250-500cc Fork seals leaking on my new wr300

[firecrotch]

I laughed. My new 09 WR300 was leaking fork seals in the garage after an hour or two break in ride. The reason I laughed? My 87 husky cr 250 would always leak fork seals no matter how many times I changed the dang thing. Is it the same with this bike or is this a fluke and should I just fix em, buy some fork seals and ride?

 

[MotoXotica]

i think it is a fluke.the 50 mm marz forks are not bad leakers at all...usually.i think a warranty claim should be made.dan

 

[PC.]

70hrs on mine with no problems. Except I need to service them.
I hear Synergy makes superior seals than OEM for these forks.

 

[jsleeper]

About 78 hours or so on our WR125 with the 50mm Marz, and one finally started leaking after a hard couple of days in mud/clay.

JS

 

[2whlrcr]

I run seal savers on all my bikes and have minimal problems. And when one does start weeping, I use the 35mm film trick/goggle tearoff and it stops the leak 90% of the time. I haven't had to change a seal in years.

 

[MOTORHEAD]

You can say I'm crazy, but I seem to get much better seal life when I use Mobil ATF in forks. I normally only use it in the outer chamber of TC type forks.

I've also been using LEAK PROOF PRO MOLY seals with good results. They are similar to SYNERGY SEALS and you can remove, clean and reinstall them if they do start to leak.

 

[Dirtdame]

You can say I'm crazy, but I seem to get much better seal life when I use Mobil ATF in forks.

I used to use Dextron III in all my old style forks. In my old KDX 200, I never once had a leaky fork seal. A few years ago, I overhauled the forks with new bushings, seals and wipers. I decided to use regular fork oil in them on that rebuild....and both seals blew out. I went back to ATF on the last seal replacement.

 

[Troy F Collins]

I laughed. My new 09 WR300 was leaking fork seals in the garage after an hour or two break in ride. The reason I laughed? My 87 husky cr 250 would always leak fork seals no matter how many times I changed the dang thing. Is it the same with this bike or is this a fluke and should I just fix em, buy some fork seals and ride?

Hmmm....at such low hours...I would think that your zokes are not lined up right.....try loosening the axle pinch bolts on the bottom of the right leg...then slide it around to find a spot where it will sit on the axle with no tension...then tighten the pinch bolts back up



Also not uncommon if lots of muck is involved..it only takes a small bit on grit to get in there...its a good idea to slide the wiper off and clean the seal area with contact cleaner and then apply a small amount of silicone grease...running a piece of 35mm film under the seal lip will dislodge grit just try to rotate it downward when turning to make sure your not pushing grit into the fork....

lately I have been pulling the wiper off when washing my bike and shooting the seal area(carefully) of muck...dry it off and slip the wiper back on....

BUT....leaky fork seals is a real bone of contention with all bikes regardless of make.....when you think of it the seal controls 12 inches of leg travel..in muck...rocks..fine dust..etc all low down these days with USD forks the seals take a S.it kicking...I am surprised that someone hasnt come up with a better design for protection

seal savers are a step in the right direction......

 

[2stroked]

Still have the stock oil seals in my 07, bought new at the beginning of 07 and i am on the end of the 4th top end. One of the seals did start leaking but did the 35mm film trick and it stopped.

 

[Anthony_1978]

Great thread
i replaced my seals with "All balls" tripple lipped seals and dust seals with success.

Fork Seal & Dust Seal Kit 56-145 $27.36
http://www.allballsracing.com/index.php/56-145.html

 

[ghte]

Troy may have hit the nail right on the head. If the forks arn't aligned properly they can weep. I have found that the quick release handle on the front axel can be a hinderence here. Make sure it is not up tight against the fork quard-at least untill you have correctly aligned the forks.

 

[2stroked]

I always rotate the pull forward on the axel, not because of the alignment issue but because it would push my fork guard into the guide on the fork.
I also leave the pull side loose comp the forks a few times to align the forks, I also pull the dust seals off clean inside where the oil seal is and then put grease on the dust seal, keeps the dirt from getting to the oil seal you just have to remember to clean it out because the grease gets contaminated with dirt

 

[fletchman45]

I would say that it is a fluke. I would fix the fork seals. I have had good luck with the zokes except if I went riding in alot of mud or clay and at the end of the day was to lazy to wash the bike. (i should not have done that) the next time I went riding, bingo, blown fork seals. My friend has and 09 wr300, and has had no problems whatsoever. If the bike is new I bet a good dealer could warrenty them for you. Goodluck! Oh yea, and if you do not fix them you will need new front pads to.

 

[Phoenix]

So, of you folks that have done your own seal replacement, what would you rate the difficulty level at? We have successfully replaced fork seals on Kayaba and WP forks, so we have serviced forks before. I have a full manual for the forks (which, incidentally, I can e-mail to anybody that wants it). Are the Zokes any more difficult that the aforementioned brands?

2009 TXC 450

 

[Dirtdame]

Are the Zokes any more difficult that the aforementioned brands?

2009 TXC 450

They seem to be like any other brand. The ones on my TE450 are the open cartridge style, so those are super simple and quick to change out.

 

[jmetteer]

So, of you folks that have done your own seal replacement, what would you rate the difficulty level at? We have successfully replaced fork seals on Kayaba and WP forks, so we have serviced forks before. I have a full manual for the forks (which, incidentally, I can e-mail to anybody that wants it). Are the Zokes any more difficult that the aforementioned brands?

2009 TXC 450

The twin chamber Zokes are cake to do fork seals on. Much easier than the twin chamber Showas or the open chamber kayabas I have done.

Here is a quick step by step.

special tools required...
4mm pin spanner for top cap (I use the tool that came with my grinder)

50mm fork seal driver (can be made of PVC pipe but once you use a real one you will never use PVC pipe again)

I use a plastic sandwich bag, turned inside out and covered with grease to keep the new seal from getting nicked on the top of stanchion tube where the bushings go.

A soft jaw vice is handy also.

1. loosen top triple clamp pinch bolts
2. loosen top fork cap
3. remove front brake caliper
4. remove front wheel
5. remove fork guards
6. loosen lower triple clamp bolts
7. remove forks
8. completely loosen the top cap
9. pour out old oil
10. tighten the top cap a couple turns
11. remove 21mm foot nut
12. loosen top cap and remove inner chamber (set it somewhere clean and safe)
13. remove spring and spring spacer
14. slide dust wiper to the bottom of the fork
15. remove the spring clip that holds the seal in slide it to the bottom of the fork
16. slide the inner and outer tubes apart like a slide hammer until they separate
17. remove bushings
18. remove fork seal washer (this is directional, the step faces the seal)
19. remove fork seal
20. remove spring clip
21. remove and clean or replace dust wiper

Assemble in reverse order, add 280ml of your favorite oil and you are ready to roll.

Later,

 

[Phoenix]

Thanks to both of you. We'll give it a shot. It certainly adds up to spend $150 everytime a fork seal blows!

On a similar note, does anyone know of any speed bleeders that work on the newer Zokes?

 

[BILLF]

Leakers

We have had a few leakers the last year on new or almost new,all 3 of them had plastic tape in the seal from the assy process at the zoke factory,we just warranty them.billf

 

[Joe Chod]

Seems from asking those with leakers.......the caliper is going first. All but 1 of 8 folks that had a leaker were caliper side.........hmmmnnn.

 

[Phoenix]

Well we finally took the plunge and did the forks. What a piece of cake! Got the Motion Pro driver and All Balls seals/wipers. The manual I had said to put 370cc of oil into the fork...I had forgotten you mentioned 280ml. I'm wondering if the manual I have isn't exactly for a dirt bike. Its not specific, so I imagine not.Oh well, fork oil is easy enough to change.