550 Seca fork

So, now that the engine fires I need to start paying attention to other stuff.

The forks are leaking and I need to attend to this. The manual makes it sound pretty simple - pull the tubes, unbolt the bolt at the bottom and everything comes apart.

Take out the old seals, put in the new, bolt it all up.

Is that all there is to it, or anything else I should know?

 

The 2 areas I had trouble with were the plugs on top, which were insanely rusted and almost fused to the tube, and the bolt at the bottom.

For the plugs on top, I used a deep socket and rubber mallet to knock them loose, got the circlips out, but then had to center drill and tap one of them to pull it out of the tube. Got rid of all the rust so the process is much easier now.

For the bolt at the bottom, it was torqued and crudded on there pretty good, so I took a broom handle and shoved it down the tube, gave it a couple whacks with the mallet so it would grab the splines of the inner tube, gave me enough leverage to get the bolt on and off.

I used 10wt fork oil cuz both manuals said so, but I am quickly discovering why most members use 15wt. I'll probably change that before my road trip in Sept.

 

The bottom unbolt is a pain. I made a "custom" long reach ratchet by getting a 1.5ft threaded rod, and some nuts jammed together at either end, so you can torque on the top, to twist the bottom.

Since we're nearby, I can come over to assist. Lend my "custom" made tool out to you!

 

For that bottom nut, I went to Harbor Freight and bought a set of extra long 3/8" extensions...like $9...then I just used a sparkplug socket (turned upside-down)...had no problem with reach...came right out...easy-peasy.

 

Worked get for me too.

Have you seen this.

http://xjbikes.com/Forums/viewtopic/t=8355/

 

Hey JPaganel, congrats on getting the 550 running! I did my 550 fork seals over the winter and would be willing to lend a hand. I'd also recommend you get a set of Progressive Suspension springs, definitely worth doing since you're gonna take 'em apart anyhow. Pm me, I'm in Mpls too (saw your blue recycling bin in one of your recent posts).

 

As long as you can get the plugs out of the tops, the rest is a breeze. I use the upside-down spark plug socket trick myself.

If the fork plugs are rusted in so that you have to tap them down to get the clips out, be careful not to hammer them any further into the forks than absolutely necessary. The inside of the tube is tapered and if you hammer them down too far they'll bind up regardless of degree of rust.

That particular struggle was how I discovered Kroil.