to get little bits and pieces of rubber off. The dust boot seal, oil seal clip and inner spring are already out. The dust boot seal also took a bit of coaxing but it eventually popped out intact once I was able to get underneath and behind it with my pick.

Figured I check with the experts before I resort to "extreme measures" which usually gets me in trouble. =)

Thanks!

 

fork seals?
are you trying to do this without taking forks apart?
some have used a sheet metal screw screw it in and pull it out. look at new seals first .

 

Mine were stuck. I used a large flatblade screwdriver with a piece of fuel line over the shaft so it wouldnt damage the top of the lower tube. Pry away smartly.

 

My forks are off the bike and totally apart expect for the seals. I'm just afraid of gouging the metal by getting too aggressive..

 

delete

he did say it was totally apart

 

Don't pry on anything. Undo the damper rod bolt (at the bottom of the fork) and use the inner tube as a slide hammer to tap the fork seal out. You really should be dissasembling the fork anyway to get all of the old oil and assorted metal shavings out of the tube, as well as inspecting the bushings.

 

/\ /\ /\ /\ +2 what kmoe said
if the bottom damper rod bolt, and the circlip are out ,then pull the upper fork tube ,out of the lower fork leg, sharply , the bushing will "hammer" out the oil seal
stu

 

Maybe I'm missing something but like I said before, everything is already disassembled / apart. The upper tube slid out of the lower fork leg without dislodging the oil seal....

Instead of "pulling" it out can I try "pushing" it in to get it out of its seat, similar to how the new seal will be installed?

Thanks to all for the help!

 

I'm not following you either @k-moe or @bensalf. The inner fork tube is smooth all the way. How would it pull the seal? I have the same bike and had to pry them out. Manual shows prying with a tool.

 

That is very odd, and should not happen.
You cannot push the old seal in. It rests on a ledge and can't go into the fork tube any further (plus you don't want it stuck inside there).
If you are careful you can grab it with pliers and pull it out.

 

Hmm... interesting. The Maxim 650 forks that I worked on had a bushing on the lower end of the inner fork leg, but it was an '81.

EDIT: I'm mixing bikes up. You're correct about the 650 Max not having a lower bushing.
It's my son's Honda Shadow that I was thinking of.

 

How would this pull the seal? The right side of the pic is the lower end.

 

Yup, that's it....

I'm thinking a specialized seal puller tool is probably what most shops use to make quick work of this seal...

 

The Yamaha FSM for the 82 shows a Screwdriver as the special tool

 

And a rag. Don't want to distort the fork leg.

 

Gotcha! I'll break out the "special" screwdriver tomorrow and report back..

Thanks again to everyone!

 

+1 for a sheetmetal or coarse thread drywall screw. If you're good, you can use that method to replace seals without completely disassembling the forks

 

ah, I see, "3badbirds" your forks are different to mine, they have a lower bushing on the end of the fork tube

stu

 

Yup, close but no cigar......

I was able to get the seals out with my seal puller. In hindsight, guess I should have used it right off the bat but for some reason I didn't think these seals would be in there so tight....

Hopefully, the reassemble will be less eventful...