Time to do fork seals

[SlowDinoDog]

We had some beautiful riding weather in Tucson today.

I took the 450X out for a hard 20 mile run through some really rocky stuff. I've put off these forks seals long enough...I've got some time to fix them.

[motorock]

Oh Hell, You are probably good for a few more YEARS !  LOL !!!

[SlowDinoDog]

Got the forks off last night and drained the outer tubes. Each fork had only about 250cc of fork oil left.
Nominal recommended in manual is about 350cc, min is about 300cc, and max is about 400cc.

[mlatour]

Replace the bushings while you're in there, low oil probably accelerated wear.

I ran 275cc for a test in my trail ridden CRF250X only for a few rides and the oil was contaminated more than usual.

Polish the tubes with 800 grit wet/dry paper in order to make a fine crosshatch for the new seals.

 

If the cartridge rods get 'sucked back in' when fully extending them,

it's sign the ICS piston seals and/or lower rod seals are worn. (quite common on these forks)

Edited March 2, 2018 by mlatour

[mlatour]

how-to video about those seals:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aFvlTpttFbA

 

[SlowDinoDog]

I have done these forks before and bought one of these Tusk tools to slide under the end of the damper rod.
Then, unscrew the end
And the fork can be disassembled.

[SlowDinoDog]

I emptied the inner oil chamber and got about 150cc...manual says 170cc...pretty close.

[SlowDinoDog]

Refilled the the fork dampers with 200cc each of HP 5W fork oil. I bled the dampers per the manual before installing the fork cap assemblies. Blew out excess oil in the damper chamber per the manual.
Fork dampers seem smooth and extend fully after being compressed.

[SlowDinoDog]

Got the fork tubes apart today.

Installed new oil seals and dust seals. Bushings still looked good. I have replaced them before. Fork tubes back together.

Reassembled...ready for oil in the outer fork tubes

 

[1hp]

OEM seals?

[SlowDinoDog]

OEM seals?

Unfortunately, not OEM...I've tried both...I had a set of Moose oil and dust seals that I bought a few years ago in my cabinet. I used them.
How's your luck been with OEM vs aftermarket seals?

[1hp]

no data, that is why i asked. thank you.

Edited March 7, 2018 by 1hp
thanks

[CRF DOC]

OEM CRF450X fork seals are better than nearly all aftermarket seals...they are a double lip design.

If you are looking for an upgrade, the SKF seals are the only seals that I'd consider to be better.

[mlatour]

Aftermarket fork bushings and seals (internal cartridge ones in particular) can be hit or miss,

OEM may be more expensive but 99% of the time you can be sure you won't be tearing back into your forks sooner than expected.

 

 

[SlowDinoDog]

I don't doubt OEM are good and aftermarket is a gamble. I had these so lets see how they do. These Moose seals have a "double lip" on the oil side and single lip on top. Gotta be sure to get them in right.
Its hard to do a valid comparison with such a small sample size and so much variability with installation. Also, one of my fork chrome sliders got scratched on a rock...but, I'll prob buy OEM next time.
Anyway, they're back together. Used the standard 330cc of HP-5W in each fork tube. I put the clickers back to the 'standard' position to start.
Top (Compression) = 14 clicks out (of 24)
Bottom (Rebound) = 7 clicks out (of 24)

I hope to get out and ride it tomorrow.

[Motox367]

You do this when installing seals and wiper?  

[SlowDinoDog]

You do this when installing seals and wiper?  

yessir...check three times they are orientated correctly...oil them...use plastic bag...carefully work them over the plastic bag...definitely better now after doing forks several times.

[SlowDinoDog]

Also, much neater now! Nothing more messy than doing forks first couple times shooting oil everywhere with the damper and spilling stuff...dang messy, still.

 

[SlowDinoDog]

Success! No leaks after a hard fast rocky ride! We'll see how long they last...
Water is still running from the snow melt.

[mlatour]

Looks like a nice place to ride, lucky the weather is cooperative. 

Exceptionally mild in this region for the past month, thawed from about 3-4 feet of snow down to

a little over a foot but temperatures just below the freezing point have since stopped the melt.

 

These days kinda stuck between not enough snow to ride the snowmobile but still too much to take out the dirt bike...

MX tracks not opening for another 4-8 weeks.