Leaky forks on my CRF 250

[Robbo-crf]

Hi guys.

Im not mechanically minded but will try my best with most things. I had my bike out just the other day and realised later that night that my forks were leaking oil. They have leaked a fair bit and I was wondering if the reason will be dirt stuck in the seal creating a gap where the oil can escape.

If so Im not sure how much oil will have come out and whether it will need topping up or not. Also whether it will need new seals or whether I use one of those tools to remove any dirt. Maybe giving that a go would be my best bet initially.

Please help.

[little.whittle]

Hi guys.

Im not mechanically minded but will try my best with most things. I had my bike out just the other day and realised later that night that my forks were leaking oil. They have leaked a fair bit and I was wondering if the reason will be dirt stuck in the seal creating a gap where the oil can escape.

If so Im not sure how much oil will have come out and whether it will need topping up or not. Also whether it will need new seals or whether I use one of those tools to remove any dirt. Maybe giving that a go would be my best bet initially.

Please help.

Try using a tear off and slide it up the fork to the seal and wipe the dirt out... see how the forks feel but sounds like the seals need replacing

[honda_power]

you can sometimes use a credit card or something similar to clean out the seals, you have to pry the dust seals off and underneath is the oil seal. have to be carful not to push the shit further up though.

your forks will prob need new seals, prob a job for a shop if you have to ask about this.

i run a long snake like peice of foam soaked in oil between the oil and dust seals to prevent shit getting in there, clean and re-oil occasionally

[flyingcr250]

you can sometimes use a credit card or something similar to clean out the seals, you have to pry the dust seals off and underneath is the oil seal. have to be carful not to push the shit further up though.

your forks will prob need new seals, prob a job for a shop if you have to ask about this.

i run a long snake like peice of foam soaked in oil between the oil and dust seals to prevent shit getting in there, clean and re-oil occasionally

thats a good idea, my new bike has only done 20 hours and the forks are leaking already.

[honda_power]

yeah its bullshit eh, by the time you have spent 30-40 on seals and 50-60 on oil you could have almost done the topend

havnt really tested this idea much yet, but should be better than those seal savers on trademe, i reckon shit would get trapped under them and forced into the forks

[Shadykiwi]

I used to go through fork seals like they were going out of fashion. Didnt know at the time but I was causing this by not using somthing to stop the forks compressing when tying down on trailer. I got some of those quick release valves and havnt had to replace any seals for the last year. Highly recommended.

[barty5]

I used to go through fork seals like they were going out of fashion. Didnt know at the time but I was causing this by not using somthing to stop the forks compressing when tying down on trailer. I got some of those quick release valves and havnt had to replace any seals for the last year. Highly recommended.

never used fork stops in 20= years of riding and never done seals as yet due to it all in how you tie yah bike down.

[RJM]

Could the build up of air pressure in the forks cause premature leaking? Bleeding forks is one of those tricks you don't know about when you first start riding.

I learnt about it and never had a problem with leaks, a mate never bothered with his and his poured out oil everytime it was on my trailer - even with a block on the front wheel / guard.

[Jay GTI]

Leaky seals are caused by more than just a build up of pressure in the forks. The teflon coating on the collars on my old RM starting coming off and I went through 3 sets of seals in as many months before I figured I should actually stop being a useless prick and replace them. Then no problems for 2 years (knew the next owner).

Fork seal replacement isn't that hard to do if you know one end of a spanner from the other, just take your time and make sure you have the right tools (plenty of intructional guides on the net). Takes me less than an hour to do the whole job now, including taking the forks off the bike and putting them on again.

[krad_nz]

Just use a feeler gauge to scrape out any gunk around the seal.

Be careful not to nick the seal with the gauge though.