[Backporchgreasemonkey]

Hey guys just joined today but have gotten tons of help from this site for awhile. The left side fork seal sprung a leak so I took it to the shop for new seals in both sides. On my first ride from the shop I noticed a leak on the left so I took it back and the mechanic said it appears to be leaking at the bottom slide where it's pressed into the cast piece that holds the breaks and front tire. Is that possible? Then yesterday I was messing around with it pumping the forks and couldn't get the left side to leak again but now the right side is leaking from under the dust seal. Maybe they put the seals in backwards?

 

[Sojourner]

That will be easy to check. Gently pry the dust seal down on the right fork and take a close look at the new seal. If you see rectangular dimples around the face of the seal then it was installed correctly. What brand of seal did your shop use? It would seem that the only ones that truely work are the OEM's from Honda.

 

[Backporchgreasemonkey]

I'll have to look at that today. Can't remember what brand but for sure where not honda oem. Have you ever heard of the bottom of the slide leaking?

 

[Sojourner]

I noticed a leak on the left so I took it back and the mechanic said it appears to be leaking at the bottom slide where it's pressed into the cast piece that holds the breaks and front tire. Is that possible?

It's possible I suppose if the mechanic removed the bolt that holds the damper and didn't replace the sealing washer during reassembly. Actually the seals can be replaced without the need to disassemble the whole fork. Ask the mechanic if he did in fact remove the damper.

 

[Backporchgreasemonkey]

I'll ask. Is it possible that oil spilled and was sitting on top of the dust seal then leaked out while riding? It's strange that when on the ride from the shop only the left side leaked but now after pumping the forks only the right side leaks but only when bouncing the forks.

 

[rangers4u]

I'll have to look at that today. Can't remember what brand but for sure where not honda oem. Have you ever heard of the bottom of the slide leaking?

I tried a set of All Balls first, they leaked from the day we installed them. Finally almost 2 years later I re-did them with OEM, and it hasn't leaked since.

 

[Sojourner]

I'll ask. Is it possible that oil spilled and was sitting on top of the dust seal then leaked out while riding? It's strange that when on the ride from the shop only the left side leaked but now after pumping the forks only the right side leaks but only when bouncing the forks.

Difficult to say. See if the leak repeats itself and where is it leaking exactly. The slider fork tube is screwed into the foot so it's possible oil is getting past the seal washer when you're compressing the fork and then passed the threads. If that were true then you would have oil dripping down through the access hole at the bottom of the foot too. Did they overfill the fork and create a hydraulic hammer effect when compressing the fork?
Good hunting.

 

[fastspek]

When replacing the seals because of a leak always service and clean the whole shock since often dirt can be the cause of an oil leak. I also replace the bushings. After 120.000 km it was the third time.

 

[Havesail]

The times my forked leaked (3) the first time I had fine scratches on the lower tube. Noticed from small amount of oil on engine case with all leaks.

First shop replaced entire lower tube including axle and brake mount as they claimed these would be very difficult to separate (dissimilar metals,galvanic corrosion, seemed reasonable). Noticed the old seal’s spring was rusted. History: 83,943—~58,478 [51490-MCA-003]—~34,000 [429093 & 429114]—10,931[51490-MCA-003;51525-MCH-003]. ~ are approximations on milage, [part number].

Don’t know if this is similar to what you are experiencing as all of my leaks were slight, but will give you some part numbers. The 5135 was the lower fork tube.