TE 310 Fork Seals

[scarey]

Is it easy to change fork seals on a 2009 TE 310? The bike has only done 1625km's on bush trails and the left fork seal has already gone. There are no chips or scores on the forks, so I guess it must just be bad luck!

The Husky dealer has said that they need to do both forks, as it is likely that the other one will go soon (although they won't cover it under warrenty). They also said that the cost of $200 includes turning the forks on a metal lathe. This seems odd to me or is this normal????

 

[BentAero]

It's not that difficult if you have the proper tools and the knowledge. If you damage something or reassemble it wrong, it can get expensive.

There is no need to do both forks if you don't want to. Just because one is leaking, there is no reason the other one should leak tommorow or even next year. Debris getting into the seal or nicks in the tube, which damage the seal, cause leaks.
However, the advantage of doing both forks is that you'll have fresh oil of the same type and same amount (hopefully) in both legs.

Turning the fork on a lathe? That's only necessary if there is a nick in the tube and it needs polishing with ultra fine sandpaper. If there are no blemishes in the tube, there is no reason to do that.

FWIW, Unless you are very heavy, Marz puts waaaaay too much oil in your forks. Drop the level to 135 or 140 mm for a 150 lb. rider and it won't beat you to death, and it'll turn much better.

I'd consider finding another shop to do your work.

 

[scarey]

My husband usually carries out the maintenance work on all our vehicles and machines, so I am assuming he should be OK to do the seals.

Thanks for the advice regarding the oil levels etc.

 

[BUSHMAN332]

I have had the same pre-mature probs with my forks 09 te 310. There is something wrong with them ! Lets all join together and revolt . Ive been ridding and racing 25 years and have never had these results with any other fork ****************************************!

 

[spinkta boy]

Those 09' TE Zoke forks are inherently sensitive to leaking, especially if dirt gets up in to the seals behind the dust covers. My fork seals let go after a muddy race. If you know how to take your fork apart, the seals are quite easy to replace. A 4" long piece of either 1 1/2" or 1 3/4" PVC pipe cut in 2 halves makes for a nice fork seal driver. Just remember to put saran/cling wrap around the end of the (innner) fork tube, so you don't cut the seal on the tube's lip by accident.

More importantly though is preventative maintenance with these seals. After I ride a muddy ride/race, I thouroughly wash the bike and then after it's dry, I pop the dust seals with a small flathead screwdriver. I then take Q-tips up into where the seals are and clean all the dirt out. If I think the ride was really muddy, I will take an old credit card and run the corner around the perimeter of the seal to get any dirt out that had odged between the seal and the outer (female) tube. After the Q-tips come out clean, I take another Q-tip and dab Bel-Ray waterproof grease up there. I then push down on the forks, wipe the remainder of the dirt off the inner fork tube (male chrome slider) and the repack the fork seal cavity once more with grease and then slide the dust seal back into place. I have yet to blow a fork seal since doing this procedure.

 

[duggoey]

I have had the same pre-mature probs with my forks 09 te 310. There is something wrong with them ! Lets all join together and revolt . Ive been ridding and racing 25 years and have never had these results with any other fork ****************************************!

I had the fork seals replaced at 1000km on my 2010 TE 310 (they actually failed at 800km and still leaked after cleaning). The dealer convinced me I was just unlucky so I had them replaced then and there - I have to have it serviced at the dealer every 500km to maintain warranty... The fork seaks have just crapped themselves again at 1250km (after 250 km!). I have a "Fork Mate" cleaning tool and they still re-develop the leak soon after cleaning.

Im not tough on the bike, I avoid mud, the bike is cleaned after every ride, I bleed the pressure regularly etc.

After reading everyone elses similar probs I am convinced the forks / fork seals are faulty, especially considering they changed to the 48mm type on the 2011 models.

Dealer will say "they are full of dirt, no wonder they are failing!" Maybe the problem is they cannot cope with normal usage dirt and the wipers are poor!? Whatever it is they are prematurely failing under normal use coupled with good maintenance.

Great bike, poor fork seals. I will definately ask for NON-Genuine seals when I get it serviced this week.

 

[ghte]

2 things, 1,get a piece of clear plastic about the thickness of old 35mm film cut it about half an inch to an inch wide and about 8 inches long. Drop the dust seal and then poke the plastic up into the seal. Do this in a motion that circumnavigates the lower fork leg. Now bounce the fork with the hand brake on and repeat the process 2 to 3 times. This will dislodge dust that might be insitu on the seal.
2, watch the video in the Rocky Mountain atv site. The demo vid there (2 vids actually) will show you how to pull down a single chamber fork-they are identical to yours and to reinstall new seals and reassemble same. This was a great help to me-they also do a twin chamber fork videos as well. They are free to view just get onto their home page and select videos. There is a plethora of self help vids there.

Good luck

 

[ray_ray]

http://www.cafehusky.com/threads/50mm-zokes-issues-advice-pls.15614/

Here is link on the subject ... a little long but covers a lot of ground with pics!

 

[mego32]

I have had issues with my forks as well, but on an 09 te 450... Already replaced once like 4 mons ago and now the left one seems to have gone out I agree that they are faulty. But my boyfriend and I replaced the fork seals ourselves with minimal problems...

 

[mnb]

Use 35mm film or Seal Savers and run it along the inside of the seal. That can clean out small sediment that allows fluid to pass through. It doesn't work all the time, but it's easy to do and cheap.

 

[duggoey]

It all good now. The dealer actually admitted there is an issue. They bared the cost and replaced with aftermarket for seals. They also mentioned that they tightened the spring on the wiper. Lets see how they perform over the next few 1000 km's!

 

[duggoey]

It all good now. The dealer actually admitted there is an issue. They bared the cost and replaced with aftermarket for seals. They also mentioned that they tightened the spring on the wiper. Lets see how they perform over the next few 1000 km's!

Guess what guys? @ 1800km (250km after the previous replacement) they failed again!!! The dealer is now replacing the whole front forks. I suggested the new 48mm ones so lets see what happens. I am aware how to clean them as I said but there is obviously a hidden issue. This whole saga is really taking away from what should be a great bike.

 

[JB109]

08 te 310 seals went 1yr later not bad compared to sons brand new 09 KTM seals went before he even got to ride it

 

[macwood]

08 txc I have all the same issues with leaking forks and did all the above mentioned suggestions but still start leaking after a while. BUT when I had them out of bike I checked for play in slide bushes and found worst offender, lhs had a lot of movement. Bought new bushes and sat one in fork outer which went in by hand, thought that went in too easy so measured end gap of new bush while in place and was 17 thou so put old one back in and it was 22 thou, hardly any difference and I think it should have had no end gap Spoke to dealer and we think diameter of the outer fork where the bottom fork bush sits is too large and allowing bush to sit in place loose which allows the inner fork tube move around loose and the seal has way too much front and back movement to posssibly seal.

To check for excess movement take front wheel out and keep bars still grab bottom of fork at axle area and push back and forward noting any slop at seal area. My lhs had heaps and rhs had practically none. No wonder the seal leaks.

Question now is, Is this wear or is it a poor machine job at the factory when made ???? if it is wear why difference between left and right, why do some forks not leak and why do some leak from new?

If it was poor machining from new this would explain why relativly newbikes start leaking and replaced seals don't last. I think that when they were made some may have had too much alloy machined out of where the bottom bush sits and fork is too loose.
I would like to know if any one elses bikes have this excess movement especially from new ????

My dealer said there is a fix where you find a very good machinist and get him to machine out where the bottom bush sits in the outer fork tube, slightly oversize and then machine up another thin steel insert to locktite in place with the exact correct ID to take the new bush with out any end gap and hence no slop. Please note This is a very precise machine job and should be done by a very good machinist. He has done it and it works

I think there is something very wrong with some of these Mazzochi forks (mine are 50 mm twin chamber) and have raced many dirtbikes over many years and have never had so much drama with forks ie 02 KTM 520 enduro raced is still on original fork seals .

 

[brock]

In my experience most people never clean behind the dust seals when they clean the bike. (most don't clean their bikes thoroughly either...) All the crap that gets in there will eventually get past the oil seal if not cleared out.
Also clean the bottom of the fork leg thoroughly, don't leave that bit behind the fork guard to dry on otherwise your new seals will be dragging dirt up on your second ride out.

What the hell was he going to put them on the lathe for???

 

[mnb]

What the hell was he going to put them on the lathe for???

Common practice to remove the high spots from dings made by rocks/etc.

 

[macwood]

Hi Brock I have edited my comments and explained in more detail what I am talking about including the machining fix, I am with bushman on this one and want Husqvarna to come clean on this issue and cant believe that they don't know what's going on. see what you think cheers

 

[duggoey]

Hi Brock I have edited my comments and explained in more detail what I am talking about including the machining fix, I am with bushman on this one and want Husqvarna to come clean on this issue and cant believe that they don't know what's going on. see what you think cheers

Also hi to Brock.

Sorry to blab on but Ive had so much grief over this...

I agree with what you say, some people are lazy but from experience on my TE is not due to lack of cleaning/harsh treatment etc. My second set failed (after 200km of use). I cleaned the the whole bike + throughly cleaned the wipers and stanchions after each of the 2-3 rides i did in that time and they still died

, and it wasnt just "filming" either, it was enough fork oil to wet the brake disc and drip from the bottom of the fork legs... I also bought a product (similar to camera film) used for specifically cleaning the actual seal, if I got a leak I could clean the seal but there was never any crap built up nor did it fix the leak.

My dealer has been relatively good, they have acknowledged the issue and bared the costs but have still not diagnosed the problem (at least they wont tell me)..? As I said previously after another seal failure they replaced the whole forks (with another set of 50mms though...) Ive done about 150km so far without too much trouble with the exception of some oil "filming" after the bike was tied down on a trailer for a trip.

I also have to note that EVERY person I have spoken to with the 50mm "Marzocchi Shivers" has had issues with leaking seals - plenty of support for this on the forum here alone.

Why has there been no recall on these forks? Surely dealers like mine that are having their sole product - Husqvarna Bikes brought back in over and over for the same issue would have raised this with Husqvarna/PFG ? Does everyone realise that in 2009-2010 all of the Husky enduro's (except the 310) changed to the Kyaba? 48mm forks? Then in 2011 the 310 also changed to the 48mm?

 

[ray_ray]

Yep it has been musical forks for the Huskies for the last few years ... My seals on my 08 TXC250 (50mm "Marzocchi Shivers") have been through plenty and only leaked when mud got in them and cleaning them fixed that issue ... I'm running original seals to date with 500 hrs on one of them ...

 

[duggoey]

Musical forks, nice way of putting it. I wish we were all so lucky as you ray_ray – 500 hours is pretty good! I wonder if Marzocchi changed anything production/process wise between the 50mm TXC and TE forks, or there might be slight differences between the fork year models 2008-2009-2010? I will see if there is any way of identifying manufacture year / place of manufacture of the forks from my bike when I get back home.