I recently noticed a small leak on one of the FJ's forks. The bike's MOT (annual safety check) was due so I decided to replace the seal. This is fairly simple job and one I've done in the past. A couple of special tools are needed though. From my records I see that the seal was last replaced 8 years and 55,000 miles ago so not bad.
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| The leak is very slight but I guess it won't get better |
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| Tip - loosen the fork top bolt before removing the fork otherwise it's tricky to get off |
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| Fork removed |
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| Drain oil |
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| This is the dust seal |
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| The metal inside the seal has corroded and burst the seal. I don't think this caused the leak but it's not good because flakes of rust could score the fork leg. |
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| I got a pair of oil seal & a pair of dust seals |
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| To strip the forks a special tool is needed. It's a long bar with a 27mm hex head. I made this one years ago. |
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| It goes down the fork to allow the damper screw to be removed |
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| The fork then comes apart |
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| There is some pitting on the fork leg |
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| The pits are outwith the stroke of the seal (otherwise the tube would be scrap) I buff them smooth to avoid damaging the new seal when fitting. |
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| New seal installed |
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| To push the seal into place I made this tool a long time ago |
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| New oil |
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| The dust seal on the other fork was a bit crusty so I replaced it as well |
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| All done. The fork protectors are after market. I don't know if they do any good but why not? |
Hi Stuart, as a fellow FJ owner I have had to change fork seals at about 50,000 but they failed again within 10,000 on investigation the Patten seals had failed I fitted Yamaha genuine seals and they seem to be good so far, seems its a known issue according to the FJ owners Club, any way keep riding and blogging it keeps me amused. If you are down in reiver country again give me a shout.
ReplyDeleteThe dust & oil seals were cheapies from eBay but hopefully they'll last.
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