HOW TO: Change your fork seals

I followed this to change my fork seals and it wasn't to hard, very good explanation and pics... Thank you!

 

I'm changing seals on my 85 xj700x. I'm down to just the outer tube and the inner tube with the damper removed. I can't figure out how to seperate the tubes. The lower oil seal is still in place and the tapered spindle is loose inside. I've tried clamping the outer tube in a vise and pulling on the inner tube but it seems to hit something up by the bottom oil seal that prevents it from sliding all the way out. What am I missing???

 

I am in the process of doing the fork seals on my 81 maxim 550 and have run into a problem. I have been able to take the top circlip (17) out but because of some rust buildup the bolt cap (15) will not come out. I have soaked it with wd40 and it doesn't help. will heat ruin the inner tube?

Any ideas?

 

You're actually doing it the right way. You have to use the inner tube as a "battering ram" to pull out the slide bushing that is located at the top of the lower (outer) tube. This bushing is pressed into the lower tube and it's tightly located in there. The outer (chrome) tube has a similar style bushing on the very bottom, and it is the interference between that bushing and the one on the lower tube that prevent the inner tube from being removed and thus requires the battering-ram efforts.

 

Try using some penetrating oil instead of WD40, which actually isn't all that great of a lubricant. Some gentle application of heat can't hurt, just don't over-do it!

 

If those Circlips are rusted so badly that they are seized in the Retaining Ring, ...

See the Man about getting a couple of New ones.
I think you are going too find that those Clips are going to need to be Pryed out.
They usually come out in pieces.

You'll have to "Clean-up" the Tube Top and the Groove that the Circlip fits into after you get everything out of there that needs to come out.

(Make-up a solution of 50:50 Automatic Trans Fluid and Acetone.
Brush if on the Circlip until its soaking in it.)

 

Noted and logged.

 

Also, note (and log!) that such efforts are only necessary on models that use a slider bushing on the bottom of the inner (chrome) tube......not all models use these. All models DO use the guide bushing that is pressed into the top of the lower (outer) tube; but the models that do not use the bushing on the bottom of the chrome tube do not need to go through the "battering ram" effort to pull the inner tube out of the outer tube, since there is no inner (chrome) tube bushing to "interfere" with the removal process.

Models which use the bushing on the bottom of the inner (chrome) tube, and thus which need the battering-ram effect, are:

XJ550 Maxim
XJ650 Turbo
all XJ700 models
XJ750 Seca and XJ750 Euro models
XJ900 models
XJ1100 models


The following models do NOT use upper tube slider bushings, and thus the dis-assembly process does not require the battering-ram effort:

XJ550 Seca
XJ650 Maxim, Midnight Maxim, Euro, and RJ Seca models
XJ750 Maxima nd Midnight Maxim models

 

I have let penetrating lube sit on the bolt cap (15) for a week now with no luck. I have also just finished trying the heat method with no luck. Assistance is greatly appreciated!

 

Xj550 are you sure you have loosened the top pinch bolt? Silly question I know but it has bitten more people (including me) in the bottom. I just want to ensure you aren't following in my footsteps on this one.
Good luck.

 

once the clip is out there's nothing holding the spring in but a stuck o-ring and some rust, hit the cap (15) down to break it free then the spring will push it out, might take a few tries, might have to take the fork off and compress it to give the spring some more power
be careful it might come flying out, be ready

 

I can get to this point without having to remove anything (I have only removed the fork from the bike).
Can I just pry out this seal and slide down over tube?? Too easy???

 

You could. However there are TWO seals; a dust seal and below it, the fork seal itself. You're not going to do that with the fork seals, which are the ones that do the work and need to be replaced. The forks have to come apart to do the job right.

I fought with rusted-stuck caps for over 9 months before applying KROIL and they popped right loose.

 

I couldn't get my tubes apart so had to use the sliding over method.

I used the old seal to knock in the new one. Be VERY careful prying out the old seal and make sure you change the oil!

 

Alright,
I feel like an idiot as no one else seems to be stalled on this problem. I'm re-doing the fork seals on my 85 Maxim X. The caps are off, the forks are drained and the springs removed. I'm stuck on the pinch bolts holding the individual shocks to the steering assembly. The pinch bolts are carriage bolts, meaning that the head is rounded chrome - no place for a socket to grab on to. They are threaded into the steering assembly - no nut to loosen on the other side. How stupid am I? Yet how did they get these bolts tight without a head?

 

They really aren't carriage head bolts.........they are socket head cap screws (allen key drive in their head) and then a plastic decorative plug fits into the allen-key depression and makes the bolt head all purdy.......use a very thin flat blade screwdriver or similar tool to pry the plastic caps off.......

 

When you get those "Beauty Pieces" out, ... Use the right tool to loosen the METRIC cap Screws.

Rounding-out the Hex Flats on Pinch Bolt fasteners is NOT how you want to start-off the Season doing maintenance.

 

Yup. I should have realized that... Thanks guys!

 

An excellent primer & it helped me greatly in getting this done myself. I did find a bugaboo which will maybe help some. It's at this point:
11. Remove the cap bolt[15]. Replace the o-ring[12] if it has become damaged. Remove any rust that may be present on the cap bolt[15]."

Not sure this is the right place to state my observation but when I tried compressing the fork while still on the bike, it did not want to compress. I even dented slightly the outer surface of the schrader valves with the same unit you used. The reason was the upper clamps on the upper tube were so tight they deflected the tube inward and it prevented travel to expose the circlip. I found I needed to loosen the top clamp and all went well from that part on.

 

Anyone know what happened to the pictures in this thread? They've recently disappeared. Im doing a fork seal now and was hoping to have this as a resource. And gamuru hasnt been seen in almost 2 years

 

try this with Google image search, i bet you find a lot of them
HOW TO: Change your fork seals site:xjbikes.com

 

Well thats just magical

 

The pictures didn't come through and when I clicked on the box to open them I got a warning that I had tried to "hack" the site! Hope the FBI doesn't show up at my place! Any idea how to see the pictures?

 

Yeah, I would really like to get these pics back too. I didn't get a chance to do my forks last year and am going to do them this year. This post with pictures is a must have for me.

 

The following discussion has some very good pointers, tips, and photographs that detail the fork rebuild process on a 1981 XJ650 Maxim model (one of the "simple" fork systems), and is a good point of reference to help you decide whether the task is something that you wish to attempt yourself or leave to a qualified shop. Many thanks to owner Gamuru for his excellent efforts in providing this material:

http://xjbikes.com/forums/index.php?threads/8355


And user FlyGP breaks some kind of guiness book of world record(s) award for his efforts!:

http://xjbikes.com/forums/index.php?threads/29616

and





Regular contributor Alive also has two great image-documentaries in regards to the more "complicated" fork systems. This first one shows the XJ900 (without the anti-dive system) fork rebuild process, although these images can also be used as a guide for any model front forking system that use the lower bushing on the chrome fork tubes:

http://xjbikes.com/forums/index.php?threads/4067

while this photo-journal details the secret, inner workings of the "anti-dive" units found on XJ750 Seca and XJ900RK Seca models:

http://xjbikes.com/forums/index.php?threads/1860

and

http://xjbikes.com/forums/index.php?threads/44997

and finally, for all you XJ750 Seca owners, here's the secrets to that funny and unique "oil lock valve assembly" used only on these models, and the proper orientation of all of those special washers:

http://xjbikes.com/Forums/viewtopic/p=159288.html

and

http://xjbikes.com/forums/index.php?threads/41895


1982 XJ750J Maxim owners will want to pay attention to the special guidelines in regards to properly setting the preload via correct positioning and insertion of the long damper adjusting rod unique to these forks:

http://xjbikes.com/forums/index.php?threads/32271

 

Hello, Not sure if anyone is still paying attention to this thread -- hopefully yes. This is in regards to a 1982 XJ650 air assisted (Canadian model). This is my first rebuild and am enjoying it except am tired of seeing the bike on blocks!

Stuck on putting the forks back together. If I have it right, the spring, the seat, the spacer (longish metal bar), gasket, circlip and eventually the air valve. So the question is, when just looking at the whole thing, how does one get the pressure to force the spring and spacer in place? It seems near impossible. The spring sticks out a few inches and to add a few more inches of a spacer and push it all in? Am I missing something here??? This is the only part of the disassembley I didn't see and so don't know how it came apart or the level of pressure there was.
thanks!

 

I loved this thread.
'82 Seca 550.
No bushing/bearing on the upper... Just a nice tight machine fit into the lower.

The bold joining the upper and lower tubes goes through a tapered spindle (set inside the bottom of the upper tube), into a threaded dampening rod.

Oil seal, dust seal, circ clips, 0-rings, cap-bolt (that isn't a bolt).
That's it.

Hope it doesn't leak.

 

hi,
Maybe I missed something in the instructions/pictures/etc, but I have an inverted spark plug socket, but it doesn't go all the way to the bottom of the fork (the black piece on my Midnight Maxim). I assume what's holding it up is the damper rod piston ring? Or the oil seal? It looks like it's white. Anyway, how do I get past that to hold the piece in place in order to remove the bottom bolts?

Edit: now I'm wondering if that really is the end of what's holding the hex bolt in?