07450: Fork caps wont come off!!??

[warrior86]

so my fork seals have been leaking a little since day one. Yes i know i have to change the seals but right now i dont have the time for that. I am worried that they are low on oil since they seem to be bottoming out easier. I took the handlebar mounts off and unscrewed the caps with the special tool. THey do unscrew, but they wont pull out. Kinda like if u unscrew a soda bottle and keep pressing downward after the cap is fully unscrewed you get that little "pop" each revolution. THe threads dont seem to be holding it on...something else is. I just figured i could get the caps off to see how much i have and how much i need to add and fill accordingly. Please help me i really wanna go riding tomorrow. Thanks for any advice.

O and yes i loosed the bolts on the triple clamps.

[grayracer513]

They aren't caps, that's the top of the whole damper cartridge. In order to raise them up far enough to add oil, you need to unscrew them both, then compress the front suspension and set the wheel on something so it stays there.

[warrior86]

oh jeeze, ok. Thanks gray, i can always count on your prompt and accurate responses. Ill try it in a little and let u know how it works out:worthy:

[warrior86]

alright welll i got the fork up 90% of their travel. I directed light down teh tubes and i dont see any oil! Am i supposed to see oil? How do i gauge how much to put in. I am well aware that the right way to do this is tear the forks down replace seals, etc etc, however my life and wallet just cant do that right now. Any ideas on how much to add? Im lost at this point and the manual doesnt seem to be of much help

[grayracer513]

The outer tubes specify 12oz, or 355cc of oil. No oil level is ever mentioned for the outers, so, unfortunately, you'll have to take a guess based on how much you believe they've lost. Hardly the best approach, but....?

[02YZ426]

Why not just take the forks off, turn them upside down and dump all the oil out. Then measure out the 355cc and add that back in?

[warrior86]

thanks guys. I put about 150cc of oil in each fork. Hopefully thatll last me a few weeks then illl either do the seals or maybe send the forks out to be valved.?

[rickallen124]

I would do what 02426 said, dump them both out measure and refill them so that you have the correct amount until you can change the oil along with the seals. Fairly simple unless you really don't have the time. I hope that you didn't damage any internals from running to low on fork oil.

[grayracer513]

There's another way too drain them without taking the forks off. With the wheel raised as you had it, remove the adjuster assembly by unscrewing it from the bottom of the fork. With the bike on the stand, you may have to push down on the dampers to compress the spring slightly for it to drain, but it will.

[steve_97060]

I know the forks on the YZ's seem to leak alot, and mine did for a while too. I would try the business card or goggle trick and that would work for a ride or two.. But what really made a difference was when I bought the motion pro fork seal cleaning tool. Since I first used it almost 2 months ago, they have not leaked at all.. it is just a cheap and thin plastic piece with a curved/hooked end, but it sure seemed to work for mine...I also cleaned and greased the dust seals... some of you might want to try it, it only costs like 3 dollars..

[rexbond007]

a negative strip. 35mm film works the best. the holes in the side traps the dirt when you pull it out.

[700MX]

so my fork seals have been leaking a little since day one. Yes i know i have to change the seals but right now i dont have the time for that. I am worried that they are low on oil since they seem to be bottoming out easier. I took the handlebar mounts off and unscrewed the caps with the special tool. THey do unscrew, but they wont pull out. Kinda like if u unscrew a soda bottle and keep pressing downward after the cap is fully unscrewed you get that little "pop" each revolution. THe threads dont seem to be holding it on...something else is. I just figured i could get the caps off to see how much i have and how much i need to add and fill accordingly. Please help me i really wanna go riding tomorrow. Thanks for any advice.

O and yes i loosed the bolts on the triple clamps.

Advice.........push down on the front end and you will feel really dumb

[brolo747]

Yeah it's really important that you take the shocks off the bike first..... jeez hehe:crazy: Front shocks are easy to rebuild after you do that. Just heat 'em up with a blow torch and pull 'em apart. Well it's not quite that easy but almost. Hey if I can do it anyone can.

[warrior86]

ok thanks everyone for the replies. I feel halfway dumb. I couldnt push the front end down (forks up) because i only had one side loosened at a time. ONce i did that it became apparent what my problem was.

It really agitates me how quickly these seals started to leak. My 04 yz250f lasted 3 seasons with no leaks. This started leaking with 6 hours on it. Not to mention needing new chain and sprockets after fourth ride.

[FLjoyride]

Sorry to hear that man, it is pretty crappy that that happens.

[warrior86]

yeah well i added some and now they are leaking a lot. Each time i arrive at teh track or arrive home i have a puddle under my fork:cry: ? Im going to get teh forks valved probably. I just dont know who yet.

[grayracer513]

ok thanks everyone for the replies. I feel halfway dumb. I couldnt push the front end down (forks up) because i only had one side loosened at a time. ONce i did that it became apparent what my problem was.

It really agitates me how quickly these seals started to leak. My 04 yz250f lasted 3 seasons with no leaks. This started leaking with 6 hours on it. Not to mention needing new chain and sprockets after fourth ride.

If you had heeded the multiple warnings here about the chain, and ditched it up front, you could have still been using the original sprockets.

The seals are a bit lame. They were redesigned for '06, and the only thing I can think of is that KYB was trying to reduce seal drag, or something. Replace them with the MSR-HP Seal Kit. The seals are multi-lipped and bidirectional, and the kit includes new, more aggressive wipers, too.

Alternatively, the '04 seals work quite well, too.

[warrior86]

If you had heeded the multiple warnings here about the chain, and ditched it up front, you could have still been using the original sprockets.

The seals are a bit lame. They were redesigned for '06, and the only thing I can think of is that KYB was trying to reduce seal drag, or something. Replace them with the MSR-HP Seal Kit. The seals are multi-lipped and bidirectional, and the kit includes new, more aggressive wipers, too.

Alternatively, the '04 seals work quite well, too.

I respect and appreciate your info but even if i changed the chain the day i bought it i still think those sprockets wouldnt have lasted very long. My other axe to grind is that the holes/threads for the skid plate are not positioned exactly where they are supposed to be forcing me to modify my gytr skid plate. Anyways, im still really happy with the bike assuming nothing bad ever comes from that noisy motor:banghead:

Im going to pick up the seals tomorrow. THanks for all the advice.?

[grayracer513]

I respect and appreciate your info but even if i changed the chain the day i bought it i still think those sprockets wouldnt have lasted very long. My other axe to grind is that the holes/threads for the skid plate are not positioned exactly where they are supposed to be forcing me to modify my gytr skid plate.

The GYT-R skid plate is an after market part. Quite a few people reported having that same problem with them.

As far as the sprockets go, I installed a Regina ORN6 chain before the first ride, and the chain and teh OEM sprockets are both a year old last week, and doing fine.

[warrior86]

ok, i guess u win with the sprockets....but not the skid plate. I bought a works connection skid plate as well and was stuck with the same problem. Yeah it could be a coincidence but i think not.

P.S. i now have an o ring chain and ironman sprockets and im as happy as a pig in $hit:prof: